Have you ever considered growing your own sweet potatoes? I do it every year, and it's much easier than you think. Sweet potatoes are a low-maintenance crop that thrives in hot summers, they're drought-tolerant, and practically pest-resistant, making them ideal for any gardener. Not only are they simple to grown, but they also add a delightful flavor to a variety of dishes.
Sweet potatoes are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed in various ways. You can bake and serve them along side a salad, boil and mash them, serve as fries, cube and roast as a side dish, incorporated into baked goods or top with delicious additions such as butter, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and honey. Plus, sweet potatoes are a healthier alternative to white potatoes, making them a great choice for nutritious meals.
Sweet grow quite differently from regular potatoes. Instead of planting the whole potato into the ground, sweet potatoes produce "slips" which are a rooted shoots that sprout from the tuber (sweet potato). You simply take these slips and plant them directly in the soil, where they will take root and eventually yield sweet potatoes.
Each slip can develop into a plant that can produce around six sweet potatoes. You can buy these slips from a trusted seed company, but growing them yourself is much more fun. Today, I'll guide you through the process of creating your own slips using organic sweet potatoes from the grocery store.
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Growing sweet potatoes require careful timing, because they do not thrive in cold soil, they are purely tropical. Typically, they should be planted in late spring to early summer, about 3-4 weeks after the last expected spring frost, and when temperature of the soil exceed 65 degrees.
In North Texas, this usually means planting between late April and mid-May. To prepare, you should start your sweet potato slips around six weeks, before planting, which falls around mid-March for me. Just be sure to check your local last frost date and plan accordingly.
Sweet potatoes thrive in loose, sandy soil, and love heat and humidity, so this is definitely the crop for southern states. A long hot summer is necessary because it takes 100–120 days for sweet potatoes to come to maturity. They need temperatures at least 80 degrees and above to ensure proper development before they are harvested in the Fall.
SWEET POTATO VARIETIES: A few of my favorite varieties to grow are, Georgia Jets, Beauregard, Store-bought Organic Orange, Jewel, and Murasaki (Japanese sweet potatoes). Before starting, check with your local nursery or local agricultural extension offices to find out which sweet potato variety grows best in your area. This is mostly determined by your growing season, length of season, and soil temperature.
LOCATION: Sweet potatoes can be planted directly in the ground or in a raised bed. We have grown them both ways, and perfer using a raised bed, as the soil is less compacted. Sweet potatoes need space, so make sure you give them ample room becuse their vines spread.
PLANTING: Create a row of mounded soil about 8-12 inces high. The higher the soil the more room for sweet potato production. Plant the slips 12-18 inches apart. Dig a small hole in the mound enough to cover the roots of the slip. Place the slip into the hole (in wet soil) and cover the area with soil. Once planted, the vines will put down new roots anytime the vine touches the soil, that can eventually yield to more sweet potatoes.
WATERING: For the first two weeks, transplanted slips need to be kept moist until they are established. After that they need very little water and tolerate dry soil well. Too much moisture can cause tubers to rot, so water only when needed. Apply 1-inch of water once a week , increasing to every 1-2 day in extreme heat or if grown in containers. Stop watering when the plants are about 3-4 weeks from harvest. This will prevent the mature sweet potatoes from rotting.
INSECTS & PESTS: Crop rotation can limit bug infestations, but you can still get them. Sweet potato weevils, wireworms, fleas, beetles, cutworms and horn worms are knonw pests for sweet potatoes. Fortunatley, 100% Neem oil is a safe organic product that you can use right up to the day of harvest and it's safe for pollinatore. You can use it as a soil drench for root-knot nematodes, or as a spray on the leaves for crawling and flying insecs. Never spay Neem Oil in direct sunlight. The oil will react with the sunlight and burn your plants. Always apply Need oil when the plants are shaded or in the evening.
SMALL PREDATORS: other small animals like mice, rats, voles, rabbits, squirrels, opposums, or even racoons can visit your garden and dig up your sweet potatoes and other plants. A good deterant is using Fox, Coyote or Bobcat urine to ward off small animals. The smell will convince any critters that there is dangererous predators nearby and encourge them to look elsewhere for food. Soak cotton balls, rags, or sponges in the urine and place them around the garden's perimeter. This prevents the scent from washing away too quickly compared to direct spraying on soil.
