From Tuber to Sweet Potato Vine – Sweet potatoes are grown from rootable cuttings, often called slips. If you’ve never grown sweet potatoes before, it can be great fun to grow your own slips from small or medium-size sweet potatoes purchased at the market.
One sweet potato will produce between three and five slips. This process takes about six weeks, so there is no need to hurry. At the Sand Hill Preservation Center in Iowa, Glenn Drowns emphasizes the importance of planting sweet potatoes after the weather turns warm and stable, in early summer. In my garden, the soil is not warm enough for sweet potatoes until the middle of June.
As a kid, I had fun sticking toothpicks around the middle of promising-looking sweet potatoes so I could suspend the other end in a jar of water and thereby grow a robust vining plant. This method works when conditions are right, or the result can be a scummy rotting sweet potato.
A better idea is to nestle a sweet potato tuber diagonally in a bed of moist potting soil, with the sprouting end pointing up. Kept warm and lightly moist, the tuber will quickly sprout shoots that leaf out into vines. As the shoots, or slips, grow to 6 inches (15 cm) long, they can be broken off and transplanted to the garden, or to containers if outdoor conditions are too cold.
You can buy bundles of sweet potato slips if you are growing sweet potatoes in a big way, or you can use the bucket of sand method. Fill a bucket halfway with damp sand, and then lay in several sweet potatoes, half buried in the damp sand. Keep the bucket in a warm place, and it will be overflowing with slips in four to six weeks.
How do you tell the sprouting end from the root end of a sweet potato? This is not always easy, but the end of the tuber that was closest to the mother plant is fertile ground for foliar buds. If you cannot see little reddish buds on either end of a sweet potato, simply place the tuber in a warm place for two weeks.
Buds will emerge, and you will know which end should go up. 
How long does it take a sweet potato to grow slips in water?
How to grow sweet potato slips – There are a few methods for growing sweet potato slips. I’m sharing two successful methods I’ve used.1. The traditional method of suspending the sweet potato in water, This method works, but often takes a 6-8 weeks (or more) to produce slips. 
2. The soil method of making sweet potato slips. In my experience this method is a much faster way to make sweet potato slips, This method usually takes around 4-6 weeks. 
The first step for both methods is to choose a healthy organic sweet potato.
How many sweet potatoes will one slip grow?
How many sweet potatoes do you get from one plant? Typically, you’ll be able to harvest 3-5 tubers per sweet potato plant, which is about 1-2 pounds. But if you live in a warmer climate, you may harvest six or more tubers per plant.
What month do you start sweet potato slips?
When to Start Sweet Potato Slips – Growing a sweet potato plant starts with producing slips from a sweet potato root. The timing is important if you want to grow large and tasty sweet potatoes. This plant loves warm weather and should be planted when the soil reaches 65 degrees F.
How many months does sweet potatoes take to grow?
INTRODUCTION The sweet potato ( Ipomoea batata L.) is one of the twelve principal plant species utilized as a human feed throughout the world. It can be cultivated in many different climatic conditions, and as a result large areas of sweet potato are cultivated in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Oceania (Table 2). The various ways in which it can be used are shown in Table 1.
| Japan | USA | |
|---|---|---|
| Starch, Alcohol, Wine | 54% | 0% |
| Cattle Feed | 25% | 10% |
| Human Food | 15% | 84% |
| Seed | 6% | 6% |
table> TABLE 2. World production of sweet potato (FAO 1987)
ECOLOGY Sweet potato is a tropical and subtropical plant which can adapt to more temperate climates providing the average temperature does not drop below 20°C and minimum temperatures stay above 15°C. In other words it can be cultivated between the 30 and 40° latitudes in both hemispheres.
- Temperature For the cultivation of sweet potatoes a range of temperature between 15 to 33°C is required during the vegetative cycle, with the optimum temperature being between 20 to 25°C.
- The highest yields are obtained when temperatures are high during the day (25 to 30°C) and low by night (15 to 20°C); low temperatures during the night favour the formation of tubers, and high temperatures by day favour vegetative development.
(Note: tubers development only occurs within a temperature range of 20 to 30°C, optimum 25°C and generally stops below 10°C). Light Sweet potato is a short day plant, that needs light for maximum development. However, the growth of the tubers appears not to be influenced by photoperiod alone.
- It is probable that temperature and fluctuations in temperature, together with short days favour the growth of tubers and limit the growth of foliage (Youg, 1962).
- Altitude In tropical regions it is possible to cultivate sweet potato from sea level to 2500 m; for example in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia it is cultivated from sea level to 2300 m.
(Del Carpio, 1969). Moisture Moisture has a decisive influence on sweet potato growth and production. In this context it is relevant to note the water content of the leaf is (86%), stem (88.4%) and tuber (70.6%). At planting it is important to have moist soils in order to achieve good germination.
How many sweet potatoes should I plant for a family of 4?
To feed a family of four, start off by planting 40 potato plants. This will provide you with a potato based meal 2 to 3 times a week. The 40 plants will provide up to 6 months worth of meals. If you find 40 plants provides you with too many potatoes you can plant less next year.
How deep do you plant sweet potato slips?
Plant your slips at least 2–3 inches deep (2 or more nodes) with at least 2 leaves above ground. Space 10–14 inches apart in rows at least 3 feet apart, to make room for the sprawling vines. Wide in-row spacing leads to larger tubers. In hot weather, transplant in the evening.
