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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Sweet Potatoes
Relatively low in calories, sweet potatoes are very nutritious, a top source of beta-carotene, and contain some protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C, and other minerals. They can be stored longer than winter squash.
To cook, sweet potatoes are easier than pie (or sweet potato pie!).
- They can be scrubbed, poked with a fork in a few places, and baked at 400°F for 35 minutes to one hour, until they give a bit when you squeeze them in your pot-holder-protected hand.
- In the microwave, a whole sweet potato baked on high should be ready in 4 to 6 minutes. It may still feel firm when done; let it stand for about 5 minutes to soften.
- Sweet potatoes can also be steamed whole (cleaned and unpeeled) for about 40 minutes or until tender or cooked whole (cleaned and unpeeled) in boiling salted water for about 35 minutes. (Boiling reduces the flavor considerably.)
- Immerse cut raw sweet potatoes in water until you’re ready to cook them; they will darken otherwise.
As a general rule, don’t substitute sweet potatoes for regular potatoes in recipes; the two aren’t related. Sweet potatoes don’t hold together the way potatoes do, and their strong flavor can overwhelm a dish meant for a milder potato taste. Sweet potatoes are also not related to yams. But they make a fine substitute for pumpkin, especially in desserts.
Check out our ten best sweet potato recipes!
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My sweet potato slips are doing great, in fact a little too great. Some vines are getting quite long and it's still 5-6 weeks until I put them in the ground. Allowing 2 weeks to root, I still have 3-4 weeks with them growing. Can I trim them back now before I root them?
Hi Lisa,
Glad to hear your sweet potato slips are doing so well! You want your slips to be about 6 to 12 inches tall when you begin the rooting process. If yours are much longer than that, you can certainly trim them back (do so below a node). But, if your slips are long enough, you can also divide them into multiple sections to root. If they are leggy and thin, it might be best to cut back to where the slips are thicker and more firm and just root those ones.
We have what is called an 'Old Fashioned German WHITE Sweet Potato'. However, I see nothing in your article relating to these. The texture is between a regular Irish White potato and what we consider a Yam/sweet potato in Southern Indiana. Any thoughts on this. We like these much better than the Orange/soft textured type. They also hold up much better being baked/roasted and are difficult to find. I propagate from previous year's potato every year beginning process in late January.
Do sweet potatoes produce only at the base of the plant? Or do they also produce along the vine if they are allowed to touch and root?
I have options for vertical gardening or ground, but I need to know if I'll sacrifice production or waste ground space.
Hi, Melissa. You are correct in thinking if any nodes on the vine touch the ground and root, another sweet potato plant will grow. It’s best to keep that from happening, allowing the plant to put all of its energy into the original planting.
My sweet potato plant isn't getting enough sun where I have it planted. Is it possible to dig it up and move it to another location without hurting it?
Unfortunately, moving your sweet potato plants once they have been planted is not advised. Moving your plant would be too risky with the roots established and the tubers beginning to take shape.
We suggest leaving it where it is and seeing what happens this year. You never know what is happening under the soil. If it turns out that no sweet potatoes grow, not all is lost. You’ll be able to use this time to plan for next year and pick the ideal spot for where to plant in the spring.
Good luck. Hope your plant surprises you and you end up with some sweet potatoes come harvest time.
I am growing sweet potatoes in my green house for the first time. I read some where they should be grown up a teepee of canes.
Not sure if its like a normal potatoe crowned with dirt, or like a runner bean on the shoots growing upwards.
Or peg the shoots to the ground, like strawberries. Help, Mac.XXX
I have grown sweet potatoes in the past in straw bales and containers (my ground is too hard) and I mainly get many fingerlings, not useable sizes. What can I do to get fewer and bigger ones?
Hi, Beth, See the notes above, esp re “Planting.” You need soil that is rich in compost, airy, and sufficiently deep. Strawbales are not really suited and perhaps your container was not large enough and the soil in it) not rich enough. Note the advice re fertilizer above, too, e.g. heavy nitrogen and animal manures. Sweets also need four months of warm air and soil; perhaps your growing season is too short? Review the guidance above for other details. Good luck with them this year!