Carefully twist them off the slips to separate them from the tuber. For more information, check out this article on starting sweet potatoes from Clemson University. You can also weigh down the plastic sheeting around the edges with rocks to keep out the cold air. Supermarket sweet potatoes are often sprayed with a chemical called “BudNip” that stops slips from sprouting. Sweet potato tubers bruise easily, so it’s better to use your hands. All you have to do is ensure that you get the right cultivar and a big enough container. Put the selected root in clean sand and cover with an additional 2 inches (5 cm. To keep the temperature regular, you may need to place the jar in a sunny window and replace cooler water with warm water 2 times every day. Be gentle when handling the potatoes, like when moving, them to and from storage. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But first, you have to separate them into individual slips. And since they multiply quickly, they can be hard to control and eliminate. Plant them at least 3 to 4 weeks after the last frost, when it’s nice and warm. But with a few planters and a bit of ingenuity, you can grow them in small spaces. These encourage foliage growth at the expense of the tubers. You will know your sweet potatoes are ready for harvest when the leaves and vines start to turn yellow. The sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, is a large, starchy, sweet, tuberous root vegetable. “How to Grow Sweet Potato Slips in Containers” was first posted here. How to Grow Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera Deliciosa), Wildlife Habitat Trees: Growing Trees For Wildlife, Growing South African Bulbs: Learn About Bulbs From South Africa. And as with many foods, they are healthiest when grown organically. The temperature must stay above {[convert|50|F|C}} if you're leaving the bucket outside. % of people told us that this article helped them. Place the potatoes in a jar or container vertically and fill with water. This is the first rule when picking out a container to grow your sweet potatoes in. To grow your own slips for sweet potato container crops, select an unblemished, smooth root of about 1 ½ inches (4 cm.) We use cookies to make wikiHow great. This makes them less ideal for gardeners who grow their crops annually in containers or small gardens. Sweet potato plants prefer moist soil, but don’t like to sit in water. You can propagate sweet potatoes from tubers, or you can buy sweet potato “slips” (sprouts from tubers) from garden centers directly. You need sweet … The cuttings should be between 8 – 16 inches, with three to five growth buds. Once you’ve harvested all your sweet potatoes, you need to cure them. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Partial sun or a bit of afternoon shade in the hottest climates is best. Cold temperatures, even in maturity, could damage your yields. Location is key in ensuring the success of your potted sweet potatoes. This usually takes about 3 to 4 months, depending on the cultivar. Make a hole in the medium deep enough to cover the roots of the slips. However, there are also a few pests and diseases your plants might be susceptible to. The area should be able to support this extra weight. Cured potatoes can keep for up to 6 months. To start your slips, you need several healthy, clean sweet potatoes. Cutting sweet potatoes into pieces, then just planting them in the ground like potatoes, won’t work. Each root produces several slips. Sweet potatoes grow as a herbaceous perennial vine with long, tapered tuberous roots. This means that sweet potato slips should be started in mid-summer in most regions. Areas with southern exposures typically receive more sunlight, especially during winter. Sunlight and water are difficult to spread evenly between all 6 of the slips. Set aside any damaged potatoes to be eaten first. Place this in a warm sunny window or a shelf in the kitchen that stays moderately warm. Young slips are delicate and don’t like cold weather or frost. The best course of action if you notice weevils, is to destroy infected plants and their roots. They grow best at average temperatures of about 75°F with 30-39 inches of annual rainfall. Dig 6 evenly spaced trenches with your hands. Prepare the planters in the warm spring weather after any chance of frost has passed. You can use this for amazing landscaping effect – sweet potatoes vines and flowers are beautiful (and the leaves are edible!). There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This is natural. References. Once your sweet potatoes have sprouted, you have to separate them … Do this one to two weeks before breaking them off the mother sweet potato. This last option is certainly faster and more convenient, but if you have a sweet potato variety that you’d enjoy harvesting at home, propagating from tubers isn’t hard at all, it only takes a bit more time. Account for this when planting to prevent your crop from getting caught in the first fall frost. If they have, you might be able to ask them where you can get untreated sweet potatoes. Growing sweet potato bought from shop. Growing from Slips. Here’s what you need to do to grow sweet potatoes in containers: Sweet potatoes usually grow in sprawling vines. You can amend a growing medium with compost, sand, and high potash fertilizer to achieve an ideal blend. Amend your planting medium with plenty of compost to achieve a well-aerated mix. Check with local agricultural groups for their planting calendars to get a good idea when to plant the potato slips. Note: Like with any other seedlings, you need to harden off your sweet potato slips. In addition, you can also use outdoor-rated lamps to help warm up your sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are heat loving plants. Here’s what you need to do to protect your plants from the cold: Place your sweet potatoes against a sunny, south-facing wall in a wind-sheltered area. If you don't have a drill, you can use a sharp knife to cut holes into the bottom of the bucket, but be very careful not to cut yourself. Lay down the slips across the mound with the roots at the lowest end of the soil. To double check that the sweet potato is suitable to use, ask the farmer or booth worker if they’ve sprayed the potatoes with BudNip or other sprout inhibitor. Sweet potatoes are light feeders, but they do appreciate phosphorus and potassium. For farmers and gardeners, asexual reproduction is the most common method to