Sometimes… Read more ». Loose soil will allow roots to grow freely. For Irish potatoes, you encourage the stems to develop through a method such as hilling.

Sandy loam that’s well draining but nutrient dense will make this sun-loving tropical vine happiest. Place the sweet potato into the container horizontally and cover it with soil.

One of the benefits of sprouting sweet potatoes in soil rather than water is that slips tend to have pretty well formed roots from the start. Still, the better the growing conditions, the better the harvest. And the delicious, easy to store root tubers are a satisfying reward for minimal effort. Can I put the vines on a trellis to keep them off the ground? How do you know when the sweet potatoes are ready to harvest? And although it requires a good amount of space in the garden, it’s a relatively easy crop to grow. To avoid diseases, think about purchasing new slips every three years or so. And, even if you only get a small harvest your first season, you can save one or two tubers as parent plants for next season. Raised beds are a great option too, since they warm up quickly and are typically filled with a loamy soil mixture. The vines will continue to grow like ground cover, covering a wide area. Even the slightest frost will take them out. COPYRIGHT © 2020 ASK THE EXPERTS LLC.

Also – any way of getting a printer-friendly version of this informative article? Learn more about harvesting and storing your sweet potatoes here, Guide to Growing Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables with 11 of Our Favorite Varieties, How to Grow and Care for Drumstick Allium Flowers. There are a ton of tutorials out there on starting slips, but I’ll just share one option with you: In early spring, move a healthy parent potato to a warm place. Raised beds warm up faster and are especially appropriate if cooler temperatures are common. Have you grown sweet potatoes before? Tiny holes in the leaves may be the work of flea beetles. This will likely take a few weeks, and you can expect to get at least 6 per tuber. As long as you harvest before the frost, you’ll be fine. Sweet potatoes have pencil roots (they’re thin and long), storage roots (that’s the one you eat) and fibrous roots (the fine, hair-like ones).

Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. Fill us in on your secrets to a guaranteed harvest below! If space is an issue, consider growing a more compact bush variety. To get even better results, keep reading.

Even though plants will tolerate drought, your harvest will be larger if they aren’t subject to water-related stress.

Within a week, they will develop roots and be ready to plant out in the garden, given that all chance of frost has passed and the soil temperature is around 70°F. Containers work well, too, but don’t try to cram a small area with too many slips. The roots planted in the garden were eaten by squirrels and rabbits and we did not the harvest.

Fill a glass with just a couple of inches of clean and, ideally, chlorine free water. A deep seed tray is fitting if you’re trying to sprout more than one. The one thing they won’t tolerate, however, is cool weather. Hi Darrel! To create sprouts, carefully wash your potatoes and cut them either in half or in large sections. Underground pests might be the worst of them all because you often don’t know they’re a problem until harvest time. This article is in need of an update to meet our current format, and we hope to post a new version soon! Here’s what’s in store: It’s important to realize that sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas) aren’t related to regular potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) or yams (Dioscorea sp). I’m a new organic “kitchen gardener”.

Avoid cutting vines back if possible. What size and depth container would you recommend? This is why methods for growing sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes are very different. Sorry to hear the squirrels and rabbits have been a problem! Keep the soil moist and warm, and wait for slips to form. Like Amber described above, you can grow new slips for planting from your harvested roots, and break them off when they have their own established roots and leaves. Choose disease resistant varieties and healthy slips from the start, and provide adequate growing conditions, and you likely won’t experience any disease issues at all. Should I leave both in water or transfer in another container with soil? Where are you located Julieta, and how long is your growing season? Thank you so much!

Anything from a large terra cotta planter or wooden barrel to a potato grow bag can work. If you prefer chemical fertilizers and don’t want to have your soil tested, stick with an N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) ratio of 5-10-10.

My question, do I pin down the runners to encourage rooting and the possibility of a larger harvest? So far so good, they are growing wonderfully and producing several more runners and filling up the allotted garden area. It could be a mis-shaped/colored storage root. If you don’t find this to be the case, however, you can root them in water.

Slips should be planted about 12 inches apart, so the bigger the container, the more you’ll be able to grow. GARDENER'S PATH® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ASK THE EXPERTS LLC. Without a long growing season, chances are you’ll be disappointed with your harvest. I’d like to know more about planting them in a raised bed – where do you get that kind of soil? Amber is passionate about all things gardening, especially growing and enjoying organic food. Place each section in a jar or glass of water with half of the potato below the water and half above. We don’t currently have a printer friendly option- maybe saving as a PDF would be a good option. Hi Amber. Here is more about what we do. The ends will start to turn yellow when the roots are ready. I’ve dug into the details about what it takes to grow this amazing root crop for the best harvest possible. And if we go more than a few days without including them in a meal, we notice. About three weeks or so before harvesting, stop watering. nice info. Overall, sweet potatoes are a forgiving crop to grow. Photos by Amber Shidler © Ask the Experts, LLC.

I’ve successfully grown red skinned potatoes in containers. Find a mature, healthy sweet potato plant from the store or a friend’s garden. Keep an eye out for any vines that are stunted or yellowing. If vines are healthy and vigorous, they should be able to handle some damage. Once vines fill in, weeds will have a harder time becoming established. I will definitely be growing these delicious beauties again this year.

Come September, I had more than 30 medium-sized root tubers.

For four years she worked as a horticulturist, but is now a stay-at-home mom. Apply a layer of organic mulch, such as pine bark or grass clippings, which will help to retain soil moisture and temperature, as well as reduce weeds. Instead, plants with enough room to grow produce a much larger harvest. In subsequent years, you can use your own parent plants to start new slips. Use toothpicks to hold the potato in place (Image 1). New plants need to be started from… Read more ». Sweet potatoes rarely flower outside of their native range so they are generally propagated from slips, or new growth that sprouts from the ends of the root tubers.

Amber Shidler lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and holds a dual bachelor’s degree in botany and geography. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I would like so I’m thinking of using containers. You are absolutely correct, Jason, and to be frank, I’m not quite sure why the author of this article refers to Solanum tuberosum repeatedly as Irish potatoes.

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