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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Sweet Potatoes
A few sweet potato plants can produce a generous harvest! This nutritious, sweet-tasting root vegetable is heat-tolerant and pest-resistant. Here is everything you need to know about growing sweet potatoes.
Though commonly grown in the South because they require warm weather, northern regions can have success, too. See our advice on which varieties to choose below.
About Sweet Potatoes
The sweet potato is a tropical plant and is actually a member of the Morning Glory family. Compare a sweet potato vine鈥檚 foliage and flowers to those of morning glory, and you鈥檒l see the family resemblance! Despite their name, they are not related to potatoes, which are in the nightshade family. Another difference between sweet potatoes and 鈥渟tandard鈥 potatoes is that the edible portion of the sweet potato is a tuberous root, not a true tuber (which are technically modified plant stems).
This root vegetable has deep-orange flesh and a coppery skin jacket. Sweet potatoes are commonly served cooked in mashed form or roasted whole. They may also be used as pie filling.
This tropical crop needs at least 4 months of warm weather and warm soil, but they are drought- and heat-tolerant and have few pests or diseases. Although traditionally more of a Southern crop, there are many short-season sweet potato varieties today. They will grow in the North (even parts of Canada!) when grown in sandy soil or raised beds mulched with black plastic to keep the soil warm.
Sweet Potato Slips
Note that sweet potatoes are not grown from seed. Instead, they鈥檙e grown from slips, which are sprouts from existing sweet potatoes. Slips are often available at local garden centers and nurseries, from local farmers (such as farmers鈥 markets), or mail-order companies. Or you can start your own (see below).
Before you order slips, please make sure that you have a long enough growing season to grow sweet potatoes. Most varieties will take about 90 to 120 days to mature. See your frost dates and length of growing season. Also, ensure you time your order with your planting dates in mind!
Planting
Choose a sunny spot with well-draining soil. Sweet potatoes aren鈥檛 too picky, but they do prefer soil on the sandier side. They need plenty of air space in the soil for roots to reach down. Consider growing in raised beds if your soil is clay, rocky, or compacted.
Add compost, perlite, and/or coconut coir to the growing area to build fertile, loamy soil down to 8 to 10 inches. Avoid adding animal manure, including pelleted chicken manure; it can result in spindly and/or stained roots. Also, avoid heavy nitrogen fertilizers, which produce lush leaf growth at the expense of the edible roots!
When to Plant Sweet Potatoes
- Plant slips outdoors, 3 to 4 weeks after your last spring frost or once the soil has warmed to at least 65掳F (18掳C). Nighttime temperatures should be at least 55掳F (13掳C). The trick is to plant them early enough to have time to mature fully but not so early that they get killed by a late spring frost.
- Be sure to protect young sweet potatoes from late frosts or cool nights (lower than 55掳F/13掳C), as they are very tender. Cover them with plastic milk jugs or use row covers, removing the covers during the day.
- If you ordered slips from a mail-order source, unpack them right away. Stick the roots in water for a day or so, and they鈥檒l perk up. Plant them as soon as conditions are right.
Credit: Lex20/Getty Images.
How to Grow Your Own Sweet Potato Slips
You can start your own slips instead of buying them, but it鈥檚 more work. Here鈥檚 how:
- About 8 weeks before your last spring frost date, look for unblemished, smooth, organic sweet potatoes at the store or farmers market. Be sure to ask about the variety and check that it鈥檚 one you want to grow.
- Place the whole sweet potatoes in pots or bins that contain at least 3 inches of light, organic, well-draining soil. Leave an inch or two of space between each sweet potato.
- Lightly cover with a few inches of additional soil. Water now and as needed to keep soil damp but not soggy.
- Maintain the soil and the room at 75掳F to 80掳F in sunlight or under artificial lights. Use a heating mat if necessary; sweet potatoes respond well to warm temperatures.
- Soon, slips (shoots) will emerge from the soil.
- After about 6 to 8 weeks, the slips should be between 6 and 12 inches long, with a number of leaves and roots.
