Sweet potatoes are a nutritious and delicious addition to any garden. They’re high in fibre, vitamins, and minerals, and their impressive adaptability makes them suitable for different gardening styles and climate zones. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to grow and harvest sweet potatoes.
Choosing Your Sweet Potato Varieties
Sweet potatoes come in many varieties, each with unique flavors, colours, and textures. Some popular ones include ‘Beauregard’ (known for high yields and disease resistance), ‘Centennial’ (great for warmer climates), and ‘Georgia Jet’ (fast-maturing for colder regions).
Planting Sweet Potatoes
- When to Plant: Sweet potatoes are a warm-weather crop. Start them indoors 6 weeks before the last expected spring frost. Transplant them outdoors once the soil temperature consistently stays above 60°F.
- Slips: Sweet potatoes are grown from ‘slips’—small sprouts grown from mature sweet potatoes. You can buy slips or grow your own.
- Soil Preparation: They prefer loose, well-drained soil. If your soil is heavy clay, consider growing sweet potatoes in raised beds filled with a mix of garden soil and compost.
Caring for Sweet Potato Plants
- Watering: Keep the soil consistently moist, but not waterlogged. Once established, sweet potatoes can handle dry spells, but regular watering leads to the best yield.
- Weeding: Regularly weed your sweet potato beds. Weeds compete for nutrients and can lead to smaller yields.
- Mulching: Mulch the soil around the plants to conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and keep the soil warm.
Harvesting and Storing Sweet Potatoes
- When to Harvest: Harvest sweet potatoes when the leaves start to yellow, typically 100-140 days after planting.
- How to Store: Cure sweet potatoes in a warm, humid area for about 10 days to improve their flavor and extend their storage life. After curing, store them in a cool, dry place.
Growing sweet potatoes can be a rewarding process. With a bit of care and patience, you’ll be able to enjoy a plentiful harvest from your garden!