How to grow sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes which are an incredibly invasive creeper, much easier to grow and tuberous plants belong to Convolvulaceae also known as morning glory family. This support both tropical and sub-tropical climates. In this detailed guide, we will talk about all possible phases for planting sweet potatoes. You will learn all rudimentary requirements and imperative conditions for growing sweet potatoes. The complete mechanism of how to plant sweet potatoes will be discussed here. Furthermore, we will cover how to grow sweet potatoes with all possible care? Best time of harvesting sweet potatoes and how to harvest them will be covered in this article.

If you are a beginner gardener and thinking about the best crop to grow, then you must include sweet potatoes in your planting list. Why you should grow sweet potatoes as a beginner? Here are a few reasons why we are saying so: First of all sweet potatoes can perfectly substitute for the normal potatoes. These are extremely nutritious and not easily affected by the disease. Sweet potatoes plant vines are extremely easy to grow. Moreover, you can easily grow sweets potatoes with little fertilizer and water. You will have to plant only a few plants, they will give you generous production.

Whenever try to grow any crop in your garden always consider sweet potatoes. These can be utilized in many other ways, for instance, in stir-fries and salads. Do you think that you should grow sweet potatoes? Don’t worry about how to grow sweet potatoes. We will make that easy for you. Attentively read this complete article once, your first experience with growing sweet potatoes will be amazing. Before we describe how to grow sweet potatoes, let’s learn precondition for planting sweet potatoes.

Conditions for growing sweet potatoes

To acquire unexcelled yield, you should learn all basic requirements and appropriate conditions for planting sweet potatoes. For best production, you should be choosy about conditions, otherwise, you will not procure scrumptious sweet potatoes. Try to grow your crops at the time which best meet the growing conditions.

Although sweet potatoes grow well even in poor soil, it’s not a good practice. Roots can make stringy structure in heavy clay or sandy dirt. You should prepare the best environment before planting sweet potatoes. Clay loam type can be the best for growing such vegetable. Create approximately 10 inches high, long according to your garden size and 5 to 8 inches wide ridge. The distance between two ridges should be 3 foot.

You can add organic material like well-rotted compost and manure to dramatically increase your production. However, don’t provide nitrogen-rich fertilizer because it will produce lush vines and affects tubes growth.

Sweet potatoes are grown by slips –small pieces of tuber which are sliced from the sweet potatoes. If you have your own sweet potatoes, then you can utilize your own slips. Otherwise, you can buy these from a nearby nursery or local farmers.

Sweet potatoes like full sun, warm weather, lots of space and frequent water supply. These are heat lover. Try to provide them hot climate these will grow fast. On the other hand, for planting sweet potatoes, try to avoid waterlogged soil, nitrogen-rich fertilizer, and cold weather. 

When to plant sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes require a warm climate. Sweet potatoes plant should be grown after the last frost of spring after about a month. At this time both soil and air are warm for the perfect growth of sweet potatoes. In November, buy unblemished medium-size sweet potatoes. Only one sweet potato will be enough to grow 12 or more plants.

How to plant sweet potatoes?

In fact, how to plant sweet potatoes is not a suitable question. Most important and interesting point regarding sweet potatoes is how to stop vines from spreading into the entire garden because it is a really invasive creeper. It’s amazingly easy to plant.

• Select a place where it can have a suitable temperature and full sun.
• Soil should be loamy and rich with organic material.
• Sweet potatoes are grown with slips instead of seeds. So make your own slips (obtained from healthy and mature sweet potato) or buy them from a nursery or native gardener.
• Make sure the right climate for growing potatoes.
• If you want to prepare your own slips, cut your potato into half if it is smaller, otherwise, you can cut it into many pieces.
• Take a jar and fill it with water and dip your half of the potato into the water with cutting side down.
• Place this jar alongside the window where it can have a lot of sunlight.
• Now wait for 2 to 4 weeks and let the slips grow. After 2 to 4 weeks, sprouts will come out of the potato.
• When your slips cover the potato, carefully twist them off individually. Don’t worry, these will not contain roots.
• Again take another jar and fill with water and dip those slips into the water. Leave them as they are for several days until roots come out.
• Now your slips are ready for planting.  You can grow them outdoors on your selected spot.
• Sweet potatoes grow underground but vines grow outside about 10 feet long. Make sure your garden has enough space.
• Plant them 12 to 18 inches apart and 6 to 8 inches deeper so that sweet potato can grow to their mature size.

How to grow sweet potatoes plants and care them well?

We have learned in detail how to plant sweet potatoes in the previous section. To obtain maximum yield, you should know how to grow sweet potatoes plant and care them well.

• Don’t harm the vines if you want to harvest the healthy crop.
• Never forget to water the plant. Warm weather crop requires frequently.
• You can fertilize it but try to avoid nitrogen-rich fertilizers.
• Although sweet potatoes are not easily harmed by disease but try to protect them from White Blister and Fungal leaf diseases.

When and how to harvest sweet potatoes?

After 3 to 4 months of planting the slips, you can start harvesting. In this duration, they can grow up to their mature size. When you see that vines of sweet potatoes plant is turning yellow, you can start harvesting. Its root spread vast and you can have many tubers from one plant.