WHEN TO HARVEST: Sweet potatoes are ready to harvest after 100-120 days after planting, typically in early fall just before the first frost, when vines turn yellow or the leaves start to die back. Always harvest sweet potatoes before the first frost as cold soil can damage the roots. Do not harvest sweet potatoes after a heavy rain. Dry soil is easier to harvest.
DIGGING UP THE SWEET POTATOES: Starting about a foot aways from eah rooted plant, cut away the vines and pull them back. Sweet potatos grow as a cluster, attached to the main stem of the plant. Use a garden fork or potato fork to dig around the plant, starting about 18 inches away, as sweet potatoes can grow far from the center. Work you way inward to avoid stabbing the potatoes. Gently lift the fork and grab the potaotes with your hands. Brush off excess soil, but do not wash them, as water encourages rot.
CURING: Curing heals cuts and blemishes, thickens the skin for storage and converts starches to sugars. After harvesting, let the potatoes dry, then lightly dust off any dirst, and store thesweet potatoes at 75-80°F in high humidity for 10-14 days to cure.
STORING: After curing, store the sweet potatoes in a cool, dark, well-ventilated spot (55- 60 degrees F) using cardboard boxes, venelated crates or baskets, ensuring they do not touch. A good locations is in a cool pantry, closet, or dark, ventilated area. Properly stores sweet potatoes can last 6-12 months.
Now that you have the run down on sweet potatoes, let's get started on growing some slips using the soil method. 🌱
TO BEGIN THE PROCESS, GATHER THESE MATERIALS
- A shallow aluminum pan with a plastic lid
- potting soil
- organic sweet potatoes (store-bought) or organic seed sweet potatoes
- plastic seed tray for develped slips
- patience and a sunny spot when ready to plant
STEP 1: Place a whole sweet potatos lengthwise in an aluminum pan filled with potting soil. Make sure the soil comes halfway up the sides of the potaotes. Four good size sweet potatoes will fit comfortably in one pan.
STEP 2: Make sure to keep the soil around the potatoes moist and cover the pan with the plastic lid to produce humidity. You do not need to poke any holes in the lid or the pan itself.
STEP 3: Place the pan near a sunny window or under artificial lights. Sweet potatoes love heat, so you can place the pan on a plant warming mat as well to speed things up, but it is not required.
STEP 4: Soon slips will emerge from the soil in about 2 weeks.
After about 6 weeks the slips should be about 6 -8 inches long with a number of leaves and roots.
STEP 5: using your fingers, gently wiggle and pull off the slips from the sweet potato along with the roots attached. If roots have not formed on the slip when removed, place the slip into a glass of water for 1-2 weeks for root development.
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STEP 6: Plant all of the slips that do have roots into a seed starting trav with potting soil until ready to plant.
STEP 7: Place the tray by a sunny window until the soil temperature is ready to plant the slips.
STEP 8: Harden off the slips before planting outdoors for about 1 week by exposing the plants to indirect outdoor sunlight during the day. This process (called hardening) gradually acclimates indoor-raised seedlings to outdoor sun, wind, and temperature fluctuations to prevent transplant shock.
If the slips (cuttings) do go into shock after being planted in soil trays, immediately provide shade, and keep the soil consistently moist for 5-7 days. Wilting is normal; they are resilient and typically recover within 3-7 days as they adapt to the soil.
STEP 9: PLANTING THE SWEET POTATO SLIPS: 🡻
IN A RAISED BED: If growing sweeet potatoes in a raised bed, ideally they should be planted 12+ inches deep, in loose, well drained, sandy soil. Create raised, 8-12 inch tall ridges (mounds) of soil, as this makes digging easier later and warms the soil faster.full sun once the soil hits 65+ degrees. You can utilize trellises to train vines vertically for space. Keep the soil moist, especially in the first few weeks, but reduce watering as the harvest time approaches.
Harvest the sweet potatoes when the vines start to yellow and begin to die back (after 90-120 days) depending on your variety. Follow the information at the top of this post for harvesting, curing and store ing your beautiful sweet potatoes!
Happy Planting!!!!! If you grow sweet potatoes this year, stop back by and let me know how they turned out, or tag me on Instagram @mommyskitchen and show me your harvest. 🌱
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