Topic: We have roots!!!

[jimc]

Goodlife you will get some tubers set at the nodal roots but these are generally smaller and fewer in number than what you get from the original planting site.
My near neighbour grows sweet potatoes too but just relies on runners coming from his missed tubers left over in the soil from last year. Because he doesn't cut off and bury his slips his harvest is usually poor.

[goodlife]

Goodlife you will get some tubers set at the nodal roots but these are generally smaller and fewer in number than what you get from the original planting site.
My near neighbour grows sweet potatoes too but just relies on runners coming from his missed tubers left over in the soil from last year. Because he doesn't cut off and bury his slips his harvest is usually poor.

That has been my issue with sweetpotatoes....not getting much return from my efforts....fewer in numbers and size very small..
I'm even that bothered if the potatoes stay slightly on small side...as long as the would be decent amount of them.

[artichoke]

Sorry if I mentioned it elsewhere, but do you all already take cuttings from your sweet potato plants as the autumn approaches, root them in water, then pot up indoors over the winter ready for putting out as sturdy plants when it is warm enough? My cuttings were looking good but are currently a bit disheartened as I cannot keep them warm enough indoors in this frosty weather. Hope they perk up soon.

[goodlife]

Tops die down naturally....so one has to start with 'fresh' slips each spring. Saying that, if you do your own slips fro supermarket tubers, because of the 'coating' that slow natural sprouting ,it is good to start slightly earlier to give yourself chance to get them ready early enough for planting...it can be bit hit and miss how they sprout. I'm planning to start in next few weeks or when I remember get some tubers..
If you have your own stored tubers...those will sprout much more readily and you are not in rush to get them going yet.

[jimc]

I haven't had any success keeping slips over winter. They seem to just grow old, get a bit of fungus on them and generally slow down in growth. I think it is better to start with a tuber grown slip later (in winter or early spring) and keep it vigorous to planting time which will always get better summer growth and product. They require minimum 5 months of active summer growth.

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, Having read this and seen your pictures I have been tempted to try growing SP's again. I have been on line and ordered my slips from Robinsons as they seemed the best. I was considering trying supermarket and creating my own SP slips but after this post will not bother. I have grown them 3 years now, or rather tried, first on the plot, hopeless, in the greenhouse border and they spread like wildfire but alas no usable tubers, last year in tubs and after reading Bob Flowerdew article tried training the growth up canes. I put 4 plug plants this time in each tub and the roots all congregated round the bottom of the tub as if pot bound. There were quite a few tubers but nothing very big. I have managed to use 4 and the tasted great. I grew Beauregard and Carolina ruby, the latter winning the taste test, I am considering using the same tubs this year or even a bigger one used for spuds. Any one grown them like this? I will only put 2 slips per tub this time and water more as I have read they need plenty of water. Any advice would be welcome. Good gardening all.

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, I also meant to mention I am trying to grow slips from my own saved tubers and have them set up on the kitchen window sill much to my OH's annoyance. I have to try.

[Digeroo]

I have been moved into action and have put a tube end down into a jar of water on the windowsill.   It will be interested to see if anything happens.  Not sure whether I should put a plastic bag right over it.  It is better on a warm sunny windowsill?   

Did spend sometime washing the tuber.  It has some rather promising little white knobs on.  Had them in the supermarket so chose it specially.

I wonder whether a hot bed would make it happy.   

[goodlife]

A ROOT have emerged here and the tuber haven't been in propagator full 2 days yet...
It aint big yet...just few mm long but it is still a root
So far so good....

[lottie lou]

Hells bells, that was fast Goodlife.  I have mine stuck in a jar of water, mind you only bought it last Friday.  Gave it a bit of a wash before I popped it into the water.  Perhaps I could wrap it in damp kitchen towel and bung it in the airing cupboard to speed things up.  What do you think?

[goodlife]

Hells bells, that was fast Goodlife.  I have mine stuck in a jar of water, mind you only bought it last Friday.  Gave it a bit of a wash before I popped it into the water.  Perhaps I could wrap it in damp kitchen towel and bung it in the airing cupboard to speed things up.  What do you think?

