How To Growing Sweet Potatoes [ Completer Guide ]

Sweet Potatoes are tropical vine that belongs to the morning glory family. It's scientifically known as Ipomoea Batatas. Sweet potato originated from South America. Sweet Potato is eaten raw as vegetable or processed to flavor. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked.

 Sweet potato is rich in vitamins and minerals including Vitamin A , vitamin C, potassium, fiber and zinc. It's also beneficial to human health as it promotes gut health, supports health vision, support immune system, fight against cancer. Sweet potato vary in color and texture of the flesh.

 They can be red, orange, and white. The varieties are dry or moist. 

How To Grow Sweet Potato 

The first step in growing sweet potato is choosing the variety you want to grow. Select a sweet potato variety that suits your climate. There are many varieties of sweet potatoes but the most common ones are; Beauregard, Georgia jet, centennial and Batata. 

These varieties takes 90 -120 days to mature.  When you must have chosen the variety you want, the next thing to do is to look for the right soil. The soil should be fertile sandy loam soil which is good for roots penetration. When you have looked for right soil, prepare the soil for planting. 

Sweet potato grow well on ridges. This is because the roots would have enough space to grow and reach down.

 The soil should be amend with organic matter before planting. Note that potatoes are grown from slips which are shoots that sprouts from mature potatoes. You can get slips from garden centers or you can also make your own slips.

Planting Slips 

Before you get slips, ensure that you have enough growing season to grow your sweet potato. Plant slips 3-4 weeks after the last frost. Plant sweet potato in a sunny area. Plant slips 12 -18 inches apart in a row, spaced 3-4 feet apart. Make sure the roots are covered. 

How To Care For Sweet Potatoes 

1. Water regularly. Water the newly planted slips regularly especially during mid-summer until they established roots. When they have established roots, reduce the rate of watering but make sure they receive an inch of water weekly. Watering during dry periods will help to increase yields. 

2. Weed the sweet potato farm. Remove unnecessary weed on the ridges that compete with the sweet potatoes. Removing the weeds would allow the sweet potatoes to have enough nutrients to grow. 

3. Fertilization. Apply a balance fertilizer to the sweet potatoes. Use 12-12-12 or 15-15-15 , phosphorus, and potassium. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizer as they promote foliage growth rather than tubers development. 

4. Regular monitoring. Monitor your sweet potato regularly for any signs of pests such as; cucumber beetles and sweet potato weevils which can affect plants health and yield. Use disease-free slips to minimize pests issues. Also implement crop rotation. 

Pests and diseases affecting sweet potato 

1. Alternaria leaf spot and leaf. It is caused by fungus. Symptoms include; brown lesions on leaves. Control this disease by planting resistant sweet potato varieties and plant disease-free slips 

2. Fusarium root and stem rot . It's caused by fungus. Symptoms include; swollen and distorted base of stems, dying of plants, dropping of leaves, growth of white mold. To control this disease, treat slips roots with an appropriate fungicide before planting. 

3. Leaf and stem scab. It's caused by fungus. Symptoms include; small brown lesions on leaves veins, scabby lesions form on stems when lesions coalesce. It can be controlled by rotating sweet potato with other crops, use of disease-free slip, destroy sweet potatoes crop residue immediately after harvest. 

4. Bacteria soft rot. It's caused by bacterium . Symptoms include; brown to black water-soaked lesions on stems, entire plant may die, stem may collapse. It can be controlled by avoiding wounding storage root, plant disease-free slip,throw away any stored roots which are infected. 

Harvesting 

Sweet Potato takes 90-120 days to be mature. Sweet potatoes are mature when the vines and leaves start to turn yellow.

Use a garden fork to gently lift them up from the ground. Be careful not to bruise the sweet potatoes. 

Curving And Storing 

 immediately after harvest, cure sweet potatoes for a week or two before storing them. Place them in a warm area with humidity . Keep them in a large area so that they can have enough space. Arrange the sweet potatoes so that they don't touch each other.

 After curing, remove sweet potatoes that are bruised. Carefully pack the sweet potatoes in a wooden basket and store in a basement or in a root cellar. 

Conclusion 

Growing sweet potatoes is a very sustainable and profitable business but it needs dedication, energy, time and resources to get high yield.