[tracy-fuerteventura]

i am growing sweet potatoes at the moment they have only been in for about 6 weeks but i was wondering when i harvest them is there an obvious sign of when to do this ie do the plants die back or flower before i dig them up ......i need your help again cheers tracy

[Coltar223]

Hi Tracy, i think i can help you out here. I live in Virginia where sweet spuds are commonly grown. Without knowing your actual temps. where you live I will assume you probably do not get frost which as in Parsnips  this helps to release the sugars.

Anyhoo, commonly sweet spuds have a 90 to 120 day maturity. You will see the ground starting to heave at the base of the vine, if you gently pull the soil away at this point you will be able to see the tuber and it's size. I would suggest you probably still have about 35 days to go before you will be able to think about harvesting. Make sure you give them a good watering once a week, about an inch, otherwise the growth will be retarded.

I hope this helps and please let us know your results.

[tracy-fuerteventura]

thanks for the advice our day time temp is about 16 to 20 degrees at the moment and we dont get frost here ever but the actual vine doesnt seem to be growing much !!! is that normal also do you only get one potato per plant ? cheers tracy

[Coltar223]

Ipomoea batatas aka sweet spuds are slow starters. Keep them mulched and do not apply nitrogen that will really retard any tubers.

You should get at least four spuds per plant and harvest when they are about six inches long. Also when you do harvest make sure you cure the tubers in the sun for 6 to 10 days, thsi will help with the keeping .

If you know the variety you have then perhaps consult a local grower. Here in the US I grow 'Centennial' and 'Beauregarde' and have good success with both.

[tracy-fuerteventura]

i dont know the variety as i have grown these from shop bought spuds and have raised my own slips as i dont know the variety does that mean they may not come true to the slips ?

[tracy-fuerteventura]

ok so now its 2 months since my last question about sweet potatoes.........the vines are still not growing that well so today i dug one up just to see and found nothing zilch so what does anyone suggest i need help
cheers tracy

[Coltar223]

Hi Tracy, the fact you did not use certified seed slips could be the major problem you are not getting any spuds. I emphasize 'could be' simply becasue without any photos of the plants it really is very difficult to diagnose the problem.

At 60+ days of growth you should have four to six feet of healthy vine and if you carefully probe around the base of the slip with your fingers you should feel the formation of tubers.

[tracy-fuerteventura]

the vines are only about 50cm from the centre shall i just leave them alone or do you think i should start again.the only thing is i would have to do shop bought again as there are no suppliers of variety slips on the island.