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Growing sweet potatoes

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john in la

02-10-2008 11:12:18

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Any of you guys from the south ever grow sweet potatoes (yams) in the home garden before.

If so can any of you give me some pointers. Starting plants
hilling
when to harvest
anything

I have never tried them before but think I may this year.

Thanks

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hlc

02-10-2008 14:19:56

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

I grown them every year in West Tn. They are easy to grow and the yield is rather large. I put out about about 35 plants and have plenty and give away some.
(1) I start my own plants from a previous year potato. Some people put a potato in a jar of water and put it in a warm place say on a water heater for sprouting. I usually bury four or five potatoes in a hot bead and cover them with about 2 or 3 inches of sawdust or mulch.
(2) When the sprouts (slips) get 4 to 6 inches long pull them from the potato and plant in the row about 18 inches apart. I pull a few slips as they are ready and add to the row. They put on roots easily if the ground is damp.
(3) I bed up the row in advance and till in some fertlizer.
(4) I usually plant in May but it can be done here as late as June. (5) I dug mine about the middle of August because they were getting too big otherwise you can wait until just before a frost.

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Kajun

02-10-2008 13:35:06

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

John:

Looks like most of your questions are answered right on the link I gave you . Scroll to "Production Guide"

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Kajun

02-10-2008 13:27:37

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

John:

Grew them as a kid but mostly I've forgotten all I ever knew. However, one of my closest friends was until recently (now retired) the head of the Louisiana Sweet Potato program. See here:

Link

Super nice guy --- If you email me I'll foward your email to him.. Ain't nothing about sweet potatoes he doesn't know.

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Charlie M

02-10-2008 12:36:20

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

I've grown them before here in New York state and just bought the plants from a catalog. Its been a while but I left them as long as possible before the frost killed them. I think you can dig them anytime you have something worth digging altough I think they need to mature to store well. I never could get them to store for long. Its a pretty short list of the varieties one can grow in this area.

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john in la

02-10-2008 12:30:54

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

So do you need to buy cuttings from a garden center or can you plant the potato and then take the cutting off of the shoots it grows?????

I know the keep better but how is storage compaired to other potatoes such as Irish?????
Under what conditions do you store the crop???

I am really in the dark on these plants or how to grow.
Thanks

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bobia

02-10-2008 13:27:11

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 12:30:54

most of the time you plant Plants from nursery. Last year I had a sweet potato that had no wax on and it was sprouting so planted it and it produced . most of them in stores due have something applied to them that they won,t sprout. I keep hill around them so no tators are above ground. If is going to frost should harvest then or same day as frost. claim is they are poison won,t say . In iowa I plant georgia or another variety which don,t remember worth a try as are not hard to grow

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SuperA-Tx

02-10-2008 12:38:18

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 12:30:54

We dont grow them here because the dirt packs a little to tight for them to grow right. I did get some rooted sprouts in one time and if I recall correctly it was late spring, April maybe. Think they are harvested in October.

In Gilmer Texas they have a big festival every year in October called the "Yamboree". We call them "Yams" here instead of sweet popatoes. Gilmer is a litle further East of me, maybe 30 miles but the soil changes a lot in that distance.

Look up Yams and see what you find.

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El Toro

02-10-2008 12:24:32

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

We raised them on raised beds too. Always had a good crop. Hal

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Kemper

02-10-2008 11:49:03

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

I grew some last year for the first time, you talk about yield! they were small plants that i bought from a green house and tranplanted into the garden,about 4 foot apart.I can't wait til spring!

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gene bender

02-10-2008 11:22:04

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Re: Growing sweet potatoes in reply to john in la, 02-10-2008 11:12:18

I like to have a mound seem to grow better. Sure makes digging easierand they will cover the mound with their vines and stops weeds.

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