I planted my first sweet potatoes (a tropical plant related to the morning glory and not an Irish potato which is of the nightshade family) in 2019 from rooted slips sold at Lowe's that were the Beauregard variety. They did really well sending out 7 to 8-foot vines. Out of about 25 plants, we harvested a rectangular laundry basket full but halved them into another laundry basket so we could cure them in the utility shed for two weeks (warm and dry). Newly harvested sweet potatoes have no flavor because the starch has to convert to sugar during curing. Any injured potatoes (pierced, broken, etc.) need to be separated from the non-injured or be immediately consumed. My experience is that potatoes damaged from the excavation will usually rot within 3 days due to airborne molds and fungus.
In 2020 I decided to order unrooted slips from: https://www.sweetpotatoplant.com/ (Steele Plant Company) and I focused on the best varieties that offered the most disease resistance. You may be able to buy bundles of slips from a local feed and seed store.
In January 2021, I grew my own slips (a.k.a. shoots) from leftover sweet potatoes that were too small to eat. I used plastic shoeboxes (purchased from Walmart @ $0.88 each with lid- no drain holes were drilled) that contained an inch of potting soil that was slightly moist and each potato was placed on the soil surface. I later added a 20" x 20" seedling heating pad to keep the soil warm and to encourage growth. Sweet potatoes are tropical and prefer warm soil. After 3-4 weeks, shoots began to form on the ends and as they grew, roots developed and grew into the soil. When the shoots grow to about four inches tall, they can be removed from the potato and planted directly into the garden when the soil temps are 60F or above. My preference is to plant them into peat pots and let them grow through the pot for another two weeks which results in a very stable transplant. In 2021, I planted close to 125 rooted slips which produced about 120 lbs of potatoes. For 2022 I have purchased aluminum trays from Dollar Tree which will conduct heat far better than the plastic shoeboxes. And I intend to grow fewer rooted slips as I plan to purchase a bush variety of sweet potatoes from Steele in January 2022 (they ship in April for planting in South Georgia). I plan to use the extra heating mat capacity to raise some lettuce transplants for an early spring garden. This variety of lettuce, https://parkseed.com/mini-romaine-blend-lettuce-seeds/p/52735-PK-P1/ which matures in 45 days.
In 2020 I decided to order unrooted slips from: https://www.sweetpotatoplant.com/ (Steele Plant Company) and I focused on the best varieties that offered the most disease resistance. You may be able to buy bundles of slips from a local feed and seed store.
In January 2021, I grew my own slips (a.k.a. shoots) from leftover sweet potatoes that were too small to eat. I used plastic shoeboxes (purchased from Walmart @ $0.88 each with lid- no drain holes were drilled) that contained an inch of potting soil that was slightly moist and each potato was placed on the soil surface. I later added a 20" x 20" seedling heating pad to keep the soil warm and to encourage growth. Sweet potatoes are tropical and prefer warm soil. After 3-4 weeks, shoots began to form on the ends and as they grew, roots developed and grew into the soil. When the shoots grow to about four inches tall, they can be removed from the potato and planted directly into the garden when the soil temps are 60F or above. My preference is to plant them into peat pots and let them grow through the pot for another two weeks which results in a very stable transplant. In 2021, I planted close to 125 rooted slips which produced about 120 lbs of potatoes. For 2022 I have purchased aluminum trays from Dollar Tree which will conduct heat far better than the plastic shoeboxes. And I intend to grow fewer rooted slips as I plan to purchase a bush variety of sweet potatoes from Steele in January 2022 (they ship in April for planting in South Georgia). I plan to use the extra heating mat capacity to raise some lettuce transplants for an early spring garden. This variety of lettuce, https://parkseed.com/mini-romaine-blend-lettuce-seeds/p/52735-PK-P1/ which matures in 45 days.