propagate sweet potatoes. A good planting mix is compulsory when growing sweet potato slips in a container. Not seed potatoes like with regular potatoes. The curing process helps the potato flesh sweeten up. Place the sweet potato slips in a bowl with the bottoms submerged in water. Start sweet potato slips 6 weeks prior to planting out. To create sprouts, carefully wash your potatoes and cut them either in half or in large sections. cauliflower, cabbage, kale, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and similar green leaf vegetables, How to Grow Sweet Potato Slips in Containers, 11 of the Best Pumpkins to Grow for Pies, Puree, and Other Treats, Plant Leaf Identification: How To Tell Plant Leaves Apart. And as we know, sweet potatoes like full sun. How to Grow Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) from Seed, Pokeweed: How to Grow, Care for, and Use This Misunderstood Plant, Vines may spread up to 20 feet, with the tubers averaging between 4 and 6 inches long. You can plant sweet potato slips (rooted sprouts) in the garden, unless the weather is cold. (A 10-foot row will produce 8 to 10 pounds of potatoes.) Alternatively, you can go for a potato growing bag. The cuttings are very delicate, and will not keep for long. A sweet potato will start to grow "slips", which are stems with leaves. If you notice this, cover them with a bit of dirt to keep them out of direct sunlight. They also are popular as indoor plants, and can be grown inside year-round or just during the cold of winter. Simply lift the bag and dump the contents into a wheelbarrow. The tubers grow bigger when you keep the vines from growing too big. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Be sure to pick ones that are blemish and disease-free to produce healthy slips. By using our site, you agree to our. You can snap those off the mother sweet potato and plant those individual slips into the ground or in a large container in the home. However, shy away from plastic or metal containers. Usually, the soil temperature gets to 60°F after the air … Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 20,189 times. When the slips are ready, plant them in the containers. Thankfully, you can plant some varieties of the sweet potato in containers. The sweet potato plant is a hardy plant that can withstand most conditions. X Your spot should also be relatively warm to keep the growing sweet potato slips healthy. A single sweet potato tuber can sprout several dozen slips. When around 5", break slips off of sweet potato and plant out or root in water. Usually, it takes at least two weeks before the slips emerge from the top of the tuber. In the North, cover the raised rows with black plastic to keep th… Propagation using cuttings is only feasible if you have vines growing all year round. Thoroughly water the sweet potato slips and add more planting medium if the mix settles and drops too low. The misconception that sweet potatoes can only be grown in warm countries isn’t entirely true, since they can be grown in containers and kept indoors to keep the soil warm. But if you have limited space, this will not do. How to plant sweet potato slips Follow these simple steps to get your potting soil ready for your sweet potatoes: Tip: Occasionally, some sweet potatoes might peek through to the top of the soil. Plant these sweet potato cuttings at a slant. Follow the steps to propagate sweet potato slips from above. These are specially designed to provide root aeration and adequate drainage. Usually, the soil temperature gets to 60°F after the air temperature has been above 65°F for a few weeks. They spread across the ground, developing roots where the vines meet the dirt. For this method simply fill a seed tray with compost and lay the tuber on its side burying it between a third and half its depth. Rooted AND unrooted slips … Step Two: It is important to select the right container as all are not created equal. Plant the slips in an area with full sun. When the slips are ready, plant them in the containers. They can cause significant damage to your crops because they spread foot rot. They are full of essential vitamins and nutrients and are a great source of dietary fiber. And leave about 1 to 1.5 inches above the ground. Other common pests and diseases you might encounter are: Sweet potato weevils puncture the vines and tubers to lay their eggs. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Sweet potato vines like moderate moisture, but are sensitive to water-logging. They have brown, bark-like skin, and when cooked, have white starchy flesh. Thankfully, this is where the second sweet potato propagation method comes in! It also heals the small scratches and bruises on the skin for long term storage. Bonus Tips for growing sweet potatoes. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Here are the necessary steps to grow sweet potatoes in containers: Step One: Select a variety of sweet potato that is ideal for growing in containers. Wrap the rest individually in newspapers and pack them carefully in a basket or wooden box. How To Keep Your Cut Christmas Tree Safe & Looking Great All Through The Holiday Season! The sweet potato is a large, sweet-tasting root of the morning glory family. Each sweet potato can produce up to 50 slip sprouts. Research source The larvae tunnel and feed on the tubers while mature weevils mostly attack the vines and leaves. Sweet potato vines are hardy and will grow in zones 8 through 11 on the USDA plant hardiness zones. Consult your local garden center, or seed and specialty catalog for more options. Sweet potatoes usually grow in sprawling vines. These work best and are cheaper compared to plastic or ceramic options. Propagation by stem cuttings is the quickest, most economical method of vine reproduction. Their bottom ends should be wet, but at least one to two inches of the tops need to reach above the water. Sign up and never miss awesome gardening tips and ideas. Planting sweet potatoes in containers. Mix in a generous amount of compost with your planting medium and ensure it’s mixed well. (Regular potatoes belong to the nightshade family). To cure your potatoes, keep them in a warm place (about 80˚F) at high humidity (about 90%) for two weeks. Thus, they are ideal for widespread cultivation. Mix in a slow releasing fertilizer into your potting mix to ensure even distribution. Work in a balanced organic fertilizer into your medium before planting your slips. It is important to have a …