Sweet Potatoes

From Open Source Ecology
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

Temperature

  • Cannot handle cold
  • Can handle hot
  • Around 60 degrees fahrenhait ideal

Sunlight

  • Ideally in full sun

Water

  • During the first 2 weeks after planting, spray each plant with 10 seconds of water from a garden hose (1/2 diameter) at 50psi or equivalent volume of water.
  • After the first 2 weeks, spray each plant similarly as before but once a week if the weather has been dry.

Planting Timing

  • Plant after any risk of frost.
  • Planting with frost coming later is situationally ok because the water inside a grown sweet potato causes a moderating effect that enables the plant to last in the cold longer than it would normally as a new split.
  • Beauregard sweet potatoes are harvest-ready in 90 days.
  • Centennial sweet potatoes are harvest-ready in 100 days.

Planting Material

  • Sweet potatoes grow from splits, thin root-like things.
  • If you cut a sweet potato in half then submerge it in water, the splits will grow.

Spacing

  • Plant sweet potatoes 2-4 inches below the topsoil surface
  • Plant sweet potatoes 12-18 inches apart in rows
  • Plant the rows at least 2-3 ft apart

How to Plant

  • Till the ground to loosen the soil
  • Make holes in the soil in rows and put the splits into them
  • Cover the holes with soil and lightly tamp them