How to Grow Sweet Potatoes – From Planting to Caring
Would you love to be able to grow your own sweet potatoes?
At my house, lately we have been eating sweet potatoes at almost every dinner. They are as easy and tasty way to get a serving of vegetables. Plus there are so many ways to cook them, they never get boring.
The health benefits of sweet potatoes outweigh starchy dinner alternatives. Linda Antinoro, a registered dietitian at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts stated “We would encourage people to eat a sweet potato rather than other starches,” according to Boston.com. By eating sweet potatoes instead of starches such as white potatoes, rice, pasta, or bread, your diet is enriched with beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, and an array of other vitamins and minerals.
Sweet potatoes are considered a warm season crop and in many parts of the United States, May is just about the time to start planting them. Today, we would like to share with you how to plant and care for your sweet potatoes.
Planting
- Sweet potatoes are actually grown from slips that you can purchase at a nursery.
- Store the slips in a well-lit room with temperatures around 65 -70 degrees.
- Keep the slips in the room until 90 days before the last spring frost.
- The Old Farmers’ Almanac recommends keeping them warm and moist.
- Plant the sweet potatoes in full sun about 3 weeks after the last frost date.
- Dig holes that are 6 inches deep and 12 inches apart.
- Bury the slips up to their top leaves and press in the soil around them.
Caring
- Organic Gardening recommends that about 2 weeks after you’ve planted to stifle weeds, preserve moisture in the soil and keep the soil loosen.
- Supply the sweet potatoes with about 1 inch of water until about 2 weeks before harvesting. For those last two weeks, don’t water. Instead allow the soil to dry out a bit.
Harvesting
- Once the leaves start to yellow, it’s time to harvest.
- On a sunny day, using a spade fork, dig the tubers. Keep in mind that the tubers can grow more than a foot from the ground.
- Dry the tubers in the sun for a few hours.
- Handle the tubers very carefully, they can easily bruise.
- Cure the potatoes by letting them sit in a room with high humidity for 10-14 days. By curing the potatoes you can store them for up to 6 months.
Summary
Sweet potatoes are a healthy alternative to other starchy dinner dishes. With care and patience, you will be able to learn how to grow and care for these beta-carotene and vitamin C enriched vegetable.
