Sweet potatoes?

denim deb

Chirping
9 Years
Sep 15, 2010
193
1
91
I was in Lowe's earlier this year, and saw that they had sweet potato slips for sale, so I bought a container of them, and followed the directions someone gave me for planting them. And, in spite of how dry it was this year, they grew! Only problem being, this is the first year I've grown them. So, I haven't a clue as to how to tell when they're ready to harvest. Anyone else grow them? What do I look for to know whether or not they're ready to come out of the ground? Thanks.
 
I look for the vine to die. MIL says she picks hers when they smell ready.
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She also waves her hands over her broccolli to make the plants bushier. And she says she is not a garden witch!
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THis was our first year growing them. I just dug up a "test" plant, the sweet potatoes were a good size so we harvested them....
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Most sweet potatos are 90 to 120 days so that should help you know when they are ready too.

Yum
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ON
 
Depending on where you live, the vine may or may not die. The first time I grew them I waited a year before digging them up and some were 20 lbs or so. They were also completely inedible. In Hawaii, where they grow a large proportion of our sweet potatoes, they harvest at six months. That's what I do now. They are so good when fresh like that. Enjoy.
 
We grow ours in barrels so the soil is easy to move & usually harvest when they are fairly small after a couple of months. We throw them on the grill whole and they are fantastic. We do spot checks to see how big they are. It depends on the variety as well. We've done seedlings which grow differently from the ones we propagate from potatoes we get at the farmers market.
 
I'm really curious to know how waving your hands over broccoli will make the plant bushier!

I'm trying to remember when I planted them. I was dizzy most of the summer, so got stuff in much later than I should have. But, I'm pretty sure it's been over 90 days.

Right now, the leaves are starting to change colors, but there's no danger yet of a frost killing the vines. I seem to recall hearing that that's something you don't want to have happen, but don't know why.
 
Mine would still be in the ground if the chickens hadn't discovered my garden
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I rescued as many as I could from the nine plants I had going but it was a disappointing harvest.
My Yukon Golds did better as they matured earlier & I picked them B-sized mostly.

For the sweets, I just dug around with my hands until I felt a good-sized tuber then dug it up.
I got about a dozen nice-sized and a lot of small ones that I used for oven fries.
I'm gonna say it was about 120 days from planting the seedlings to picking.

Next year I am putting up a better (chicken-proof) fence!
 

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