Like regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are starchy tubers that form underground. But the heart-leafed vine that produces sweet potatoes requires a longer growing season (100 to 140 days) and warmer soil than the kind of plant that produces regular "white" potatoes. Until recently, that's made them almost impossible to grow in the colder parts of the country. Now, with short-season sweet potato varieties, such as Georgia Jet, and soil-warming growing techniques, gardeners everywhere can enjoy growing this easy and delicious crop.
When you plant regular potatoes, you simply bury pieces of potato from last year's crop. Sweet potatoes are grown from "slips," which are rooted sprouts from mature tubers. These tender, rooted sprouts can be purchased by mail or sometimes as potted plants at a garden center. The Steele Plant Company is one popular mail-order source for slips.
Sweet potato plants are very sensitive to cold. They should not be planted outdoors until the soil has warmed up to at least 60 degrees F. and nighttime temperatures are above 60 degrees F. To help heat up the soil, black plastic can be spread over the planting area for a couple weeks before planting.
Newly-planted sweet potato slips should be protected from cool spring nights. For the first three to four weeks after planting, keep the plants covered with garden fabric to reduce stress and speed early growth.
Don't fertilize your sweet potatoes at planting time — they don't require much in the way of nutrients. An excess of nitrogen will encourage leafy growth rather than big tubers.
The best soil for sweet potatoes is one that's loose and rich in organic matter. In the garden, mix some well-aged compost into each planting hole and then plant slips approximately 12-18″ apart, covering the stem with soil right up to the first pair of leaves. If you are growing sweet potatoes in Grow Bags, fill the bags with Container Mix, and then add a shovelful of compost and about half a cup of granular organic fertilizer.
Mulching sweet potato plants with black plastic helps keep the soil as warm as possible. It also prevents the vines from setting down more roots as they grow, which takes energy from tuber formation. If you are not using plastic, lift the vines from time to time to disengage the roots that form along the stem.
Regular potatoes die back to the ground when they are ready to harvest. Sweet potato plants keep on growing until the temperatures get too chilly. Let them grow as long as possible (at least 120 days), but be sure to harvest the tubers before the first heavy frost (cold temperatures can damage the sensitive tubers). You'll find sweet potatoes are easier to "dig" than regular potatoes, as the tubers tend to cluster more closely to the stem. As you're harvesting, treat the tubers gently because the skin is thin and the flesh bruises easily.
Once harvested, let your sweet potatoes air dry for several hours, then nestle them into a shallow basket or ventilated box, lined with dry newspaper. The tubers should then be "cured" for 10 to 15 days at 80 to 85 degrees (a warm, dark attic is ideal). The optimum temperature range for storage after curing is 55 to 60 degrees.
Sweet potatoes have a short shelf life, even when they've been properly cured and are stored under ideal conditions. This means that it is difficult for home gardeners to store sweet potatoes for more than a few months. Use them as quickly as possible and check frequently to catch decay before it can spread.
If you are using a hessian sack or growbag then roll up the sides as you add more layers - around three to four will be ideal, anymore and it will get a bit top heavy and be in danger of toppling over.
The first layer will keep on growing upwards in search of daylight - the stalks growing past the subsequent layers.
If you have used a good mix of compost, straw and soil then your 'Potato Tower' will retain enough moisture that will mean you don't need to water it much at all. A light sprinkle once a week in averagely warm weather will be more than enough. If it is very hot and dry then increase the amounts a little more but don't overdo the water as it will encourage the tuber cores to rot from the centre out and there's nothing worse than harvesting a good crop to find that they are brown and rotten in the middle.
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| Sweet Potatoes grown in bags! |
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| Sweet Potatoes grown in bags! |
Sweet potato plants are very sensitive to cold. They should not be planted outdoors until the soil has warmed up to at least 60 degrees F. and nighttime temperatures are above 60 degrees F. To help heat up the soil, black plastic can be spread over the planting area for a couple weeks before planting.
Newly-planted sweet potato slips should be protected from cool spring nights. For the first three to four weeks after planting, keep the plants covered with garden fabric to reduce stress and speed early growth.
Don't fertilize your sweet potatoes at planting time — they don't require much in the way of nutrients. An excess of nitrogen will encourage leafy growth rather than big tubers.
The best soil for sweet potatoes is one that's loose and rich in organic matter. In the garden, mix some well-aged compost into each planting hole and then plant slips approximately 12-18″ apart, covering the stem with soil right up to the first pair of leaves. If you are growing sweet potatoes in Grow Bags, fill the bags with Container Mix, and then add a shovelful of compost and about half a cup of granular organic fertilizer.
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| Sweet Potatoes grown in bags! |
Mulching sweet potato plants with black plastic helps keep the soil as warm as possible. It also prevents the vines from setting down more roots as they grow, which takes energy from tuber formation. If you are not using plastic, lift the vines from time to time to disengage the roots that form along the stem.
Regular potatoes die back to the ground when they are ready to harvest. Sweet potato plants keep on growing until the temperatures get too chilly. Let them grow as long as possible (at least 120 days), but be sure to harvest the tubers before the first heavy frost (cold temperatures can damage the sensitive tubers). You'll find sweet potatoes are easier to "dig" than regular potatoes, as the tubers tend to cluster more closely to the stem. As you're harvesting, treat the tubers gently because the skin is thin and the flesh bruises easily.
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| Mr. Urayayi explaining to the team of ZIRS trainees how to grow Sweet Potatoes in Bags! |
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| Mr. Urayayi explaining to the team... |
Once harvested, let your sweet potatoes air dry for several hours, then nestle them into a shallow basket or ventilated box, lined with dry newspaper. The tubers should then be "cured" for 10 to 15 days at 80 to 85 degrees (a warm, dark attic is ideal). The optimum temperature range for storage after curing is 55 to 60 degrees.
Sweet potatoes have a short shelf life, even when they've been properly cured and are stored under ideal conditions. This means that it is difficult for home gardeners to store sweet potatoes for more than a few months. Use them as quickly as possible and check frequently to catch decay before it can spread.
ADDING LAYERS
The process is like building an apartment block, each storey contains new layers of straw, compost and soil to carry your next addition of seed potatoes.If you are using a hessian sack or growbag then roll up the sides as you add more layers - around three to four will be ideal, anymore and it will get a bit top heavy and be in danger of toppling over.
The first layer will keep on growing upwards in search of daylight - the stalks growing past the subsequent layers.
If you have used a good mix of compost, straw and soil then your 'Potato Tower' will retain enough moisture that will mean you don't need to water it much at all. A light sprinkle once a week in averagely warm weather will be more than enough. If it is very hot and dry then increase the amounts a little more but don't overdo the water as it will encourage the tuber cores to rot from the centre out and there's nothing worse than harvesting a good crop to find that they are brown and rotten in the middle.