Hells bells indeed! I'm sure warmth and damp will help...but you are not in hurry for any result yet...it is only first week of January.
Although I'm really pleased for little progress, it is still long way from producing any new sprouting growth.
Trust what ever your gut tells you..mine told 'keep it warm, but don't cook it' 

[goodlife]

We've got first 'sprout' out  It wasn't supposed to happen that quickly!   

Other day though of having some chemical treatments on sweet potato tubers started to bug me ..'what are they feeding on us?'
As already mentioned, I too have heard about this 'treatment'...but I didn't find much about it when doing some googling. Surely with all these EU rules, regulations and restrictions they would not be allowed putting such a stuff on food !!??...and what would those chemicals do to us?!
I didn't find much about it...what I did found was about ethylene gases that are used in storage, gasses that will inhibit sprouting and ripening...not very good for normal potatoes but it is used for sweet potatoes and other crops. I wonder if this is what we've been heard of being 'the treatment'?
It certainly doesn't have that long lasting effect once out of storage. My spuds have sprouted into growth in record time...too early perhaps? 
Now I must find out more about it..must get this itch to know out of my system...

[gardenqueen]

I am intrigued by what you are calling slips and would like to have a go! How much of the potato skin do you take with a slip?

[goodlife]

I am intrigued by what you are calling slips and would like to have a go! How much of the potato skin do you take with a slip?

Only a tiniest little sliver...not much more than what is size of end of the slip...or what ever little bit of skin the new growth is attached to.
I usually put knife against the point where the new growth is attached to...and instead of cutting the 'sprout/slip' off I just wedge the blade in between, gently apply some pressure and allow it all snap off 'naturally'. What ever is attached to the end of the slip can stay on.
I suppose you could take little slice off from potato too...I just never have tried that way. I do both, sweet potato and normal potato growth same way as most of the first roots will emerge from that small area at the bottom end of the slip/sprout stem. Often you can see those first nodules swelling already on the stem that will later on stretch out to become roots.

Edit to add...actually I don't think that you even need any of the old potato being in touch with new plants..allowing some to be attached is just way of securing you've got all the 'sprouted' surface intact (where the new independent roots will emerge)

[gardenqueen]

Thanks for that information Goodlife.  I presume the benefit of slips is that you can get more for your money?

[goodlife]

Thanks for that information Goodlife.  I presume the benefit of slips is that you can get more for your money?

Yep...one tuber is capable of producing dozens individual plants...low cost way of getting them, good thing if one has plenty of room to fill. One  sweet potato is much cheaper to buy than getting hold of established plant or buying some slips.

[gardenqueen]

I am getting quite excited about trying this out now. Will let you know how I get on! 

[Plot22]

 A week ago I bought a bag of organic sweet potatoes from a Sainsburys where I do not normally shop. I soaked them in tepid water for a couple of hours and scrubbed them before sticking in the toothpicks and putting 3 of them in separate glasses of water on a windowsill in a spare bedroom. I have just checked them and I have tiny roots just starting on all 3. Yesterday I used root trainers to plant 4 of my own cuttings from one of my last years potatoes which I bought from T & M. I have never used root trainers before so I found them a bit fiddly to set the cuttings in but got round it eventually.

[French-Dream]

Been busy since the start of the year, so only just catching up with everything....



Taken two of the slips off, one last week, t'other yesterday and popped them in the same jar...as you can see the one on the right now has roots.

[goodlife]

Gosh!...that is lot of 'development' And the growth looks nice and strong too.

My 'spuds' are out of propagator..again...and this time all the 'sprouts' are happy about it, they are that little bit bigger that they don't mind the change in the environment...there is even one that is almost 2" long!...and 'millions' little eyes that are starting to show first leaves forming It seems that once the sweet potatoes decide what they are going to do...there is no stopping them.
Weather here is very dull, and not enough natural light so my potatoes will be 'sprouting' and growing under grow lamps...another week or so and I'll be taking first slip or two off into water too