Ready to grow something sweet in your garden? Sweet potatoes aren’t just tasty and nutritious—they’re garden rock stars! With their tropical vibes, sprawling vines, and vibrant orange roots, these heat-loving plants thrive with minimal fuss.
Whether you’re in the sunny South or giving them a go up North with raised beds and clever hacks, we’ll show you how to turn a humble root into a delicious harvest.
This nutritious, sweet-tasting root vegetable is heat-tolerant and pest-resistant. Here is everything you need to know about growing sweet potatoes.
Though commonly grown in the South because they require warm weather, sweet potatoes can be successfully grown in northern regions, too.
This tropical crop needs at least 4 months of warm weather and warm soil, but they are drought- and heat-tolerant and have few pests or diseases. Although traditionally a southern crop, many short-season sweet potato varieties exist today. They will grow in the North (even parts of Canada!) when grown in sandy soil or raised beds mulched with black plastic to keep the soil warm.
Sweet Potato Slips
Note that sweet potatoes are not grown from seed. Instead, they’re grown from slips, which are sprouts from existing sweet potatoes. Slips are often available at local garden centers and nurseries, from local farmers (such as farmers’ markets), or mail-order companies. Or you can start your own (see below).
Before you order slips, please make sure that you have a long enough growing season to grow sweet potatoes. Most varieties will take about 90 to 120 days to mature. See your frost dates and length of growing season. Also, ensure you time your order with your planting dates in mind!
Planting
Where to Plant
Choose a sunny spot with well-draining soil. Sweet potatoes aren’t too picky, but they do prefer soil on the sandier side. They need plenty of air space for their roots to reach down. If your soil is clayey, rocky, or compacted, consider growing in raised beds.
Add compost, perlite, and/or coconut coir to the growing area to build fertile, loamy soil down to 8 to 10 inches. Avoid adding animal manure, including pelleted chicken manure; it can result in spindly and/or stained roots. Also, avoid heavy nitrogen fertilizers, which produce lush leaf growth at the expense of the edible roots!
If you ordered slips from a mail-order source, unpack them right away. Stick the roots in water for a day or so, and they’ll perk up. Plant them as soon as conditions are right.
When to Plant Sweet Potatoes
- Transplant sweet potato slips outdoors, 3 to 4 weeks after your last spring frost or once the soil has warmed to at least 65°F (18°C). Nighttime temperatures should be at least 55°F (13°C). The trick is to plant them early enough to have time to mature fully, but not so early that they get killed by a late spring frost.
- Young sweet potatoes are very tender, so they must be protected from late frosts or cool nights (lower than 55°F/13°C). Cover them with plastic milk jugs or row covers, removing the covers during the day.
Credit: Lex20/Getty Images.
How to Grow Your Own Sweet Potato Slips
You can start your own slips instead of buying them, but it’s more work. Here’s how:
- About 8 weeks before your last spring frost date, look for unblemished, smooth, organic sweet potatoes at the store or farmers’ market. Be sure to ask about the variety and check that it’s one you want to grow.
- Place whole sweet potatoes in pots or bins that contain at least 3 inches of light, organic, well-draining soil. Leave an inch or two of space between each sweet potato.
- Lightly cover with a few inches of additional soil. Water now and as needed to keep soil damp but not soggy.
- Maintain the soil and the room at 75° to 80°F in sunlight or under artificial lights. Use a heating mat if necessary; sweet potatoes respond well to warm temperatures.
- Soon, slips (shoots) will emerge from the soil.
- After about 6 to 8 weeks, the slips should be between 6 and 12 inches long, with a number of leaves and roots.
- Remove the slips from the sweet potatoes with roots attached. (If no roots have formed on the slip itself, remove the slip and place it in water; roots should appear in 1 to 2 weeks.)
- If it is still too soon to plant outdoors, stand the slips in potting mix or sand and keep them moist until the right planting time (3 to 4 weeks after the last frost).
- Harden off the slips (before planting outdoors) for 1 to 2 weeks by exposing them to filtered sunlight outdoors during the day.
How to Plant Sweet Potatoes
- Create raised mounds 6 to 8 inches tall and about 12 inches wide.
- Plan 3 feet between mounds so there is enough space for vines to run.
- Plant the slips on a warm, overcast day when the soil temperature has reached 60°F (15°C).
- Break off the lower leaves, leaving only the top ones.
- Set the slips deep enough to cover the roots and the stem up to the leaves. Sweet potatoes will form on the nodes.
- Water with a high-phosphorus liquid fertilizer, then water generously for 7 to 10 days to make sure that the plants root well.
Growing
- Side-dress the sweet potato plants 3 to 4 weeks after transplanting with 5-10-10 fertilizer. If you have sandy soil, use more.
- Weed the sweet potato beds regularly, starting 2 weeks after planting.
- Avoid deep digging with a hoe or other tool that disturbs the delicate feeder roots.
- Water regularly, especially during midsummer. Deep watering in hot, dry periods will help to increase yields.
- Do not prune sweet potato vines; they should be vigorous.
- Late in the season, reduce watering to avoid cracking of the sweet’s skin—a problem in storage.
Credit: Getty Images.
Growing Sweet Potatoes in Containers
Bush-type sweet potato plants are ideal for container growers. The vines that they produce are short and compact, not sprawling like typical sweets—but the roots are full size, not miniatures.
