The sweet potato is a warm-season, sprawling crop of tropical origin. It's an excellent garden choice—easy to grow, drought- and heat-tolerant, with few pests or diseases. Beyond its resilience, sweet potato is highly nutritious and low in calories.
Planting
- Sweet potatoes are grown from "slips"—sprouts produced from stored tubers. Purchase slips from nurseries, garden centers, or local farmers.
- To grow your own slips, select unblemished, medium sweet potatoes in November (peak harvest time). One tuber yields about 12 plants.
- Store potatoes in a well-lit room at 65–70°F until roughly 90 days before the last spring frost. Then bed them in soil, keeping them consistently warm and moist for 90 days.
- Use a 1.5-gallon pot per two potatoes. Add drainage holes, 3 inches of mulch, then garden or potting soil. Plant potatoes at a 45° angle so sprouts emerge above soil. When slips reach 6–12 inches, transplant outdoors after all frost danger passes.
- Prepare the garden bed by tilling 8–10 inches deep. Form raised beds 6–8 inches tall and 12 inches wide using fertile, well-drained soil.
- Plant slips 12–18 inches apart after the last frost. Cover roots and about ½ inch of stem. Water with a high-phosphorus starter solution, then water generously for several days to establish roots.
Care
- Side-dress 3–4 weeks after transplanting with 3 lbs of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 feet of row (5 lbs for sandy soil).
- Hoe beds occasionally to control weeds, reshaping with soil or mulch as needed.
- Do not prune vines—vigorous growth supports better yields.
- Water deeply during hot, dry spells to boost production, but reduce late-season watering if planning to store tubers.
Pests and Diseases
- Flea beetles
- Sweet potato scurf
- White blister
- Fungal leaf rot
- Stem rot
Harvest and Storage
- Begin harvesting when tubers reach meal size—typically 3–4 months after planting slips.
- Leaves and vine tips yellowing signal readiness, though tubers can remain in ground until fall frost.
- Use a spade fork to loosen soil in an 18-inch diameter around plants, avoiding tuber damage. Cut vines if needed.
- Lift the primary crown and gently dig out tubers by hand—they bruise easily.
- Shake off excess soil but do not wash.
- Curing is essential for sweet flavor and healing harvest wounds. Hold tubers at ~80°F and 90% humidity for 10–14 days (a shaded outdoor table works). Keep tubers from touching.
- After curing, discard bruised tubers. Wrap each in newspaper and pack in wooden boxes or baskets. Store at 55–60°F with high humidity for up to 6 months.
- Handle gently when retrieving from storage to prevent bruising.
Recommended Varieties
- 'Centennial' – popular, carrot-colored, good storage, reliable for northern growers
- 'Jewel' – copper-colored, disease-resistant, stores well
- 'Bunch Porto Rico' – compact, copper-colored, excellent flavor for small spaces
- 'Stokes' – vibrant purple, extra health benefits
Wit & Wisdom
Sweet potatoes retain color when cooked with a lemon slice.
Sweet potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse—discover why you should eat them.
Recipes
- Pecan-Crusted Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Maple Candied Sweet Potatoes
Cooking Notes
Explore our ten best sweet potato recipes!
Sweet potatoes are easier than pie to prepare:
- Scrub, pierce with a fork, bake at 400°F for 35–60 minutes until yielding to gentle pressure.
- Microwave whole on high 4–6 minutes; let stand 5 minutes to finish softening.
- Steam whole, unpeeled, ~40 minutes, or boil ~35 minutes (boiling reduces flavor).
- Submerge cut raw pieces in water to prevent darkening.
Don't substitute sweet potatoes for regular potatoes in recipes—they're unrelated. Sweet potatoes don't hold together like potatoes, and their strong flavor can overwhelm milder dishes. They're also not yams, but make a fine pumpkin substitute, especially in desserts.
