sweet potatoes 09

[manicscousers]

these are what we can see, from the one cutting that survived overwinter, I'm taking twice as many cuttings this year  ;D

[manicscousers]

[bedrockdave]

is it ready for harvesting yet...Its my second time growing them ,last year they never did anything  but have masses of growth this year but don't know when to dig them up

[PAULW]

MS
When did you take the cuttings and where did you keep them overwinter.

[manicscousers]

bedrockdave, saddad usually takes his up in half term october, I think..I'll leave it a little longer, hope the frost doesn't touch it, I know they don't like cold.
paulw..I kept them in the small bedroom by the window, also on the dry side, took them about now, I've taken 3 off this plant today..the spare room is heated but only on low.

[PAULW]

MS
Thanks for that will give it a go

[manicscousers]

I started with 12 cuttings last year, Paul..v difficult to keep alive but I can kill mint  ;D

[Eristic]

All I've got is leaves.

[manicscousers]

there might be treasure underneath  ;D

[aggie]

manicscousers   You should read Ceres advice on Sweet potato on page 15, he and quite a few others give lots of advice on sweet potatoes. 

[saddad]

Mine are in the big greenhouse though... I sold some on to a plotholder who has them under plastic (black on the ground) and when we had a peak last week they were looking good.

[manicscousers]

when are you thinking of digging yours up, david?
do you wait until first frosts?

[saddad]

As you say October half term is about right... his under Plastic I'm worried the slugs will start nibbling as he's not here as often now it's coming to the end of the season...  :-\

[manicscousers]

will try to leave mine in, need to take more cuttings  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

You can use the leaves like spinach.

[manicscousers]

well, we finally dug up the sweet potato from a cutting..we got 4lb of roots  ;D
so, how long will they store for, we're keeping them in the little bedroom, slightly warm in a mesh bag  ???
leaving the other 3 in the ground for a couple more weeks, I think we're only going to get 'fingers' from them, I've taken 15 cuttings for next year  ;D

[thifasmom]

i just found this link hope it helps, and well done :)
http://www.ag.fvsu.edu/teletips/vegetables/161.cfm

[manicscousers]

thanks, thifasmom, just got to find somewher in the house that's 85 degrees now we haven't got an airing cupboard any more  ;D
just would like some for Christmas dinner  :)

[flowerlady]

I have just discovered I have a sweet spud with 3" growth on it ... how can I preserve it to plant and grow on next year ??  :-\

[manicscousers]

I don't know if it will work, flo but we've put some of the roots with roots(the small ones) in some compost, just to see how they go  :)