Learning How to Grow Sweet Potatoes
By Lynn Proctor
@ThankyouLord (698)
St. Petersburg, Florida
January 17, 2016 10:52pm CST
Sweet potatoes are so easy to grow. I have just watched several fascinating videos on it. They grow anywhere, and are very hardy and productive.
They come in purple, orange, gold and white. Also, red. I am trying to see if I can get some red ones, as they are supposed to be the best tasting.
They root easily in water or soil, and grow from the "eyes" of the tuber. Some chop them up and put them right in the soil, others put them in water like an avocado seed, then break off the little shoots and put them in water to root. Some put them directly in the soil.
From one or two plants, you can harvest ten pounds or more. I see videos of 135 pounds from three potatoes. A lot depends on soil, I expect, but they are not too picky, as long as the soil drains well. And, they look beautiful, spreading all over.
The leaves are edible, both raw and cooked, as are the more tender stems. They are very nutritious as well.
Have you ever grown them?
11 people like this
12 responses
@allknowing (130066)
• India
18 Jan 16
I have a problem in our garden. The mongoose destroys whatever grows beneath the ground. I have tried growing sweet potatoes and met with this disappointment.
3 people like this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
23 Jan 16
Why not overplant? A mongoose can only eat so many, and that way you might have some left for yourself. Also, plant in different locations. When we plant in a "garden" we ask for trouble, as everything is in one place. I can think of a dozen places on my property that I could plant stuff, and mix it in with other plants, like garlic or onions, to confuse his smell.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130066)
• India
23 Jan 16
@ThankyouLord Not a bad idea. I will give that a try. I have a few crawlers in the garden. I will cut them and plant them at different locations.
@LadyDuck (458006)
• Switzerland
23 Jan 16
@ThankyouLord Of course, here in Switzerland we do not have sandy soil, I only have to bury some old potatoes in the ground and I get about two pounds of potatoes for each one I planted.
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
23 Jan 16
While I would like to grow potatoes, I think my soil is too sandy for them. I live near the beach, and I will be lucky if I get sweet potatoes, which are supposed to have sandy soil. But I would be happy with even baby sweet potatoes, if they don't grow too much. Soil amendments are so expensive, so we will see. I have a mulched area out front, and I may try my luck there, as it is more fertile.
1 person likes this
@youless (112108)
• Guangzhou, China
18 Jan 16
You are right that the sweet potatoes are easy to grow. You can simply put them into the mud and water it and it can grow well by itself. Here some people just grow the sweet potato in the pot with water only. As they regard it as a kind of plant like flowers etc. And here besides eating the sweet potatoes, we also like to eat their leaves. They are very good for the health.
2 people like this
@youless (112108)
• Guangzhou, China
23 Jan 16
@ThankyouLord The sweet potatoes leaves are just like common vegetables. You will not find it horrible
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
23 Jan 16
I am excited to try the leaves. I have never had them, but I hear they are very good.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
18 Jan 16
Sweet potatoes grow very well in the Philippines that's why it's a crop of choice to plant in vacant lots, it's called "Kamote" here, the young leaf tops are also eaten as vegetable.
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
23 Jan 16
I understand that the leaves are sold in Oriental markets, too, and are sold as a vegetable. I wonder why American markets don't sell them? In watching the videos, growers just tear out the vines and give them to the chickens, or put them on the compost pile. Such a waste.
@srisahara (4508)
• Indonesia
18 Jan 16
Yes, I've planted in the yard. This plant is easy to grow with only gave him fertile soil and sufficient water. You do not need to fertilize. But the pests that often arises is the caterpillar. Sweet potato leaves will be delicious food for the caterpillars. To get rid of it, you just need to throw every worm and worm eggs you find, if you do not want to use pesticides.
2 people like this
@srisahara (4508)
• Indonesia
23 Jan 16
@ThankyouLord I think, their taste like kale, it has a little mucus after it boiled or steamed. It is a good veggie for fulfill vitamins and minerals intake.
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
23 Jan 16
I am looking forward to trying sweet potato leaves, too. I hear they taste like spinach. I love spinach, so even if I get no potatoes, I can eat the greens.
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
23 Jan 16
Today, when I was at the health food store, I saw some "garnet" organic sweet potatoes. I think they were $2.89 a lb. Guess how many made a pound. Yep. One. Well, I can't afford to eat something that expensive, so I am going to let it make it's shoots, and I will pinch them off as they get big enough to plant. I was reading stories about how many sweet potatoes one could get from a dozen shoots, and it is absolutely stunning. Two hundred or more. So, I believe in leveraging. : )
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169940)
• United States
19 Jan 16
No, I haven't trie growing potatoes at all. I have grown leaf lettuce and tomatoes, and strawberries as well.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
25 Feb 16
I love making fries out of them. I also love the leaves for for salads and soup. I have a recipe for the leaves. Try to sautee some pork in garlic, chili and onions. Pour on some coconut milk and simmer sweet potato leaves on that concoction.
I grow sweet potatoes on plastic buckets. I dont havest the root crops because I want to have a perennial source of leafy vegetables. I believe astronauts who will colonize mars should plant sweet potatoes instead of potatoes because sweet potatoes have edible leaves whole potatoes have poisonous leaves.
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
23 Jan 16
I have never considered this but I can see it would be a very good project. Next time I buy sweet potatoes I will give it a try. This year I grew lettuces and rocket because the ones in the shop were not fresh enough. This was successful so long as I remembered to keep them well watered in the green house.
@silvermist (19702)
• India
25 Feb 16
@ThankyouLord No I have never grown them.I like sweet potatoes,but have never used the leaves.