How many sweet potatoes can I grow in a 5 gallon bucket?
The roots of your sweet potatoes need a lot of room to grow, so experts advise planting only 1 slip of sweet potato per 5-gallon bucket. However, keep in mind that one slip will result in between 5 and 10 potatoes at harvest time.
Can I just plant a whole sweet potato?
The first step in learning how to grow sweet potatoes is discovering that they are not related to regular potatoes and are not developed the same way. Unlike regular potatoes, you can’t just plant a whole sweet potato in the ground and expect a crop; it will rot underground.
Sweet potatoes are grown from sweet potato slips. Slips are the stems and foliage that sprout from already grown sweet potatoes. Twist them off the potato, root them in water, then plant them. In three to four months, you should have some sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are always planted in the spring. They are slow-growing and require warm temperatures to develop full-size tubers,
You can usually get three to five tubers per plant and more if you’re in a warmer climate. Sweet potato plants come back every year if you live in a warmer growing zone (USDA zones 8 through 11). The orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are the most familiar, but sweet potatoes can be white, yellow, and even purple.
Do sweet potato slips need sunlight?
Maintain the soil and the room at 75°F to 80°F in sunlight or under artificial lights. Use a heating mat if necessary; sweet potatoes respond well to warm temperatures. Soon, slips (shoots) will emerge from the soil.
Can you grow sweet potatoes in pots?
Thankfully in a container, you are able to control the water and drainage as sweet potatoes want to remain moist, but with good draining soil so that rot does not occur. Step Four: Sweet potatoes love to remain moist, but not to sit in water. It is important to have a good soil mix when planting in your containers.
How often do you water sweet potatoes?
Chances are that you have probably accidentally started a sweet potato slip. Remember that forgotten potato you found at the bottom of the bowl that sprouted little leaves and roots? That potato was on its way to producing slips! Unlike most vegetables, sweet potatoes are not grown from seed.
- Sweet potatoes are grown from slips which can be ordered from seed catalogues or started at home.
- Starting Slips To intentionally grow sweet potato slips, cut a sweet potato in half, fill a container with about a ½ inch of water, place the fleshy part of the potato in the water.
- Potatoes need warmth to sprout slips, so sit the container in a sunny location or on top of a radiator.
Within a couple of weeks, you will notice your sweet potato has sprouted its first slips (think Chia Pet). Be sure to change the water weekly or things can get a little stinky! Rooting Slips Once your sweet potatoes have sprouted, you have to separate them into plantable slips.
- Once they’re 6″-12″ long, carefully twist each slip off of the sweet potato.
- The next step is to help the slips grow roots.
- Place bundles of slips in a cup with about half of the slip length submerged in water.
- Slips will develop roots within a few days making them ready for the garden.
- To keep newly rooted slips happy, keep changing their water frequently.
Planting your Slips Sweet potatoes like to grow in loose soil so before planting your new slips, be sure to loosen up and aerate the soil at least 6″ deep. With the bed prepared, you are ready to plant your sweet potatoes. Using your hands or a trowel dig a hole 4-6″ deep and place the slip roots inside the hole.
Ensure the slip leaves are above ground and cover the roots, lightly patting the soil in place to remove air pockets. Sweet potatoes vigorously grow by vining so we recommend planting slips 12 inches apart. Watering Newly planted sweet potato slips will need to be watered daily during their first week outside.
Watering every other day during the second week will help establish plants. Once the plants are established, sweet potatoes can be watered once a week. This is a drought tolerant crop so it can be planted and left to its own devices during the summer months.
How late is too late to plant sweet potatoes?
Q&A – Is it too late to plant sweet potatoes? – Question: Is it too late to plant sweet potatoes? Answer: UT Assistant Professor of Residential and Consumer Horticulture Natalie Bumgarner talks about sweet potatoes and their growing season. Sweet potatoes take 100-140 days to finish their life cycle and be ready to harvest.
Will a sweet potato grow in water?
Can you grow other potatoes in water? – While rooting in water will work with sweet potatoes, it won’t work for regular potatoes because they hail from a much colder climate. Growing in water is most effective with tropical and subtropical plants, as it replicates the moisture-rich environments they thrive in.
Can you plant sweet potato slips without roots?
Before you plant sweet potato slips, you have a little extra work to do. Sweet potatoes need loose, well-drained soil to form large tubers. You don’t want the roots to face resistance when they try to expand within the soil.
How do you root sweet potatoes in water?
Sweet potatoes in the U.S. are grown mostly in the South. They are planted in the spring by “slips.” These are the small rooted pieces of the vine that grow from the “eyes” or buds of the potato. The sweet potato produces vine-like stems that resemble the philodendron plant. Place the sweet potato in a container of water. Keep the top 1/3 of the potato exposed by placing toothpicks into the sides. The pointed end should be down in the water. In a few weeks a vine with several stems will begin to sprout.
The stems are weak; tie the stems to a stake. Sweet potatoes like a bright, sunny location and require care like house plants such as ivy. Fertilize about once a month. If the sweet potato vine gets too long, cut it back a few inches to force the vine to get bushier. The tip of the vine that was pinched off can be rooted in water or moist soil.
Your sweet potato vines can be planted outside in late May to produce sweet potatoes that can be dug and eaten in the fall. Now go on to Case #6!