Sweet potatoes

[pargyle]

interesting .... I take it you cant stick an lidl sweet potato in the jar and keep it warm and let it do its thing ?......
/yours bookmarking this !

Yes you can ..and they will sprout slips but ..the problem is that it's a semi tropical plant and the ones in the shops tend to be grown in hotter climates than we have in the UK .. there are varieties that are bred for cooler climates and it is these that you need to either buy a tuber or some slips from them.

I'm going to have far more slips than I can use at the rate they are developing so if anyone wants a couple in a week or two to have a go then let me know. Two slips to a potato growing bag seems to be the recommended planting .. and the vines are very vigorous they will overflow and will try and root on the ground around the container they are in.

They need a fairly loose, well drained, compost to grow well and they thrive on heat...so North of Watford be warned .. you might need to have them in a greenhouse or poytunnel like Dani ...

 

[citrus]

Yes you can ..and they will sprout slips but ..the problem is that it's a semi tropical plant and the ones in the shops tend to be grown in hotter climates than we have in the UK .. there are varieties that are bred for cooler climates and it is these that you need to either buy a tuber or some slips from them.

I'm going to have far more slips than I can use at the rate they are developing so if anyone wants a couple in a week or two to have a go then let me know. Two slips to a potato growing bag seems to be the recommended planting .. and the vines are very vigorous they will overflow and will try and root on the ground around the container they are in.

They need a fairly loose, well drained, compost to grow well and they thrive on heat...so North of Watford be warned .. you might need to have them in a greenhouse or poytunnel like Dani ...

well i'd be very interested ... this is first year we have the greenhouse for plants rather than STUFF !

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sweet Potato Update

Having cleared some room in the poly tunnel Stan decided to move the sweet potatoes away from the ends where we had just tucked the pots in.
The first one was hard to lift. In the ground under the pot ! We left the others where they were.

 

[enrico]

Good to see, our slips were delivered very late this year but they seem to be doing ok. It has been a good year for melons though as we are talking tropical plantsl got about eight good size ones.
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

Good to see, our slips were delivered very late this year but they seem to be doing ok. It has been a good year for melons though as we are talking tropical plantsl got about eight good size ones.
E

Stupidly I didn’t realise you need to pollinate melons so we have only three.
We shall try to cultivate our own slips for next year.

 

[pargyle]

We shall try to cultivate our own slips for next year.

You should be able to start slips from the sweet potatoes you have grown before summer is out .. if you then plant the slips up in pots they will overwinter in almost dormant state (has to be frost free though as they are very tender) and will take off like the proverbial when you plant them on in spring.

I am very impressed with your crop so far ... if that is under the pot you must have a stunning crop above .. I hope mine are doing as well

(alternatively .. if you would like some ready rooted slips ~ is still have several ~ let me know and I'll post some down to you).

 

[citrus]

mine are alive and well .... i have 4 slips that were kindly sent to me (thanks AGAIN

... so whats the best option ... stick them in two growbags or in the soil itself ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

You should be able to start slips from the sweet potatoes you have grown before summer is out .. if you then plant the slips up in pots they will overwinter in almost dormant state (has to be frost free though as they are very tender) and will take off like the proverbial when you plant them on in spring.

I am very impressed with your crop so far ... if that is under the pot you must have a stunning crop above .. I hope mine are doing as well

(alternatively .. if you would like some ready rooted slips ~ is still have several ~ let me know and I'll post some down to you).

Thanks Philip.
I didn’t realise you could overwinter slips. I certainly will give that a try.

 

[Erichalfbee]

mine are alive and well .... i have 4 slips that were kindly sent to me (thanks AGAIN

... so whats the best option ... stick them in two growbags or in the soil itself ?

I think they need some depth so if you’re putting them in a growbag maybe tip the bag up and plant at one end? Pargyle is the expert.
It’s not warm enough here outside and I’ve run out of south facing aspects so mine are in the poly tunnel in pots. I suspect the pots will have to be bigger next year.

 

[pargyle]

I think they need some depth so if you’re putting them in a growbag maybe tip the bag up and plant at one end? Pargyle is the expert.
It’s not warm enough here outside and I’ve run out of south facing aspects so mine are in the poly tunnel in pots. I suspect the pots will have to be bigger next year.

Thanks for bigging me up Dani ... whilst I appreciate the accolade this is the first time I've grown them and sadly all my knowledge is internet culled, digested, composted and regurgitated.

