How to Grow and When to Harvest your Sweet Potatoes
Did you know that you can grow your own sweet potatoes right in your backyard? It’s really easy to do. I’ll also share some tips on how to Grow and When to Harvest your Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet potatoes are a warm-season vegetable, which means they should be planted after all danger of frost has passed. They can be grown in most parts, as long as the growing season is long enough. Sweet potatoes need about 100 days to mature, so make sure to check your local frost dates before planting.
To plant sweet potatoes, you can start with slips. Slips are young sweet potato plants that are grown from mature sweet potatoes. You can purchase slips from a garden center or online. Alternatively, you can grow your own slips. One method is by placing a sweet potato in a jar of water with the pointy end up. Place the jar in a warm, sunny location, and wait for the sweet potato to sprout. Once it has sprouted, you can then plant the slips in the ground. Learn how to grow sweet potato slips here.
Tips for Growing and Harvesting Sweet Potatoes
1. The correct time to plant sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a delicious and nutritious root vegetable that can be grown in many different climates. However, unlike other vegetables, sweet potatoes have a very specific growing season. In order to ensure a successful harvest, it is important to plant sweet potatoes at the correct time. The best time to plant sweet potatoes is in late spring or early summer. This allows the plants enough time to mature before the first frost. If you live in an area with a long growing season, you can plant sweet potatoes as late as June. However, if you live in a climate with a shorter growing season, it is best to plant sweet potatoes in May. By following these simple guidelines, you can enjoy a delicious harvest of sweet potatoes.
2. Make sure your soil is prepared correctly before planting sweet potatoes
It’s no secret that sweet potatoes are one of the most delicious and versatile vegetables out there. But did you know that they’re also relatively easy to grow? If you’re thinking about adding sweet potatoes to your garden, there are a few things you need to do to prepare the soil. First, sweet potatoes prefer loamy or sandy soil that is high in organic matter.
This means that you should add compost or other organic materials to your soil before planting. Second, sweet potatoes need a pH of 6.0-7.0 in order to thrive. You can test your soil’s pH with a simple kit from your local nursery or garden center. Finally, sweet potatoes require a lot of phosphorus in order to produce healthy vines and delicious tubers. You can add phosphorus to your soil by using bone meal or rock phosphate. With a little preparation, you’ll be on your way to harvesting your own bumper crop of sweet potatoes in no time!
3. Plant the sweet potato slips
There’s no denying that sweet potatoes are delicious. But what many people don’t realize is that growing them is a bit different from growing regular potatoes. For starters, you can’t just stick a sweet potato in the ground and hope for the best. Instead, you need to grow sweet potato slips. These are small sprouts that are grown from mature sweet potatoes. Once you have your slips, you can plant them in the ground or in a container. Just make sure they have plenty of room to grow, as sweet potatoes can get quite large. With a little care and patience, you’ll soon be enjoying delicious sweet potatoes fresh from your own home.
Most vegetables are started from seed, but sweet potatoes are a notable exception. Rather than planting seeds, sweet potatoes are started from slips–rooted shoots that are grown from a mature sweet potato. You can either grow your own slips or purchase them from a nursery or garden center. If you grow your own at home make sure the slips are about 6 inches long, so you can plant them in the garden. With a little patience and some tender loving care, you’ll soon be harvesting your own fresh sweet potatoes.
Planting sweet potatoes is a bit different than your average vegetable. Instead of just sticking them in the ground, you need to take a few extra steps to ensure they take root properly. First of all, you’ll want to plant the slips deeply, burying them up to the top leaves. Then, you’ll need to space the plants 12-18 inches apart. Finally, water them well and feed them with a starter solution high in phosphorus if your ground lacks. This may seem like a lot of work, but it’s worth it when you bite into a delicious, homegrown sweet potato.
4. Allow the vines to grow for larger sweet potatoes
If you’re looking for sweet potatoes that are big and sweet, then you’ll want to allow some vines to grow. That’s right, those pesky vines that seem to take over your garden can actually produce larger sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a type of tuber, and they respond well to being crowded. So, if you allow a few vines to grow unchecked, you’ll end up with some extra-large sweet potatoes. Just be sure to check the soil periodically to make sure it’s not getting too dry. And, of course, you’ll need to be prepared to deal with a bit of a tangled mess come harvest time. But it will all be worth it
6. When to harvest sweet potatoes
As anyone who has ever grown sweet potatoes can attest, they are a delicious and versatile addition to any meal. But in order to enjoy their full flavor, it is important to harvest them at the right time. Sweet potatoes are typically ready to harvest about 90-120 days after planting. However, the exact timing will depend on the variety of sweet potatoes and the growing conditions. For example, if the weather is particularly hot or dry, the sweet potatoes may mature early. Conversely, if the weather is cool or wet, they may take longer to mature. As a general rule of thumb, it is best to begin checking for sweet potatoes when the plants start to die back. Once the leaves have turned yellow and begun to wilt, they are usually ready to be harvested. At this point, simply dig up the tubers and enjoy your delicious crop!
7. Harvesting sweet potatoes the correct way
As any sweet potato aficionado knows, harvest time is the most important time of year. After all, it’s when you finally get to enjoy the fruits (or vegetables, as the case may be) of your labor. But if you don’t harvest your sweet potatoes correctly, you could end up with a disappointing crop. Here are a few tips to ensure a successful harvest:
- First, wait until the leaves of the plant have begun to yellow or brown. This is a sign that the potatoes are mature and ready to be harvested.
- Second, use a sharp knife or garden fork to loosen the soil around the potatoes. This will make it easier to pull them out without damaging them.
By following these simple tips, you can ensure a bountiful harvest of delicious sweet potatoes.
8. Curing sweet potatoes before storing
Before you can enjoy a delicious sweet potato casserole or fries, you need to cure your sweet potatoes. Curing helps to heal any wounds and also prevents rotting. It is best to cure sweet potatoes in a warm, humid environment. You can do this by placing them in a box or bag with holes for ventilation and setting them in a warm, humid environment for 10-14 days. The ideal temperature is 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity should be around 90%. After curing, sweet potatoes can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months. So if you want your sweet potatoes to taste their best, be sure to cure them before storing them away for the winter.
By following these simple tips, you can enjoy delicious homegrown sweet potatoes all year long. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start growing!
-Lana 🙂
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