Growing Sweet Potatoes

Add a bit of color and nutrition to your meals with home grown sweet potatoes.

Wait for the soil to warm to start planting this heat-loving vegetable. Plant slips, those are the sprouts from the tuberous roots, 4 inches deep and 12 inches apart.  Those gardening in cooler regions and areas with a shorter growing season may want to use raised beds, floating row covers, and black mulch to warm the soil and speed growth.

Harvest young leaves to use in soups and stews or steamed and served with fish, okra, and chili peppers.

The tuberous roots are ready to harvest in 90 to 110 days. Carefully dig the tuberous roots before the first frost or when the tuberous roots are full size.

Once dug, cure the tuberous roots in an 80 degree F location with high humidity.  Once cured, you can store your sweet potatoes in a cool, 65 degree F location for up to 5 months.

A bit more information:  Don’t discard those sweet potatoes that sprout in storage.  Make it a fun gardening activity for the family.  Plant the sprouting sweet potato in a container of well-drained potting mix.  Grow your new plant in a sunny window and water as needed. Sweet potatoes make a great indoor plant or take cuttings and start new plants for your garden. 

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