You are right - they do need a good depths for the roots - mine are in 70 litre tubs - they were on the patio but 'er indoors kept moaning about having to clamber over them so they are now at the allotment. The root systems are massive and the tubers grow in amongst them so they need room to develop. I've got three plants in each tub but the way they are growing it might have been better with two .. time will tell.

We have a pretty mild climate down here on the Costa del Fareham and the tubs are in full sun at the allotment. I'm training the vines up bamboo cane wigwams, watering every day there isn't rain (most !) and feeding them weekly with home made comfrey tea. I don't expect to be harvesting anything much before mid September or later if the weather stays fine - perhaps even until the first frost if the vines survive. I'm thinking of surrounding them with some polythene screens to help keep the heat in. They do need a lot of heat even with slips from temperate climate Sweet potatoes.

Good luck everyone... even if I fail this year I'm having another go next year.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Pretty flowers too

 

[pargyle]

Yes ... not surprising as they are part of the same family of plants as Morning Glory - no relation to potatoes at all !

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well we couldn’t resist looking in one small tub. 2lbs from that one and the foliage hadn’t died down so looking forward to a proper harvest.
Hens are out in the sunshine in the garden. Always look forward to autumn when Stan lets them in the garden.

 

[pargyle]

Well we couldn’t resist looking in one small tub. 2lbs from that one and the foliage hadn’t died down so looking forward to a proper harvest.
Hens are out in the sunshine in the garden. Always look forward to autumn when Stan lets them in the garden.
View attachment 22362

Wow ... mine are still flowering down here and I've managed to keep my fingers out of the tubs so far ,,, if mine are anything like as productive I will be well pleased !

Love your hens as well ... my hen run is currently still full of my tomato plants ... I've got another 3kg to roast tonight before rendering it into some lovely tomato, garlic, onion and basil sauce. These are Maskotka ..supposedly cherry toms but most have been bigger - not salad size but bigger than cherry ... terrrific flavour and we've had over 7Kg from 10 plants ! Knocks spots off my Gardeners Delight which have managed 7 unripe tomatoes so far ! Planted at the same time ... no contest. I'll be growing these again ...

 

[enrico]

Tried an experiment this year and planted sweet potatoes in ground. Harvested them but they had dived so deep for water (very dry here in the wetlands!!!) That I couldn't dig them up easily without breaking them. Lesson learned. Back to big tube next year. Just cleared the greenhouses. Really good year for peppers. Hundreds of chilli's and sweet red peppers. Good year for everything, having to take apples down the tip, can't give them away. All brassicas good too. The Brussels are filling out nicely for Xmas! To top it all the honey crop was brilliant too! All in all a good growing year

 

[Erichalfbee]

Apples down the tip!
leave them for the wildlife

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Apples down the tip!
leave them for the wildlife

always leave a good amount of windfalls down for the birds, it lasts them most of the winter.

 

[pargyle]

Tried an experiment this year and planted sweet potatoes in ground. Harvested them but they had dived so deep for water (very dry here in the wetlands!!!) That I couldn't dig them up easily without breaking them. Lesson learned. Back to big tube next year. Just cleared the greenhouses. Really good year for peppers. Hundreds of chilli's and sweet red peppers. Good year for everything, having to take apples down the tip, can't give them away. All brassicas good too. The Brussels are filling out nicely for Xmas! To top it all the honey crop was brilliant too! All in all a good growing year

Yes ... been a really good year for me as well ... trying hard to keep my fingers out of the sweet potatoe tubs .. I've got four tubs of them and there is still foliage on top and flowers. I usually have a disaster with tomatoes .. about one year in five I get a decent crop. I was late getting my seeds in this year and then I lost the lot .. Re seeded with a two year old packet of the Maskotka that was a freebie on a magazine ... more in hope than any expectation of success ... and what a crop they have produced. Good onions this year, courgettes to the point where I'm in danger of losing friends, runners, broad beans, french beans all fantastic and the freezer is full of them. Soft fruit was really good as well .. Potatoes good and I've got leeks, swede and turnips that will winter crop. Been a very good year at the allotment and I ended up with 230lbs of honey from 6 production colonies which I'm happy with. Good year ....all round.

 

[enrico]

Apples down the tip!
leave them for the wildlife

They would be stacked 6 feet high. Have obviously stored loads for me and the wildlife!
Will go and get a photo of one apple
There you go......that one weighs in at just over 1lb and I have hundreds!

 

[citrus]

sorry been a bit busy with work and now playing catch up .... my sweet potato pargyles still in the greenhouse ... looking green in their dustbin

... haven't dug them yet to inspect .....

So whats the plan ..time to harvest and leave a tuber to replant for next year ?