Sweet Potato Time - 2013

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Trillium

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Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« on: January 02, 2013, 16:43 »
For those interested in growing sweet potatoes, now is the time to get your tubers started. On Boxing Day, (Dec. 26th) I put one sweet potato (pointy side up) supported with toothpicks in a jar of water and am looking around for a container to set another potato in for a different start up method.

Most store bought sweet potatoes have been sprayed with growth inhibitors so you need time to get the potato to sprout which is why we start them now. A few potatoes will be inhibitor free and will sprout quickly, which puts you ahead of the game.

For those in cool climates like Canada and the UK, we need to grow them in either glass greenhouses, covered polytunnels or in containers. Sweet potatoes are tropical and must have 4 months of actual heat. So, if you feel containers are better for you, then fit them with casters so you can easily roll them into the house if cold weather or excessive rains threaten. In one of the videos below, they grow them in pallet containers they've built and show the process in a site video.

For those new to the process, or just interested in more information, I found a few excellent youtube videos that explain (and show) things better than I can.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtsC7SglFxs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow3C5UbxnFs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA5BXDQis-g


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSHFGdJgj-0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnWBiNdtt_E
« Last Edit: December 12, 2018, 09:08 by mumofstig »

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Peas let my pumpkins grow

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2013, 17:39 »
Hi Trilium,
I'm quite proud to say that I've already got 2 sweet potatoes on the go! But erm.... I put them pointy side down . Iseemed to remember my gran doing it that way years and years ago but i may be imagining it  :unsure: I ve never tried before and have a couple of tiny sprouts - should I turn them over?? Or will it still work that way up?

Also one of the SP's was a bit old and shrivelled by the time I remembered to put it in water but looks ok now. Should I carry on with it or get a fresh one and start over?

Unfortunately my Internet isn't fast enough right now to watch the videos you posted  :blush: but hopefully someone on here can give me a little guidance !

Thanks in advance  :)

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Trillium

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2013, 19:51 »
If the sweet potato is sprouting, then just leave it as is. But normally, the pointy end up yields sprouts sooner. The point is to just plain get the sprouts going  :lol:

A lot of folk used to believe pointy end down was the way to go but most growers find it's the other way round.

Old potatoes will usually work in water as well since they're rehydrating. As long as it's not so thoroughly dried out like crust, you might be surprised.  One grower shows her sweet potato started in the spring of 2011 and it was still sprouting in 2012 for her.

The videos showed a few different ways to start sweet potatoes and how to pull off the slips (sprouts) and get them started in water then potted on. Another 2 videos are from France where the person built growing bins out of pallet wood and grew their sweet potatoes in their greenhouse, which yielded quite well for them. Hastings, the chicken, also did a fair bit of commentary  :blink:

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Peas let my pumpkins grow

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2013, 20:04 »
Ok thanks  ;) ill just leave them going then and do the other way round next time. Oh and if you don't find another jar in time I used a 2litre pop bottle cut in half .

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ThatsNice

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2013, 21:34 »
I read through last years thread earlier today, so pleased there is a new thread for this year  ;)

I haven't grown anything yet, as waiting for keys to my allotment still but I am really excited to give this a go as i have a greenhouse at home so will keep the sweet potatoes in that rather than take them down the lotty  8)
My Diary Blog : The Journey from Jungle to ......

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=101088.0 

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ThatsNice

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2013, 16:18 »
Have got three sweet potatoes in water now. One is a white flesh sweet potato that os longer and thinner than the others. Same regime as for regular sweet potatoes?

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Trillium

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2013, 17:58 »
Far as I know, there shouldn't be any difference in sprouting treatment. The white sounds interesting and I'll look forward to hearing how it tastes.

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lucywil

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2013, 17:08 »
I decided last year that I would try this in 2013 but had completely forgotten until hubby just looked at the bag of sweet potatoes I had put in with this weeks shopping, "£1.35! You can try and sprout some of those and grow some more" were his words! I actually thought it was a good price but I am glad he reminded me!

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JayG

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2013, 17:26 »
I'm not growing them this year because I don't really like them that much.

In 2011 I appeared to have a "super-tuber" because it started producing roots within a week and the shoots started appearing after 2 weeks.

'Twas just an ordinary smallish sweet potato from Tossco but I did soak it in a bucket of cold water for 24 hours before "planting" it in its jar of water in case it had been sprayed with an anti-sprouting chemical.

Of course I have no way of knowing whether that made the difference for me or whether it would work for anyone else, but I thought I'd pass it on anyway as it won't do any harm.  ;)
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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Peas let my pumpkins grow

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2013, 21:31 »
I've got a shoot!  :) all my patience  ??? has paid off, point to note : checking them as soon as you wake up and just before bed everyday does not make them grow any faster!

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Herb

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #10 on: January 07, 2013, 18:49 »
I've got a spud in water now, last year's failed to sprout in time, so i have soaked this one in water for 24 hours first.

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eliza

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2013, 09:38 »
I've read all these posts and looked at some of the youtube links and I've been inspired. I'm away from home for a couple of days but will get started on my return. That fact that sweet potatoes can do well in dry conditions sounds hopeful as we live in the south of the Vendee, France and we usually get long,dry summers. How much space do they take up? Should I plant as for normal potatoes, assuming that I can get some to sprout? I will let you know how I get on.

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JayG

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #12 on: January 08, 2013, 10:05 »
They should do well where you are - not sure whether your question about planting "as for normal potatoes" is about spacing or how they are actually planted.

It's the shoots which are planted after snapping them off the tuber and setting in moist compost (like cuttings) to root, which happens remarkably quickly!

Trillium will no doubt be along later and might recommend something different, but I would suggest about 2' spacing, not so much because the tubers themselves take up that much space, but unlike potatoes the foliage tends to ramble quite extensively across the soil.

Edit: I've found a picture of my sweet potatoes growing in an old compost bag in the greenhouse - I suspect their plan was to smother the tomatoes and then take over the world!
Sweet potatoes 30-6-2011.JPG
« Last Edit: January 08, 2013, 11:38 by JayG »

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Trillium

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2013, 19:06 »
You need about 2 ft per plant simply because they put out a lot of top growth to shade their roots, and the top growth tends to travel a bit.  True, in the video clip, the person growing them in the box has jammed them into a grow box, but she didn't get nearly the yield she could if they were spaced out.

With lots of heat, they'll also make a lot of tubers, and I mean a lot, so they need the underground space as well. When it's nice and warm out, sweet potatoes need 4 months of actual heat to grow and the tubers swell in the final month. For UKrs, warm greenhouses or sheltered pots work best.

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mike0001

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Re: Sweet Potato Time - 2013
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2013, 20:57 »
I bought 2 today 1.40 for 2 from lidl, one has a root from the bottom

put just the bottom of it in water at 6pm tonight Jan 8th... will report back if anythng happens

just to clarify i am looking for green shoots off the top and not roots as such is that right ?



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