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luvncannin

Sweet potato slips

luvncannin
10 years ago

My FIL wants sweet potato slips and the farmer we were going to get them from is not raising them this year. Do y'all know of anyone that sells them say between OKC and TX on I-35 ?
Or do you order them?
Kim

Comments (12)

  • Macmex
    10 years ago

    The two best sources for slips, that I know of, are as follows. I haven't been in recent communication with either. So I assume that all is well, and that they are shipping.


    www.duckcreekfarms.com

    http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/pages/sweetpotato_catalog.html

    George
    Tahlequah, OK

  • elkwc
    10 years ago

    Kim,
    Duckcreekfarms is an excellent source if he still has some. Two years ago I started some and accidently had some of my old ones start on their own. So last year I start all of mine. This year I'm late but have some just breaking through that should be ready to plant in 7-10 days. Starting them is easy. Jay

  • nated
    10 years ago

    well not along I-35; but you can try Sunrise Acres, 405-392-2680. I got Beauregard slips at K&K in Norman. I planted 18 May. This is my first year trying sweet potatoes and i don't know what i'm doing.

  • slowpoke_gardener
    10 years ago

    I live on the AR/OK border, I noticed borderokie had slips when I was there Sat. They seemed to be going fast. If you cant find any I will mail you some from her if she still has them.

    Sheila (borderokie) may be on here and give more details.
    I only bought one bundle from her this year but was very happy with it.

    Larry

  • wbonesteel
    10 years ago

    If you want sweet potatoes this year, you gotta buy slips.

    These days, I grow my own.

    When you dig them up this fall, keep a few back, stored in a dark, dry place. Don't clean them up, except to knock excess dirt clods off them. Allow them to dry out for a couple or three days before you store them. They keep longer, that way. If you scrub them before you store them, they're likely going to rot. We stored our extra sweet potatoes in a cardboard box last fall and winter. This spring, we had more slips than we knew what to do with. I simply cut the 'slips' as you would regular potatoes that have sprouted, and planted them.

    There are nine sweet potatoes now growing in our little garden and in the beds along the fence in the back yard. I planted another half dozen in a little wood lot on county property next door. (The dirt is poor, over there, but at least one is growing, now.) The rest went in the compost heap.

    Unless you're looking for a different variety than you had the previous year, or are just starting out, there's really no need to buy slips every year.

    If you want sweet potatoes this year? Yeah, you gotta buy slips.

  • luvncannin
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you for those sites. He will be excited when he gets here next weekend and I can show him what I ordered him.
    I may order a few myself. I will have plenty of room in two weeks for them.

    Will that be too late? My first avg frost is 10-23. I could always put a tunnel over it couldn't I ?
    Kim

  • luvncannin
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you Larry. I was rereading and saw your offer. If I have any problems with the 2 companies mentioned I will let you know.

    Jay he tried starting them himself but they never sprouted. My intention was to do it for him but I got sidetracked with the wedding. Starting our own is definitely on the list for next year. I have a nice DRY area to overwinter them. LOL

    We will visiting a few nurseries next week on our honeymoon, since we don't have any here, so I keep my eyes peeled for slips.
    It wont hurt to have extra. He has plenty of land to plant so he can make room for them if I were to come across an extra hundred or so.
    kim

  • Okiedawn OK Zone 7
    10 years ago

    Kim, The only place I can think of that might still have slips in his part of TX (and it is farther south than he is) is Mike's Garden Center off Hwy 114 in Southlake. I don't remember what exit they are, but I think it is the one just before White Chapel Road. I saw sweet potato slips there about a month ago, but haven't been there since. They often have them through at least the first week in June.

    I haven't grown sweet potatoes from Glenn's Sandhill Preservation Center, but have grown from slips from Duck Creek Farms and they did great. You can look at Gary's list of varieties for this year and see how he categorizes them in terms of them being early, mid-season or late-season varieties. His descriptions normally make it clear if they are early producers or not, and with some varieties he describes the number of days it takes to get a nice harvest. With other varieties, if you Google them you can find out how long it takes each variety to mature.

    Since you're so far north and starting late, if I were in your shoes, I'd grow some early types this year. Since your FIL is much further south, I think he could plant any type in the next week or two and expect a great harvest.

    Dawn

    Here is a link that might be useful: Duck Creek Farms' 2013 Sweet Potato Varieties

  • Macmex
    10 years ago

    Here in Tahlequah, I've planted slips as late as July 18, and still managed an OK harvest. And that was using mid season varieties.

    George

  • elkwc
    10 years ago

    I've planted slips like George from July 15-20 the last two years and have good results. Last years I had lots of mid size tubers with just a few large ones. I tend to like the small to mid sized better myself. One of the ones I have growing slips now is a huge one I saved from last fall. I have never done anything to mine except dig them. Let them dry for a day or so and then lay them on the bottom shelf of the light shelve which is expanded metal. I had a half dozen there I hadn't used two weeks ago and none had went bad and were still firm. I meant to start slips earlier. But I believe it was Gary who said if I had them in by mid July I would be fine and so far that has worked here. If for some reason I had an early freeze I might have to cover them. Jay

  • luvncannin
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I guess my post didn't post...
    I am going to order from Sandhill. They have a late special half price deal and thought that would work for us. If they have any left.
    How long does it take to get slips from the potato on average? I want to mark my calendar for next year to do this.
    Last year I bought a case of sweet potatoes from the local farmer and they lasted in a cool closet until I ate the last one in may.
    Kim

  • Macmex
    10 years ago

    Kim, I don't know that there is an average time. Varieties differ. But most important to the equation is the temperature. The hotter it is, the faster they sprout and grow. I've purchased slips from Sandhill's late special and planted them as late as July 18 with good results. If you were to put a sprouting sweet potato in the ground, in your garden, where it is both warm and moist, right now, it's possible you might get some usable slips by the middle of July. But I think purchasing slips is a better deal at this late date.

    I generally start my slips quite early, in February. March should be perfect for most people. But we stop using our wood stove regularly, in March. So sometimes it's hard to get slips going then.

    George