Sweet potatoes—6 week update

[DrMike27]

Wanted to show my progress with the sweet potatoes—or lack thereof—as I planted my slips 6 weeks ago. I’m thoroughly convinced that staking them was like adding poison to the garden haha. -I staked 9 slips—all dead.
-Planted 2 potato halves with some poorer growing slips on them—huge growth.
-Planted 6 slips in my raised bed—1 dead, 5 pretty much stagnant.
-Planted 1 slip in a whiskey barrel—doing ok.

 

[Silentrunning]

I have only 1 sweet potato that is in a hanging basket. It is so far behind last year at this time it is pitiful. Maybe it’s just a bad year for taters.

 

[Dan Scott]

I planted my sweet potatoes early this year. How do I know when to harvest? The purple flowers are long gone.

 

[Chuck]

I planted my sweet potatoes early this year. How do I know when to harvest? The purple flowers are long gone.

You can possibly harvest now. The potatoes will continue to grow and become very large. Sometimes when they get big they also get pithy and aren't as good to eat. Dig around in the soil until you find one. You don't have to uproot the entire plant to start harvesting. In your climate they will grow and produce all year long.

 

[Dan Scott]

Thanks, I’ll try when I get home in September. This is what it looked like when I left last week.

 

[Chuck]

Thanks, I’ll try when I get home in September. This is what it looked like when I left last week.

The potatoes will start forming around the base of the plant (if you can find it). Start a few inches out from the base. I hope your soil is soft

 

[Dan Scott]

Soil is super soft. The raised bed was an old compost pile. When it was full of yard waste I covered it with a couple of inches of dirt and planted the slips in that. You can see my next compost pile just behind the potatoes. I haven’t covered that one with dirt yet.

 

[Chuck]

Soil is super soft. The raised bed was an old compost pile. When it was full of yard waste I covered it with a couple of inches of dirt and planted the slips in that. You can see my next compost pile just behind the potatoes. I haven’t covered that one with dirt yet.

I hope you REALLY like sweet potatoes