How to Maximize Your Sweet Potato Harvest — Even in Your Backyard

When we planted sweet potato slips, we got a very impressive harvest. We got about 200 to 300 pounds from just 40 slips. What surprised me the most was that this humble vegetable was giving us an outstanding return. That too from just a backyard grower. What surprised me the most was that the single potato gave us a dozen slips. Making it an efficient crop that can be grown at home.

The sweet potato slips are dependent on your local climate, and since they are heat-loving plants, they are very dependent on the soil temperature, which should be 60°F during the day and 50°F during the night. Moreover, they can maximize your harvest, but for this, there is a condition that you should keep the spacing between the potatoes proper and plant the sweet potato slips precisely so that they can stick better in the ground. This process includes proper watering. If you do something in a hurry, you will not get proper results.

Water regularly every day for the first week, then after a week. Make a schedule for alternate days and harvest at 85 degrees Fahrenheit with 90 percent humidity for 7 to 10 days to enhance sweetness. Potatoes need to be provided with more sweetness, which can be restored in a few months without any refrigeration. We have seen in most vegetable shops that potatoes that have been stored for a long time are slightly sweet to the taste. So this is a valuable technique, and those who are interest in it must try it.

Understanding Sweet Potato Slips

Sweet Potato slips are a Foundation for Successful Potato Growing. Unlike other vegetables that can be grown from seed, sweet potatoes are typically plant through sprouting. And we have found that by understanding what slips are and how they work. We can achieve a much better and more bountiful harvest.

Sweet potato slips usually have rooted sprouts in their core that can grow into mature sweet potatoes. These small developing plants are helpful in propagation and developing their new housing. Which allows specific varieties to reproduce and maintain desired rates. This is usually the starting point of the potato growth cycle. Which transforms a single potato into multiple productive plants, and the sweet potatoes are worth noting. The top portion produces the slips, while the bottom area is for developing roots. This knowledge is especially valuable if you want to use it to protect your potatoes. Additionally, a single potato tuber can produce anywhere from 10 to 30 slips, depending on how long you allow it to grow. Some varieties produce up to 50 slips from just one potato!

What makes slips valuable and increases their productivity? Each slip, when planted and matured, yields about six potatoes. So with proper planning, you can calculate the exact figure of how many slips you need. And you can get the desired yield from your harvest. For some time, if you want to consume two potatoes weekly. Then for the whole year, you will need approximately 104 slips.

Since we had to add some business matters to it at the same time, and we used these potatoes to make chips and sell them, and apart from that, we also sell potatoes at vegetable shops, so we needed a lot more plants. This is an approximate figure. I told you that according to your needs, but we had a whole potato garden in which we did this work and got excellent results, and now they are being share with you.

Conditions

Sweet potatoes require specific conditions to thrive. All of the above, such as the long, hot growing season, can be grown well. More importantly, the proper timing of planting sweet potatoes is an important requirement for their planting. Proper spacing of potatoes should be maintain at a distance of about 12 inches. Growers can enjoy successful harvests in cooler regions, but it is also essential that they work on it, keeping in mind the conditions of their environment.

How to Plant Sweet Potato Slips

Timing is a crucial step in planting sweet potato slips for a successful harvest. We have also seen the difference in results when planting them in a tireless weather. Wait until the soil temperature is consistent and reaches 65 degrees Fahrenheit four inches deep and above 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night. For many gardeners, this means the best date for planting. Prepare your soil thoroughly before planting after the last frost. Sweet potatoes do best in loose, well-draining soil that allows their roots to expand easily. I have always kept the soil loose and loose to about 6 inches and incorporated organic matter such as compost. Then, using clay or heavy soil, I raised the mounds and allowed the soil to warm up, which will also improve drainage.

Once you have your beds completely prepared, follow these planting steps: Dig a 4 to 6 inch hole and space them 12 to 18 inches apart, about three feet apart with rows, to accommodate the sprawling vines. Water each hole before planting. Place the slip in the hole with the roots and a little above the ground. Pat the soil gently around the slip to remove air pockets.

Initially, water is very important for establishment. We used to water regularly in the beginning, and for the first week, we did the same. Then gradually we reduced the amount of water little by little and brought it to alternate days. After establishment, sweet potatoes only need an inch of water once a week, and after applying organic mulch, we got multiple benefits from it. It suppressed the weeds. Moisture was also maintain, and soil temperature was also regular. Then, further, we added black plastic mulch to it, so it kept the soil warm and increased the yield. Warming strategies are more important in cooler regions, and they improve the results a lot.

For this, we also worked in the cooler region to get some experiments on this. So we used black plastic covers for several weeks so that the soil could be kept warm before planting and more. Floating row cover is use for extra protection in late frost.

Caring for Your Sweet Potato Plants

Proper care is very important so that you can maximize the harvest of your sweet potatoes. Once you have grounded your slips, regular maintenance such as watering, weeding, and soil management is a must. This ensures their healthy growth and abundant yields. Sweet potatoes need constant moisture, especially for the first 50 to 60 days after planting. My advice is to keep my plants moist with an inch of water regularly, whether through rain or an irrigation system. However, excess water also causes root rot and starts splitting the storage roots. So, I have always been careful to only maintain moisture and not overwater. As soon as the harvest is approve, I reduce watering so that the soil condition is also normal and the roots can be prepare for harvesting, and cracking is avoid.

The first 4 to 6 weeks of the weed control step are crucial for planting. After this period, the rapidly growing vines are shade out. Early weed management is done to allow for shallow cultivation. I did shallow cultivation to avoid damage and allow for healthy root development. Once the vines start spreading, weeding is much less necessary. Regarding fertilization, sweet potatoes have a medium demand for nutrients and prefer moderately fertile nutrient soils, which are more resistant to root rot, with the best being 5.5 to 6.8. However, we used soil with an optimum pH of 5.8 to 6.0, and I avoided high nitrogen because it stimulates stem and leaf growth, rather than potato.

Conclusion

Growing sweet potatoes is a marketable reward that requires very little effort. In this guide, we’ve told you in full how to grow root vegetables from a simple slip to an abundant harvest. Sweet potatoes are a very productive crop. You can grow them comfortably at home in a backyard garden, and also sell them in a very good market, and besides, you can get a portion of very nutritious food.

Further, you were told that success comes with time, so you will have to wait a little for it. You will have to provide a little attention and a little time for the soil to warm up, for which a great solution is that we told you to use a black plastic sheet, which is a good source of heat, and we have used it to get very good results. My years of experience have shown that patient gardeners get very good results. As a result of this patient, you will only have to face a few challenges, such as proper spacing, consistent watering, and proper care, which are the first few steps for a wake-up call that you must do and do with diligence. After that, a beautiful garden of sweet potato plants awaits you, in which there will be no competing weeds or anything to bother you.