Growing sweet potatoes

[PLUMPUDDING]

I'm sure we've talked about growing sweet potatoes from home grown slips somewhere, but I can't find the thread.

I've got a very well rooted sweet potato in a jam jar on the windowsill and it has nine 2 inch shoots which will make the slips.

Does anyone know if they send roots out from the bottom of these while they are still attached, or if they only grow after you take them off the tuber? Also how big should the shoots be before trying to detatch them, and should you grow them on in pots a bit before planting them out (in the greenhouse border in my case)?

[Nature's Babe]

I would separate them at about 6 inches long, plant in pots if they are this big already, only plant outside when all danger of frost is past, they need temps above 55 They can go straight into the garden once danger of frost is past in a sunny well drained spot, give plenty of water untill they are established

[PLUMPUDDING]

Thanks NB, I'm going to plant them in the greenhouse border as I don't think they will have enough warmth in the garden here for long enough to form any tubers.


I'l wait a bit longer to detatch the slips and pot them up as you suggest.

I don't mind experimenting with things when they haven't cost anything - well not more than one sweet potato anyway.

[Nature's Babe]

Like you I experiment, at the moment I am trying to grow gogi berries from seed, I just soaked some dried gogi berries and extracted the seeds cost negligable, seing as I am using my own compost.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Re the goji berries, I took some cuttings from a plant growing in a hedgerow near Doncaster which I identified as Duke of Argyle's Tea Tree, some ten years ago. It was only last year that I found out the other name for it is the goji berry. They have pretty purple flowers and small orange fruits, so I've had this new super fruit all this time without realising it. It is very easy to take cuttings, they root very readily, so I've no idea why they charge so much for the plants. And before anyone says it, it isn't woody nightshade, it is a tall shrub with long arching delicate branches.

[Nature's Babe]

Keep an eye on your gogi berries Plum pudding, they are the same family as tomatoes and I bought some before that were diseased which spread to my tomatoes
http://www.ehow.com/facts_6052383_disea ... plant.html

next on my wish list is the honeyberry.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Yesterday I lifted the first sweet potato plant growing in the greenhouse border and it had 12 oz of tubers on it. They were an assortment of shapes and sizes and some of them were a bit wiggly, but there were several good sized ones and all of them were usable. They would have probably kept on growing for a bit longer if I had left them, but I wanted to see how they had done.

They were much more tender than bought ones and they made two good helpings of nice mash when cooked.

I've about five more plants to harvest, so will keep my fingers crossed they have as good a yield.

I'll definitely be doing this again next year and perhaps give them a bit more t.l.c. now I know they are OK. and that one supermarket tuber can produce so many slips. Given a warmer summer they should do really well.

[pongeroon]

You have inspired me to have a go PP, we will have space in the tunnel. How did you get the sweet pot to root? Did you cut it up first? And did you pot up the shoots in the end, or put them straight into the border?

[PLUMPUDDING]

I chose a tuber that would sit in the neck of a jam jar of water with the base just in the water and left it on the windowsil. It sent lots of sprouts out and when they were making little roots at the base I pulled the new plants away. I potted half up and put the other half straight into the border as I wasn't sure what would suit them best. There didn't seem to be any difference, so I'll put them straight in the border next year. It is worth a try and if you've a bit of spare space you've nothing to lose.

[WestHamRon]

I chose a tuber that would sit in the neck of a jam jar of water with the base just in the water and left it on the windowsil. It sent lots of sprouts out and when they were making little roots at the base I pulled the new plants away. I potted half up and put the other half straight into the border as I wasn't sure what would suit them best. There didn't seem to be any difference, so I'll put them straight in the border next year. It is worth a try and if you've a bit of spare space you've nothing to lose.

Thank you for this post. I tried them in the past but thought they had to be more or less submerged in water (obviously they rotted).
I shall definitely try this method next spring.

[WestHamRon]

I've just seen in Suttons catalogue, the following offer.
6 pot-ready plants and 3 planters for £14.99.
I'm tempted but would like to hear if anyone else has tried these and has comments.