- Remove the slips from the sweet potatoes with roots attached. (If no roots have formed on the slip itself, remove the slip and place it in water; roots should appear in 1 to 2 weeks.)
- If it is still too soon to plant outdoors, stand the slips in potting mix or sand and keep them moist until the right planting time (3 to 4 weeks after the last frost).
- Harden off the slips (before planting outdoors) for 1 to 2 weeks by exposing them to filtered sunlight outdoors during the day.
How to Plant Sweet Potatoes
- Create raised mounds 6 to 8 inches tall and about 12 inches wide.
- Plan 3 feet between mounds so there is enough space for vines to run.
- Plant the slips on a warm, overcast day when the soil temperature has reached 60掳F (15掳C).
- Break off the lower leaves, leaving only the top ones.
- Set the slips deep enough to cover the roots and the stem up to the leaves. Sweet potatoes will form on the nodes.
- Water with a high-phosphorus liquid fertilizer, then water generously for 7 to 10 days to make sure that the plants root well.
Growing
- Side-dress the sweet potato plants 3 to 4 weeks after transplanting with 5-10-10 fertilizer. If you have sandy soil, use more.
- Weed the sweet potato beds regularly, starting 2 weeks after planting.
- Avoid deep digging with a hoe or other tool that disturbs the delicate feeder roots.
- Water regularly, especially during mid-summer. Deep watering in hot, dry periods will help to increase yields.
- Do not prune sweet potato vines; they should be vigorous.
- Late in the season, reduce watering to avoid cracking of the sweet鈥檚 skin鈥攁 problem in storage.
Credit: Getty Images.
Growing Sweet Potatoes in Containers
Bush-type sweet potato plants are ideal for container growers. The vines that they produce are short and compact, not sprawling like typical sweets鈥攂ut the roots are full size, not miniatures.
While slips mature, prepare a large container or tub. (A too-small container can result in small, curly sweets or fewer than hoped for.) A 10-gallon container can support two or three sweet potatoes; a 20-gallon one, four to six. A half-barrel container (20 to 25 gallons) is ideal. Place the container where it will receive full sunlight every day. (It will be heavy to move once filled and planted.)
Sweets like moist but not wet soil; the medium must be well-draining and rich; sweets are also heavy feeders. Provide potting mix amended with compost, sand, bonemeal (for potassium), and wood ash (for potash). Minimize nitrogen or risk producing heavily leafy tops and spindly roots. If you purchase a bush variety, soak the roots in water for a few hours before planting.
Plant slips 3 to 4 weeks after the last spring frost, when the soil has warmed to 65掳F and nighttime temperatures are at least 55掳F. Mulch with black plastic before and during the season, if necessary, to capture or retain heat. Set slips 4 inches deep on a bed of compost, then cover up to their bottom leaves. Water with a high-phosphorus liquid fertilizer (5-10-10) for 7 to 10 days to ensure that the plants root well.
Harvesting
- You can start digging up the roots when they are big enough for a meal.
- Harvest when the leaves and ends of the vines have started turning yellow or about 100 days from planting.
- Loosen the soil around each plant (18 inches around, 4 to 6 inches deep) to avoid injuring the roots. Cut away some of the vines.
- Pull up the plant鈥檚 primary crown and dig the roots by hand. Handle the sweet potatoes carefully, as they bruise easily.
- Shake off any excess dirt; do not wash the roots.
- Complete harvesting by the first fall frost.
How to Cure and Store Sweet Potatoes
- Curing sweet potatoes gives them a sweet taste and also allows a second skin to form over scratches and bruises.
- Handle sweet potatoes carefully; they bruise easily.
- To cure, store roots in a warm place (about 80掳F) at high humidity (about 90%) for 10 to 14 days. A table outside in a shady spot works well. Arrange sweet potatoes so that they are not touching.
- After curing, discard bruised sweet potatoes, then wrap each one in newspaper.
- Carefully pack in a wooden box or basket. Store in a root cellar, basement, or the like with a high humidity at 55掳 to 60掳F.
- The roots should last in storage for about 6 months.
