Topic: Sweet Potato Experiment!

[Doris_Pinks]

All 3 started on the same day, from the same bag of organic sweet potatoes.

Started off in same size jam jars, and are sitting next to each other on my kitchen windowsill.

The difference,
from left to right :-

Cut in half, pointy end up, other half, blunt end up, whole potato, blunt end in the water!!
Was curious to see if I could get more slips by cutting them in half! ;D

[Tora]

I was just going to start slips from a supermarket one (bought a bag of Kumara from Sainsbury's, reduced to 40p!).

So what is the best thing to do? When using a whole potato should I put the blunt end in the water?

Ones cut in half - did the one with the blunt end up produce more slips?

How often do I need to change the water?

Sorry to ask so many questions! :-[ I so love the texture and flavour of Kumara that I'm desperate to get slips from them. :D

[cambourne7]

my sweet potato has been out for 3 months and nothing

i have a few spikes that have formed over the last month but there till only 1-2 mm long  :'(

[Doris_Pinks]

Thats OK Tora, my first year for giving them a try so from my very scientific  ::) experiment I conclude...................
whole potato blunt end in water did the best,  and yes when cut in half, the one with the blunt end up is producing better looking and more slips.

I never had to change the water, but am topping up like mad at the moment, oh and they are in a south facing window.

Did them "a la" grow an avocado seed, toothpicks in the sides and bottoms in the water.

Loads of advice on this site if you "search" Sweet Potatoes, and the wikki is very informative too, thats where I have been gleaning my knowledge from! ;D

Cam, are they in a south facing window? If I get excess slips, maybe I could send you some in a month or so's time?

Hope this helps!!

Here's to us all having home grown sweet pots! ;D
DP

[cambourne7]

maybe thats the problem i have been changing the water every couple of weeks

[Jeannine]

Cambourne, I have just had a look at my soil experiment.I had put them in damp soil as per 1 option on the net. I bought a packet with 4 in, quite small and when I got home I found I had 2 fat large ones in the fridge so I planted them all. I have just had a peep in the soil,the 4 small ones have done nothing at all, the 2 fat ones are covered in roots. I wondered if the few to a bag deal are different in some way.

 XX Jeannine

[okra]

Very impressed with the number of slips obtained - I have only managed 4 from two sweet potatoes

[Eristic]

I'm using two cut-down plastic milk containers sitting on top of the web server. As soon as a shoot gets about 2" tall I rub it off and place it in a small container until it roots, usually a few days. Once rooted, they are potted into 3" pots and put outside with all the other seedlings, bringing them in on cold nights.

So far I have 6 rooted slips, all from the yellowy skinned tuber. The Red one is much slower getting started but is now producing a large number of small shoots.

I'm not so sure that it matters much which way up the tuber is stacked in the jar. It would normally lie down if left to its own devices, JUST LIKE ME.

[Doris_Pinks]

 ;D ;D ;D Eristic!

[Tora]

Thanks Doris ;)

I was just examining my Kumara potatoes and noticed that one of them has tiny what appears to be roots and a few tiny shoots already! ;D I'm going to put this one in a glass of water.

[Jitterbug]

Well done Doris Pinks !!

I have also been doing the Kumara which I also got from S and over the week-end noticed some little slips starting.  Also had whole tuber in water, pointed side up.  The other variety has been in the water for some time now and nada.  Will try and take some photos and post later in the week.  But they are no where as impressive as yours.

Jitterbug

[Kea]

Apparently they will also produce shoots if kept in hot water cylinder cupboard I assume in water.....not sure where I got this information I can't remember. I guess once the shoots form you don't leave them there too long or they will etiolate.

[allotmentering westie]

??? Now i see where i am going wrong, my husband bless him :-* did not say anything about being in a south facing window, i got them in the green house ::) I'll go and fetch them inside and wait for the magic :o

[Marymary]

I've got loads of slips off the one supermarket sweet potato I started off in February but mine are long trailing things - the longest nearly 3 foot which I have potted up.  Is it cos they are a different variety [no idea what mine are] or cos of lighting/heating?

[cambourne7]

i think thats the problem i changed the window and they were under a radiator when the shoots where starting to pop though but now the heating off there not getting the warmth.

Will give it more heat and see if that works.

Its going to be quite cool here tomorrow idea for digging so i will pop the heating on tomorrow morning.

Cambourne7

[Trixiebelle]

Thanks to this thread I've now got 9 potted in water ready to sprout  ;D Never grown them before!

Unfortunately I didn't have any toothpicks so I used to long knitting needles and skewered 3 on each ... which means ....







If I knock ONE over they ALL go down  ::)

[mc55]

My first one took ages to get going and in desperation I put 4 more (smaller) ones into water.  The big one produced two really good slips, but I don't think its going to do anything else.  One of the smaller ones has only just grown one root, but the smallest potato has around 12 slips developing on it  :o

They are on the attic windowsill - next to a window which is open more of less all the time, so I don't really think heat makes much difference.

Hoping to pot them up at the w/e and then will keep in brick greenhouse until the end of May.

[saddad]

I cheated and ordered 10 Beauregard slips from T+M yesterday...
 :-[

[Marymary]

 
Unfortunately I didn't have any toothpicks so I used to long knitting needles and skewered 3 on each ... which means ....







If I knock ONE over they ALL go down  ::)

Knit one slip one !!!!!!!!!!! :)

[Trixiebelle]

Cast 'em all off  the dining room table ;D