[Oliver]

Just sorting out the seeds, etc, for the forthcoming season (he has been clearing the plot, so well ahead there!) and thought I would say something about Sweet Potatoes. We grew them last year on the allotment as an experiment but will not bother again as they were a dead loss! (Sweet potatoes are related to the morning glory - they are a vine and grow all over the ground. I suppose you could waste your time tying the stems up a mesh - they don't 'cling')

Why:

• They need a lot of space
• They need warmth - grow under fleece, under black polythene with holes for the green tops to grow through, or in a polytunnel
• They need A LOT of water

We had two grow bags in the poly, each with a slip. They got a lot of water and were very snug.
But - they were attacked by some sort of tiny caterpillar that ate all the fresh green shoots.
The grow bag was not big enough for all the developing roots, so we had a few reasonable sized spuds, and LOTS of pink roots about 10mm in dia. Perhaps if we had used a much bigger container we would have had more tubers.

We also had 7 plants outside, but not covered in any way. They made lots of green tops but they obviously did not get enough water/heat, because we had very few small spuds from each.

So - overall, they were expensive for what they were (some £10+ for 10 slips, one of which died), they took a lot of looking after, and they are really so inexpensive in the shop. So if you want something decent to eat, buy them.

(Incidentally - a 'slip' is just 10 inches of green stem with a few leaves on it. (The plant is related to the Morning Glory, so if you can imagine the end of one of the twining stems, that's what you get). When you get them you plant them deeply in individual deep pots, and in about 4 weeks they should be ready to plant out.  Then in about September you dig them up. The green tops don't die down to tell you when harvesting is due (like a pumpkin), so you only know if anything has happened when you dig them up.)

Hope this is helpful. I think energy is better spent on something that will produce a reasonable yield, especially when time is a premium.
Oliver

[GrannieAnnie]

Hey oliver!!!!   hi there, long time no meows!!!!!   How are you and the other 2 getting on?  Kept meaning to PM you again, but don't know where the time has gone.  Talk soon   GA

[minky]

thanks for that, I have just got a plot and we considered giving these a go, but we thought they might be difficult so that just finished that idea off nicely.

[Stripey_cat]

I have a friend with a poly-tunnel (in Cornwall, which may help) who does OK with them planted straight into the beds, but...

They need a hell of a lot of water - something like 50 inches annually - and high humidity for most of the growing season (drier later helps tubers form).

They need heat - well up in the twenties, even overnight.

They need a long growing season - at least 8 months, and ideally more.

They are large plants - comparable to pumpkins in trailing ability.


Edited to add: you can make your own "slips" by potting up a tuber or three, then taking cuttings as they start to sprout.  So long as the tubers are healthy to begin with, you can get a lot of plants from a few tubers.

[Oliver]

I have a friend with a poly-tunnel (in Cornwall, which may help) who does OK with them planted straight into the beds, but...

They need a hell of a lot of water - something like 50 inches annually - and high humidity for most of the growing season (drier later helps tubers form).

They need heat - well up in the twenties, even overnight.

They need a long growing season - at least 8 months, and ideally more.

They are large plants - comparable to pumpkins in trailing ability.


Edited to add: you can make your own "slips" by potting up a tuber or three, then taking cuttings as they start to sprout.  So long as the tubers are healthy to begin with, you can get a lot of plants from a few tubers.

Exactly what I said - but put a bit differently!
O