Sweet potato transplants are quick to take hold in warm weather. Space them about 12 inches apart in rows at least 3 feet apart.
Unlike regular potatoes, which grow best when the soil is cool, sweet potatoes like it hot! They are tropical plants that are very sensitive to cold weather. In warm climates, many gardeners plant sweet potatoes about a month after the last spring frost, when both the air and soil are dependably warm. The plants produce lush vines that make a pretty ground cover, so they are a great crop for beds that adjoin areas that are difficult or tiresome to mow.
Shade transplants if they wilt too much after planting them in the heat. A clay pot turned over the plant will do.
Sweet potatoes prefer a loamy, well-drained soil that is not too rich. Ideally the pH is between 5.8 and 6.2, although they will tolerate a more acid pH to 5.0. Before planting, mix in a 1-inch layer of compost and thoroughly dampen the bed. In heavy clay, grow them in raised beds amended with compost and sand; potatoes in clay are sometimes thinner and oddly shaped. Good root development depends on there being plenty of air space in the soil (good aeration). They are the ideal crop for areas with sandy soil.
Sweet potatoes are so willing to be transplanted that plants accidentally dropped on the ground will take off and grow when tucked into warm, moist soil. Plant sweet potatoes about 12 inches apart, and allow 3 feet between rows so the vines will have plenty of room to run. When setting out sweet potatoes in very hot, sunny weather, cover the transplants with upturned flower pots for 3 days after planting to shield them from baking sun.
In the North it’s a good idea to cover the soil with black plastic or black fabric mulch about 3 weeks before planting to warm the soil.
Sweet potatoes produce long vines that need plenty of space to grow.
Sweet potato vines will soon cover a large area. Thoroughly weed your sweet potatoes 2 weeks after planting by pulling them gently; if possible avoid deep digging with a hoe or other tool that disturbs the feeder roots that quickly spread throughout the bed. These give rise to your sweet potatoes. Water weekly. Water is especially important as transplants grow and roots spread.
Historically, sweet potatoes have been a poor soil crop that produces a decent harvest in imperfect soil, but will do much better with a little fertilizer. About 2 weeks after planting, feed plants with a balanced organic or timed-release fertilizer that contains potassium (the third number on the fertilizer label), for example 5-10-10. Use about 2 cups 5-10-10 per 30 square feet (a 10-foot row). Gently scratch the fertilizer into the soil surface. Then mulch over the soil with an inch of grass clippings or another biodegradable mulch. Continue weeding and adding more mulch for another month. After that, sweet potatoes can usually fend for themselves, though they do benefit from weekly deep watering during serious droughts.
In climates where summer is hot, mulching before the vines get too long will help keep your sweet potato patch moist and weed-free.
Deer love to nibble tender sweet potato leaves, so you may need to deter them with floating row covers. Japanese beetles and other leaf-eating insects may cause light damage, but sweet potatoes are so vigorous that they usually outgrow foliage pest problems. More troublesome are pests that might attack the tubers. In Florida and southern states, sweet potato weevils are a big problem, often ruining the harvest. Wireworms and nematodes can also attack sweet potatoes.
You may have heard of a fungus disease called scurf that is very destructive to sweet potatoes. It is soil borne and nearly impossible to get rid of once the soil is infested. Fortunately you can avoid scurf by always planting certified, disease-free slips. Bonnie plants are certified disease free.
In late summer, sweet potatoes often produce flowers that resemble those of morning glory, a close botanical cousin.
After harvesting, brush soil from potatoes but don't wash them. Sweet potatoes that cure for several weeks in cool storage will taste the sweetest.
Compared to other sweet potatoes, Beauregard matures early, about 95 days after planting. They are usually ready to harvest just as the ends of the vines begin to turn yellow, or just before frost in the North. To avoid injuring tubers, find the primary crown of the plant you want to dig, and then use a digging fork to loosen an 18-inch wide circle around the plant. Pull up the crown and use your hands to gather your sweet potatoes. To make digging easier and get the vines out of your way, you can cut some of them away before digging. Harvest before frost because cool temperatures can reduce the quality of the potatoes and their ability to keep.
Don’t wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil when cooking because that causes them to steam. If you bake them without wrapping, they will caramelize.
Sweet potatoes are not very sweet when first dug, but they are fine for sweetened pies or casseroles. They need a period to sit and “cure” to bring out their sweetness. Don’t wash before curing. Instead, shake off soil, and then lay the unwashed sweet potatoes in a warm (80°F to 90°F), well-ventilated place for about 10 days. A shaded table outdoors and out of the rain works well. As the sweet potatoes cure, any scratches in the skins should heal, and the flesh inside will become even sweeter and more nutritious. This is very important as fresh, uncured potatoes do not bake as well. After 10 days, move your cured tubers to any spot that stays cool and dry, but do not refrigerate or store below 50°F. Cured sweet potatoes will keep for up to 6 months when stored at around 60°F with high humidity; a basement is ideal, and an air-conditioned storage room or pantry will do, too.
Before cooking, rinse and use a vegetable brush to scrub your sweet potatoes clean. Don’t wrap in foil when cooking because that causes them to steam. If you bake them without wrapping, they will caramelize better.
