Allotments 4 All

Has anybody grown sweet potatoes? I have not see them in the garden centre or Dobbies catalogue. Are they easy to grow? Do they need any special looking after? What was the harvest like? Sorry to ask so many questions but I'm really keen to grow them if poss.

I grow them in a greenhouse... each year. Last year I got 10kg from 8 slips. Slips are expensive to buy @£1 each but lots of people on here grow there own.
T+M are the only supplier I know of...
:)

 Thanks I'll go on line for a T&M catalogue. Do they need any special attention?

Other than a long season and keeping out of frosts no...  :)

I grow my own slips and have the plants outside.  I think I had around 5-6 kilos from 4 plants last year.

Perhaps I should feed mine up a bit then Ceres...  :-[

I didn't feed mine.  I make your yield per plant approx. the same as mine?

Yes, but yours are outside...  :-\

Oh, I see!  But then I'm in the balmy south  ;)

How long do you keep them in for? I'm growing them for the first time this year - they look good. Some (possibly furry and rodent like) creature dug down beside one so wonder if something is growing that they want to eat!

They need a very long growing season - 5 frost-free months.  I lifted them in November last year.  I fleeced them for the last few weeks.

What do you mean "you grow your own slips"?  ???Did you not buy them? sorry to sound ignorant, but i know nothing about sweet potatoes, except the are great to eat!!

Growing slips:  buy a supermarket sweet potato (I get mine going in January), look for one that is large, firm and has lots of 'eyes'.  Work out which is the top end of the potato, usually the long thin end of the tuber (like a parsnip) will have been broken off - that's the bottom.  Push 3 wooden cocktail sticks into the tuber evenly spaced around the potato and half way between the top and bottom.  Suspend the bottom half of the potato in a jar of water by balancing the cocktail sticks on the rim.  Put the jar in a bright warm place (important).  Keep the water topped up.

Initially the potato will grow thin fibrous roots into the water.  Then small shoots will appear from the top of the potato.  (If you got the potato the wrong way round, you'll get shoots growing in the water - just turn it the right way up.)  When each shoot is around 4-5" long. carefully peel it off the potato with a sliver of skin attached and put the end into a glass of water.  It will very quickly grow roots and can then be potted up.  It will keep producing slips until the potato is exhausted, I get at least 20 off each potato.  Keep the potted slips it in a warm bright place until all risk of frost is gone, then harden off and plant out.  They need a long growing season so need to go in the ground as early as possible.

This is the way that works for me.  Others on here have different methods that don't involve suspending the potato in water and/or don't root the slips in water before potting on.

Sounds good to me Ceres. Will give that a try in January. About how long before they produce the fibrous roots? It sounds as though they are quite productive, Ive got a small raised bed i can use.

I think it very much depends on the light and warmth for when roots then slips appear.  I don't record when the roots appear but from memory it's in the first 4 weeks.

Thanks I'll mark on next years calender to buy a sweet potato in January and do as you advised. I would like to have printed out your info but i don't think you can print off the Forum, so I will have to write it out in long hand. :(

If it's not too late, Aggie.....I cut and paste stuff like these instructions, recipes etc, drop them into Word and print from that, I save them in Word too so I don't have to search through old posts.

Thanks small,  I haven't copied it yet been so busy in the veg garden i have not had time. I will put them into word, thanks for the advise. My runner beans are going crazy cannot keep up with them.

Just for info there is this earlier thread.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,49018.msg495519.html#msg495519

MP

Thanks MP,
  Sounds very complicated to me i think i might cheat and buy slips from T&M and try the method you have recommended that way i shall at least have sweet potatoes next year!! With a bit of luck :D :D