While slips mature, prepare a large container or tub. (A too-small container can result in small, curly sweets or fewer than hoped for.) A 10-gallon container can support two or three sweet potatoes; a 20-gallon, four to six. A half-barrel container (20 to 25 gallons) is ideal. Place the container where it will receive full sunlight every day. (It will be heavy to move once filled and planted.)
Sweets like moist but not wet soil; the medium must be well-draining and rich; sweets are also heavy feeders. Provide potting mix amended with compost, sand, bonemeal (for potassium), and wood ash (for potash). Minimize nitrogen or risk producing heavily leafy tops and spindly roots. If you purchase a bush variety, soak the roots in water for a few hours before planting.
Plant slips 3 to 4 weeks after the last spring frost, when the soil has warmed to 65°F and nighttime temperatures are at least 55°F. Mulch with black plastic before and during the season, if necessary, to capture or retain heat. Set slips 4 inches deep on a bed of compost, then cover up to their bottom leaves. Water with a high-phosphorus liquid fertilizer (5-10-10) for 7 to 10 days to ensure that the plants root well.
Harvesting
- You can start digging up the roots when they are big enough for a meal.
- Harvest when the leaves and ends of the vines have started turning yellow or about 100 days from planting.
- Loosen the soil around each plant (18 inches around, 4 to 6 inches deep) to avoid injuring the roots. Cut away some of the vines.
- Pull up the plant’s primary crown and dig the roots by hand. Handle the sweet potatoes carefully, as they bruise easily.
- Shake off any excess dirt; do not wash the roots.
- Complete harvesting by the first fall frost.
How to Cure and Store Sweet Potatoes
- Curing sweet potatoes gives them a sweet taste and also allows a second skin to form over scratches and bruises.
- Handle sweet potatoes carefully; they bruise easily.
- To cure, store roots in a warm place (about 80°F) at high humidity (about 90%) for 10 to 14 days. A table outside in a shady spot works well. Arrange sweet potatoes so that they are not touching.
- After curing, discard bruised sweet potatoes, then wrap each one in newspaper.
- Carefully pack in a wooden box or basket. Store in a root cellar, basement, or the like with a high humidity at 55° to 60°F.
- The roots should last in storage for about 6 months.
Types
The fastest-growing sweet potato varieties have orange flesh, but you might also consider varieties with white, yellow, or even purple flesh. Note that orange-flesh varieties cook up moist; white and yellow sweet potatoes become creamy; purple sweets are dry and starchy.
- ‘Beauregard’ (90 days) originally comes from Louisiana, but grows well in the North, too. It has dark red roots, dark orange flesh, and stores well.
- ‘Bush Porto Rico’ (110 days) is good for small gardens and for baking.
- ’Centennial’ (100 days) is the leading variety in the U.S. It is carrot-colored and has a good storage life; good producer for northern growers.
- ‘Georgia Jet’ (90 days) has red skin that covers moist, deep orange flesh. It is an extremely fast-growing type; good for the North.
- ‘Jewel’ (120 days) has copper-colored skin and orange flesh; disease-resistant; stores well.
- ‘Stokes’ (120 days) offers a vibrant purple color and is full of extra health benefits; cooks well in savory dishes and mashes.
- ‘Vardaman’ (110 days) is a bush type and good for small gardens; it has unique blue/purple foliage, golden skin, and reddish-orange flesh; stores well.
- ‘White Yam’ (aka ‘White Triumph’)(100 days)has white skin covering dry white flesh; one of the oldest sweet potato varieties; has compact vines.
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Comments
We are not familiar with starting sweet potatoes from seed and your purchase was unfortunate. In the same way that white (and blue and red, etc) potatoes are grown from seed potatoes (small spuds grown specifically to be planted for later harvest), most people grow sweet potatoes from small sweets, which are called "slips." We are guessing that it could take a few years for seeds to develop (and maybe you want to try that) and recommend that you purchase slips to insure that you get a harvestable crop. These, like seed (white) potatoes, are set in the soil. See above for more specific growing information.
Sweet potatoes have thin, delicate skin that is easily damaged. Curing not only adds a little sweetness, but also allows time for cork to form over injuries, thereby lessening the chance of rot, and prevents the tuber from drying out. This process will take longer at lower temperatures, thereby increasing the chance for diseases to enter any wounds; humidity lower than about 70 percent also will slow healing and affect tuber quality. Gardeners have come up with some clever ways to provide the necessary heat and humidity. Some people do indeed use a small heater in a small room (such as a bathroom) or shed, with a source of humidity, such as a pail of water or a humidifier (or in the bathroom, running the shower every so often). You'd need to monitor the temperature to make sure that it doesn't get too hot or cold. If you have a greenhouse, then that also would be an option. Some put the potatoes in slatted or cardboard boxes covered loosely with plastic bags (make sure the plastic has a few holes so that there is some ventilation but still a humid environment), and place them in the furnace room or near a small heater. Garden author Nancy Bubel once wrote that she cures her sweet potatoes by simply spreading the potatoes behind her woodstove and covering them with a well-wrung-out towel. Hope this helps!
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Yes, get them covered again as soon as possible, then check back in on them when they're due to be harvested!