How do you grow sweet potatoes in the winter?
Heeling in Sweet Potato Vines over Winter
and spread a thick layer of mulch around the container to act as a blanket to protect the roots. This is one way of winterizing a sweet potato vine. So long as the tubers don't freeze, the plant should spring back when warm temperatures arrive.
Sweet potato roots continue to grow until frost kills the vines. Roots can be left in the ground for a short while; however, a hard frost can cause damage to roots near the surface. Chilling injury also results to roots when soil temperatures drop to 50°F or lower, and this can result in internal decay in storage.
Native to the tropical regions of the Americas, sweet potato vines are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, depending on the variety. While the vines die back in cold weather, in frost-free climates the tubers should survive the winter and sprout new vines in the spring.
Sweet potato vines can't tolerate very much cold, they will start to die back once them temperatures get consistently below 60°F. However, the tubers in the ground are hardier, and can tolerate brief periods of below freezing temps.
Sweet potato roots continue to grow until frost kills the vines. Roots can be left in the ground for a short while; however, a hard frost can cause damage to roots near the surface. Chilling injury also results to roots when soil temperatures drop to 50°F or lower, and this can result in internal decay in storage.
Well-rooted sweet potatoes require a soil growing temperature of 60° to 85°F (16-29°C) and an air growing temperature of 65° to 95°F (18-35°C). Sweet potatoes will thrive in air temperatures as high as 100°F (37°C).
They can live through the winter in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11. So, if the roots survive the winter, they'll regrow. But if you live in a zone colder than 9, you'll need to either give them significant protection over the winter or plan to replant them every year. See how to start sweet potatoes from slips.
Sweet potato roots will continue to grow until frost kills the vines. Lift the crop if a hard frost is predicted and before the soil temperature drops to 50°F (10°C). A hard frost can cause damage to roots near the surface.
Winter storage is the same for eating sweet potatoes and slip-producers. It's best to keep them inside somewhere, in a dark place, like in boxes or paper bags in a closet, and then covered with a blanket to keep out any sunlight. The ideal storing temperature is between 55-60 degrees.
To overwinter the tubers, cut the vines to ground level, then dig them up before the first frost in autumn. Dig carefully and be careful not to slice into the tubers. Brush the soil lightly off the tubers, then store them, not touching, in a cardboard box filled with peat moss, sand, or vermiculite.
Can potato plants survive winter?
Potato plants can survive a light frost (temperatures of 28 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit), usually with little or no damage. Potato plants can also survive a hard frost (temperatures below 28 degrees Fahrenheit), especially with cold protection (such as cloches or row covers).
For the tastiest sweet potatoes, always dig up the previous crop and start a new planting. While sweet potatoes can be grown in tropical regions year-round, plants that are left to grow for too long can encourage pest populations, and the sweet potatoes eventually become too large and tough for most people's tastes.
Harvest when the weather is still hot, because sweet potatoes cure faster in hot weather. Harvest before frost. Even though sweet potatoes can take a light frost, some of your tubers could be damaged.
Propagating Ornamental Sweet Potato Vines
Whether you want to eat them or not, it's worth saving the tubers to grow new plants for next year. You can store them like bulbs and plant them in containers the next spring.
Plant sweet potatoes 2-3 weeks after the last spring frost, when the soil temperature is at least 65℉. In the low desert of Arizona: Begin making sweet potato slips indoors from January through April. Plant sweet potato slips outdoors from March through June.
One sweet potato, cut in half lengthwise (producing two halves each with a round base) will sprout slips. These roots, once planted in deep trenches or raised rows of soil, will each yield several sweet potatoes.
If you have a sweet potato sprouting in the cupboard, it might be too far gone for dinner. However, if you plant the sprouting section, called a slip, you can grow your own sweet potatoes in just a few months time. Store-bought sweet potatoes work perfectly well and growing them is simple.
Plant it with the growing point just below the soil surface or lay it on its side and cover with potting mix. Grow your new plant in a sunny window and water as needed. Sweet potatoes make a great indoor plant.
Short-season sweet potato varieties include 'Beauregard', 'Centennial', and 'Georgia Jet. ' These three planted from slips will be ready for harvest in 80 to 90 days. Varieties that can be harvested or lifted in about 100 to 110 days are 'Bush Porto Rico', 'Jewel', and 'Vardaman', again when planted from slips.
What Happens If You Don't Harvest Sweet Potatoes? It is very easy to grow sweet potatoes, but they don't like cold temperatures. While the roots of sweet potatoes won't be damaged by the first fall frost, as the soil temperature continues to fall, they won't survive and will start to rot.
Should I remove sweet potato flowers?
When you see flowers on your potato plants, I recommend cutting them off for two main reasons. First of all, you don't want the flowers to produce a fruit that small children or pets might be tempted to eat. Secondly, pruning the flowers is a great way to increase production of spuds.
The long vines of sweet potatoes can overrun a garden. In early to mid-September, feel free to cut them back by 25%. This simply makes the plants easier to deal with when digging. Sweet potatoes with edible tubers developing below the ground.
Leave them as long as they need; if you harvest too early, the sweet potatoes will be spindly and not as tasty. Harvesting mature sweet potatoes also means they will heal faster during the curing process - more on that later!
Sweet potatoes 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.
You can use any shop bought sweet potatoes. Place them on the ground, cover them with soil, and keep them moist. The tubers will develop shoots, called slips. Slips can be snipped or pulled off and planted out when they are about 15 cm in size.