Soil
Light, sandy soil best, but can adapt to any fertile, well drained soil.
Position
Full sun.
Frost tolerant
No.
Feeding
Mix a light application of a balanced organic fertilizer into the soil before planting.
Companions
Beans, Strawberry, Parsnip, Nigella and Beet.
Spacing
Single Plants: 1′ 5″ (45cm) each way (minimum)
Rows: 1′ 5″ (45cm) with 1′ 11″ (60cm) row gap (minimum)
Sow and Plant
Plant ‘slips’ that grow from sprouting tubers in late spring or early summer, after the soil is very warm.
Notes
Sweet potatoes form a dense green ground cover under hot summer conditions. Tubers are often found 12 inches or more from the plant’s primary crown, so dig carefully. Although not from the solanaceae family, sweet potatoes are often placed in that group for crop rotation purposes because they share several important pests and diseases such as wireworms and nematodes which is why we show it as solanaceae.
Harvesting
Dig in fall when the soil is still warm. Cure in a warm, airy place for two weeks before storing at cool room temperatures.
Troubleshooting
Deer are fond of sweet potato vines.
