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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: manicscousers on January 30, 2007, 19:52:57

Title: sweet potato article
Post by: manicscousers on January 30, 2007, 19:52:57
Ive just dug out the article I read from Kitchen garden magazine by Sue Strickland, oct 06
" use only healthy tubers..start them off by giving them hot, humid conditions.I put each tuber in a pot, just under the surface of moist well-drained gritty compost, and keep the pots in a propagator or on the central heating pipes-
aim for a temperature of 20-30c. keep the compost just damp but not sodden, and the shoots should eventually start to appear- I find this usually takes about three weeks or more in my conditions
Once a shoot gets to 23-25cm in length, pull it off gently from the tuber- it will often come away with a bit of root attached.
pot these shoots up as you would bought in slips, and keep them in warm conditions until planting"
" Sweet potatoes need about three or four months of warm days and nights to produce a reasonable crop of tubers"

hope this helps with all your sweet potato questions  ;D
Title: Re: sweet potato article
Post by: Kea on January 31, 2007, 17:09:51
Isn't it a bit early to start sweet potatoes now then if you have no green house and are going to grow them outside?
Title: Re: sweet potato article
Post by: okra on January 31, 2007, 18:05:54
Thanks for digging out the article, I will definetly give it a go.
Title: Re: sweet potato article
Post by: SKIP on February 01, 2007, 16:45:25
Thanks for putting this up, as I've been intruiged & fancy giving it a go ... any idea if varieties matter, can I use the tubers I bought at the grocers today instead of eating them?!
Title: Re: sweet potato article
Post by: manicscousers on February 01, 2007, 16:51:12
I just got 5 for 50p reduced at netto, I used bought tubers last year and will try them again this year  ;D ;D
Title: Re: sweet potato article
Post by: urbandruid on February 02, 2007, 09:38:30
Is it possible to cut sweet potatoes in half (before potting) to double the potential number of shoots, d'you think?

:) Steve.