Sweet Potatoes
If you want sweet potato plants (slips) in time for late spring, let’s get to them! I’m using sweet potatoes that are showing evidence of buds. The method I use is to take the whole potato and bury it halfway, the long way, in soil or sand in the windowsill. You should have shoots coming up all over the pot in about two weeks. Break the shoots off when longer than 4” and root in the soil, or wait until the vines form, cut off 6” pieces, and root them in water.
Another option: Take the potato, cut 2-3” off either end and eat the middle. Then take the two ends and put them in cups with water halfway up the chunk. Same results, except most of these, will already have started making lots of roots. Both methods will produce mature slips by about six weeks. At that point, the soil should be warm enough to keep them happy, planted 2’ apart in the ground, and enriched with plenty of organic matter.
Almost foolproof varieties for this region include Bush Puerto Rico for small spaces or containers and Centennial and Beauregard for in-ground -- especially ole Beau. Trust me, I have a five-pounder I grew and saved, and that’s who’s producing my shoots this year.
