sweet potatoes 2011

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Carollan

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #120 on: July 13, 2011, 22:09 »
I have 3 slips rooted and potted on.....is it too late to put them outside in bigger pots? they don`t seem to keen to grow very fast and the mummy sweet potato has rotted and died in the water ,should I have raised it so only the roots were in the water? :(

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Trillium

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #121 on: July 14, 2011, 03:16 »
You could try planting it in a cold frame or greenhouse. Its a bit late to plant outside.

And yes, only half the sweet potato should be in water so the sprouts can shoot at the upper dry end. I've had one going for almost 2 years but it finally petered out.

Sometimes they root very slowly, like mine did, so this year I'll start one in December and perhaps I'll have shoots for April. Others, like Jay, get them sprouted right away  :tongue2: Perhaps its all the threats that do it  ;)

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JayG

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #122 on: July 14, 2011, 10:17 »
You could try planting it in a cold frame or greenhouse. Its a bit late to plant outside.

And yes, only half the sweet potato should be in water so the sprouts can shoot at the upper dry end. I've had one going for almost 2 years but it finally petered out.

Sometimes they root very slowly, like mine did, so this year I'll start one in December and perhaps I'll have shoots for April. Others, like Jay, get them sprouted right away  :tongue2: Perhaps its all the threats that do it  ;)

The only thing I might have done differently was to soak the potato in a bucket of cold water for 24 hours in an attempt to remove any anti-sprouting chemicals it might have been sprayed with, but it seems that didn't work for some who tried it.

No secrets and no threats involved on this occasion (there aren't that many different ways of sticking cocktail sticks into a spud and suspending it in water!)

The potato had a "produce of Portugal" sticker on it if that's any help (I daresay there are many different varieties out there; maybe this just happened to be one of the easier ones.)
Sow your seeds, plant your plants. What's the difference? A couple of weeks or more when answering possible queries!

One of the best things about being an orang-utan is the fact that you don't lose your good looks as you get older

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Thephoenix572

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #123 on: August 03, 2011, 11:25 »
Something seems to be eating the leaves on my sweet potato plant from the root outwards.  What could it be and how to I get rid of them.  The sweet potato affected is in the greenhouse
All the way from my allotment in beautiful Derbyshire. I'm in year 3 of my allotment and wish I'd caught the bug years ago, things growing from strength to strength

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Trillium

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #124 on: August 04, 2011, 21:15 »
No idea what pest is eating the leaves, but if you have any sulfur powder, dust it with that, or any sort of soapy water which is what I do. Check often for any pest return.

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Thephoenix572

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #125 on: August 05, 2011, 17:34 »
I'll try some soapy water. Thanks

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Thephoenix572

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #126 on: August 13, 2011, 14:16 »
Should sweet potatoes poke through the soil? One of mine is doing

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Thephoenix572

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #127 on: August 14, 2011, 11:18 »
Trillium can you help me. I can see sweet potatoes sticking through the soil in my greenhouse. Mine were started from plants, do I need to earth up?

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Trillium

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #128 on: August 14, 2011, 16:33 »
There should be adequate leaf cover for them but since yours are showing, earth them up only enough to just cover the tubers. Light actually doesn't harm them, but pests might.

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Thephoenix572

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #129 on: August 14, 2011, 21:50 »
Many thanks Trillium

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moam1

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #130 on: August 22, 2011, 07:25 »
I START MY SWEET POTATOES IN MARCH.in a heated propagator with about half inch of water.i find they root well in about two weeks.try this its a good way to grow them

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SusieB

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #131 on: August 29, 2011, 08:11 »
Moam1 - What do you start in a propagator in March?  An upturned sweet potato or some sort of slip? 

Early start does seem to be the key.  I bought well established plants from B and Q, which have worked well, but I want to avoid the cost next year.  I want to try and overwinter a slip or start really early like you are suggesting.

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Trillium

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #132 on: August 30, 2011, 16:23 »
You could always start a sweet potato in water now, Susie.

Simply push in 3-4 toothpicks in a circle around 1/2 the potato, and let the toothpicks suspend one end of the potato in a jar of water. Place in sunny, draft-free window. Keep jar topped up with fresh water. By early spring you should have many nice, large slips ready to pinch off and pot up.

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mumofstig

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #133 on: August 30, 2011, 17:08 »
Trillium, we are having nights hovering around 10C & 16/18C during the day  :( and it's not much warmer in the glasshouse where my plants are.
The leaves are beginniing to yellow and die back, is it harvest time already or will they still carry on growing in these low temps  :unsure:

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moam1

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Re: sweet potatoes 2011
« Reply #134 on: September 01, 2011, 07:26 »
SUSIEB .i cut my sweet potatoes in three or four bits place in heated prop with little water they root and start to grow very fast.i hope this helps susieb



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