[eeyore]

Where do people recomend getting sweet potato slips from ?   Marshals and unwins  dont have them , thompson and morgan do but seem flipping expensive (£11.69 for 10)

is there somewhere that i can get them cheaper than that or is that price usual ?

cheers pete

[GreenOwl]

I think thats usual - however you can make your own from a bought sweet potato.  It depends if you want a particular variety.  You could always splash out this year and save some tubers for creating your own for next year.

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/gr_fruits_vegetables/article/0,2029,DIY_13846_2945011,00.html

[Brambles]

Thank you GreenOwl for the info on making your own slips from "supermarket" sweet potatoes.. Will certainly have a go at that this year.

[Quetzal]

This is very interesting, thanks for the link.

One thing i have read, from a book on self sufficiency, suggested that you want to pick sweet potatoes that 'haven't been treated with growth inhibitor' or something like that (i'll dig it out and check). So i think i'm going to try using organic sweet potatoes from some farm shop, rather than tescos.

[sea dog]

Does any body know when you should start the process off. As Tesco will not know if they have bush or vine type can you tell before you need to put them out on the lotto :?:

[GreenOwl]

Bear in mind I've never actually grown them.....

They're frost tender so can't go outside until late May/early June.  The site I found says "a few weeks" to create the slips.  I think I would want to grow them on a bit befor planting out so I would start them in late April.

And I didn't even know they came as a bush-type rather than a vine-type before I found that link so no idea how you can tell.  You might be able to tell from the way the young plant grows?

[GreenOwl]

Just found this:

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=2461

which would seem to imply that its more than a "few" weeks to produce slips.

and this one suggests end Jan to mid Feb:

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=3037&highlight=kumara

Incidentally, according to my SIL who has grown them, the tubers form way down, almost in the subsoil.

[Brambles]

We eat quite a lot of sweet potatoes, the variety we prefer we usually get from Tesco's and they are called Bushbok..  That would suggest to me that they are the bush variety (though it does not necessarily follow!)   There is a lot of sense to buying them from a local organic source, I would expect they would be more reliable.
I am going to try growing them this year, with organic home prepared slips and see what happens, I have a bed that is almost ready for them, if they turn out to be bush variety great... and if they turn out to be "trees"  well I will know better next year... and I will still enjoy eating them!!
Will keep you informed as to how they grow, and will be very interested to hear anyone elses experiences

[mumsy]

T&M have sweet pots, delivered May-June time, also have a planting kit too.

[nothinghasdiedyet]

T&M have sweet pots, delivered May-June time, also have a planting kit too.

From reading a few other threads the problem with these is they turn up towards later June which could be too late.

I am going to be trying Sweet Potatoes this year so I may try my own and see how it goes.Just need to decide where to get the Potatoes from

[mumsy]

They are delivered may/june because they need the warmer weather :shock:

[mick west]

Chase Organics but 14.75 for 10 -  but other seeds cheap & good selection - Mick