How to Grow Sweet Potatoes in Your Garden

Sweet potatoes mature in 90 to 170 days and they're extremely frost sensitive. Plant in full sun three to four weeks after the last frost when the soil has warmed. Make holes 6 inches deep and 12 inches apart. Bury slips up to the top leaves, press the soil down gently but firmly, and water well.

How do you start a sweet potato plant?
Which month is the best month to plant sweet potatoes?
Can you plant a whole sweet potato?
How many sweet potatoes do you get from one plant?
Can you cut a sweet potato and plant it?
When should you not eat sweet potatoes?
What month are sweet potatoes harvested?
Can you eat sweet potatoes right out of the ground?
What fertilizer is best for sweet potatoes?

How do you start a sweet potato plant?

Start sweet potato slips 6 weeks prior to planting out. Rest a whole, undamaged sweet potato in soil and set on a heating mat. Slips will start to grow in around 2 weeks. When around 5", break slips off of sweet potato and plant out or root in water.

Which month is the best month to plant sweet potatoes?

When to Plant Sweet Potatoes

You won't plant slips until 3 to 4 weeks after the last spring frost, once nighttime temperatures have reached at least 55°F (13°C). The trick is to plant them early enough for them to mature properly, but not early enough for them to get killed by a late spring frost.

Can you plant a whole sweet potato?

"Slipping" is when you grow little baby plants out of a whole sweet potato. Now, you can just bury whole sweet potatoes very shallowly if you like, but many gardeners prefer to grow slips from the tubers and then plant the slips. ... The green 'slips' will sprout from the sides and top of the tuber.

How many sweet potatoes do you get from one plant?

Still, you will get a bigger harvest when growing sweet potatoes in a warm climate than a cool one. In warmer climates, gardeners sometimes harvest eight or more tubers per sweet potato plant.

Can you cut a sweet potato and plant it?

To start your slips, you need several healthy, clean sweet potatoes. ... To create sprouts, carefully wash your potatoes and cut them either in half or in large sections. Place each section in a jar or glass of water with half of the potato below the water and half above. Use toothpicks to hold the potato in place.

When should you not eat sweet potatoes?

As sweet potatoes begin to spoil, they will shrivel (like the one on the photo above) as they lose moisture. The veggie will then become mushy and turn brown or black. Do not eat sweet potatoes once they have begun to shrivel, and certainly not past this point.

What month are sweet potatoes harvested?

When to Harvest Sweet Potatoes

Usually this occurs in late September or early October before the first frost. Many people think frost won't affect your harvest. Sweet potatoes are well insulated underground after all.

Can you eat sweet potatoes right out of the ground?

Although you can cook sweet potatoes fresh out of the ground, the natural sweetness improves after curing. Proper curing also heals injuries incurred to the tubers during harvest, which helps guarantee successful storage.

What fertilizer is best for sweet potatoes?

A fertilizer formula of 5-10-10 or 8-24-24 works well for sweet potatoes. You can begin fertilizing sweet potatoes about 2 weeks after transplanting them into your garden. After that, they can be fertilized every 4-6 weeks during the growing season. Stop fertilizing about 3 weeks before they are harvested.