Cooking Notes
Relatively low in calories, sweet potatoes are very nutritious, a top source of beta-carotene, and contain some protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C, and other minerals. They can be stored longer than winter squash.
To cook, sweet potatoes are easier than pie (or sweet potato pie!).
- They can be scrubbed, poked with a fork in a few places, and baked at 400掳F for 35 minutes to 1 hour, until they give a bit when you squeeze them in your pot-holder鈥損rotected hand.
- In the microwave, a whole sweet potato baked on high should be ready in 4 to 6 minutes. It may still feel firm when done; let it stand for about 5 minutes to soften.
- Sweet potatoes can also be steamed whole (cleaned and unpeeled) for about 40 minutes or until tender or cooked whole (cleaned and unpeeled) in boiling salted water for about 35 minutes. (Boiling reduces the flavor considerably.)
- Immerse cut raw sweet potatoes in water until you’re ready to cook them; they will darken otherwise.
As a general rule, don’t substitute sweet potatoes for regular potatoes in recipes; the two aren’t related. Sweet potatoes don’t hold together the way potatoes do, and their strong flavor can overwhelm a dish meant for a milder potato taste. Sweet potatoes are also not related to yams. But they make a fine substitute for pumpkin, especially in desserts.
Check out our ten best sweet potato recipes!
Catherine Boeckmann
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Hi,
I am wanting to try to plant sweet potatoes this year. We tried last year and all of the rain in WV just ruined so many of our crops, it was not a good year. I live in North Central WV - zone 6. When would you suggest planting the slips and any tips to keep them thriving?
For planting times for sweet potatoes in your area, please see the following page and input your zip code. This will tell you the best times to plant according to frost dates from the nearest weather station in your area.
/gardening/planting-dates/
For advice on growing sweet potatoes, please see our article above. Also, you might be interested in this audio clip from the West Virginia University Cooperative Extension:
http://marshall.ext.wvu.edu/ag-minute/2014/5/22/sweet-potatoes
Hope you have a great crop this year!
Last fall I harvested my sweet potatoes and set them in my warm basement to cure before moving to cool location. I forgot to move them out of the warm basement. They started growing lovely vines. Not knowing what to do I put the sweet potatoes halfway in water. The vines kept growing so I cut some off and rooted in water. I just cut the rest off the potatoes (which were starting to get soft) and stuck them in water. Can any of these be used to grow my new crop this year? If so, do I just keep them in water until it is time to plant outside in Pennsylvania?
Hi Jill,
Yes, you can use your slips for planting. When the roots are about an inch long the slips are ready to plant. While you are waiting for the garden soil to warm up make sure to keep the water fresh and discard any slips that are not producing roots or look like they are wilting. To speed things up you can cover a section of your garden with black plastic to warm the soil and then you can cut holes in the plastic to plant the slips. Make sure the soil is nice and loose before covering it with the plastic.
started to grow our first lot of vegies in our new garden beds bet the most of the vegies whent to seed in stead of harting up way would they do this
Vegetables can sometimes go to seed early if the weather gets too warm, or the plants are stressed in some way. Check for pests, diseases, or other damage, and make sure that the plants are getting enough light, water (but not too much), and nutrients.
Hi, I am trying to grow a sweet potato in water for the first time. I have tons of roots but nothing is happening on the top. Why am I not getting any stems or leaves?
Make sure that the sweet potato has not rotted. Also, you might try placing it in a warmer environment. Sometimes it takes a while for them to sprout, but they like to be cozy warm.
Hi, im sorry to disturb you all, but have a ?? Why chilling injury for sweet potatos can contribute to"hardcore", a condition in which the root center remains hard even when cooked? All that found in McGhee encyclopedia, but can understand why?
Chilling injury occurs when sweet potatoes are exposed to temperatures between 32 and 55掳F. The ideal storage temperature for sweet potatoes is 55 to 60掳F. Hardcore is a physiological disorder. It can develop when sweet potatoes are exposed to 50掳F for as little as 3 days or in a single day if exposed to 35掳F.
