Topic: Sweet Potatoes

[jennym]

A chap on our allotment site grew them a while back.
He tried some under black plastic, and the crop was zilch.
The ones he put in the soil (nice soft good soil) did really well. They do have leaves like Morning Glory, but I don't think they are meant to climb, as the sweet potatoes grow underground like ordinary spuds. His leaves spread over a wide area of the ground. He planted them about 1 metre apart and the ground was covered with leaves by the end of the season. The size of them was like large baking potato size.
I hope this helps.

[Anne Robertson]

Jessevieve, when I got mine they were only twiggy things 5" long with a couple of leaves.

Caz, Thanks for the info. If I don't get a good crop then it will have been an expensive experiment, but that's what it's all about, trial and error.

Please Caz's OH, help her post some pics. Racing car Kits can be built any time whereas sweet potatoes are time specific.  :)
I'll try and keep you updated on progress.

[Icyberjunkie]

This is really interesting stuff people.  Please keep the postings going for I would love to find out your results and follow progress - especially if the self grown slips work.   Iain

[caz 406]

Hi, just an update on my SPs - they are still alive! They haven't grown very much but are a little bushier and appear healthy - but small. There were a few that the slugs had attacked and I thought would die but covered them with cut-off water bottles and they have all recovered  :D and are still growing - but very small.

How are everyone else's getting on?
Caz
p.s. still no pics - OH is keeping camera hostage in the garage so he can photograph progress of his "build"!! ::)

[Jesse]

Mine have started to sprawl a bit and although they've grown a fair bit they still look rather small, I don't hold much hope of them producing anything before the first frosts arrive. I'll try again next year but by producing my own slips and start them off much earlier under cloche protection. :-\

[westsussexlottie]

mine are over 1 metre long or tall - some sprawl and some climb. They are not very "bushy". Too early to say if I will get a crop this year but they do need a lot of watering.

[Robert_Brenchley]

How much leaf do they have? I'd be inclined to try them for that alone, given the way Namissa prizes potato leaf.

[westsussexlottie]

Not a great deal of leaves but a lot of stems.
You could grow lots to get leaves and plant them closer together if you were using them for leaves rather than tubers.
You can get around 20 clips off of one shop bought sweet potato so it could be a worthwhile crop.

[Diana]

Bushy v climbing

I think the wild ones scramble along the ground throwing out roots + therefore tubers where they root.

Because of the climate, growing up support, or over black plastic has been advised to stop the plant putting down too much root + trying to produce too many tubers (less tubers, but usable ones is the result).

As the TM ones appear to be bushier than the home produced slips, it's likely they've been bread to be more bushy + less sprawling + therefore more likely to produce a crop in the country/climate.

Hope that helps

D

[caz 406]

Ooooh - I've got about a foot of trailing foliage!  ;D ;D ;D
They are looking a lot bushier and one plant is trailing. None of them are more than a foot tall though.
Progress........

[westsussexlottie]

I guess it depends what you count as "usable".
The ones I got in previous years were quite small tubers but were delicious and no smaller than large new potatoes.
I think the secret is to give them lots of water to get them established and good heat levels.
I suspect the T & M slips are more productive - but personally I refuse to spend that much money on what we use as a non-essential crop.
Actually getting the tuber from the supermarket to produce slips is kind of magical - as they suddenly shoot up just as you think they aren't going to do anything at all!

[Aussie Chick]

Mine is about two foot, I planted it in a big pot so its sprawling over the top and onto the tomatoes. I don't know when I should take a slip, and how will we know when there is a good size tuber. I would hate for the plant to die off without me taking some healthy slips.. Please help!! thanks guys.

AC

[Anne Robertson]

Mine are sprawling along the pluck plastic, some about 3'.
Because they are under plastic I neglected to water them after the first 2 weeks! Hope this hasn't proved too detrimental.
I'm waiting for someone else to say they have harvested theirs before I look at mine ;D Will they be damaged by frost do you think?
I will try and grow my own slips next year as T&M were expensive.

[Aussie Chick]

Ok Silly question, how do i take slips off?

[Jessie]

I dug up one sweet potato plant yesterday to check their size, here is a photo with a 2p coin for scale. They're still quite small, although useable. Most of the sizing in sweet potatoes takes place in the last 2 or 3 weeks so those of you in the south might get a reasonable crop before the first frosts. The leaves on my plants have been slightly scorched by frost, watch the weather and get them covered if necessary.

[Anne Robertson]

They look lovely. Do you have to store them for a few weeks before eating them so thy develop their sweetness? not sure if I read this somewhere.

[Jessie]

I also read that somewhere ani. I'll be storing these for a few weeks before eating them and will report back with a taste verdict! ;D

[caz 406]

I know this sounds like a dumb question but when should you dig them up? Do you have to wait for the leaves to wither or do you just have a look or what??
Mine are trrailing really well now - at long last!  :)