Sweet potatoes must be cured after harvest and before they are stored.Īfter digging, allow the roots to dry for two to three hours.
SWEET POTATO HOW TO
When we talk about how to harvest sweet potatoes, it’s important to note that it’s more than just knowing when to dig. What to Do After Harvesting Sweet Potatoes Newly dug roots should be handled as little as possible and moisture should never be added. Washing the newly dug roots is another common mistake made by many home gardeners when harvesting sweet potatoes. Minor scrapes will heal during the drying process, but the best practice when harvesting sweet potatoes is to set deeply cut roots aside to be eaten first. Some people believe this juice seals the injury. Place them carefully.Ī potato that has been damaged by cuts and bruises will leak a milky juice over the injury. Don’t toss the freed potatoes into your carrying container. Be sure you sink your garden fork far enough out from the plants to avoid striking the tender roots.
SWEET POTATO SKIN
Sweet potatoes have delicate skin that is easily bruised or broken. How to harvest sweet potatoes is every bit as important as when to harvest. If you must harvest sweet potatoes on a sunny day, move the roots to a shaded spot as quickly as possible or cover them with a tarp. This can open the way for infection to enter the tubers and cause damage during storage. The thin skins of the newly dug potatoes are susceptible to sunscald. When deciding when to harvest sweet potatoes, choose a cloudy day if possible. (-1 C.) and can be injured at 45 degrees F. Remember, these tender roots freeze at 30 degrees F.
![sweet potato sweet potato](https://brghealth.com/brg/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Sweet-potatoes.jpg)
This will buy you a few more days for harvesting sweet potatoes. The truth is once those vines blacken with frost bite, the answer to when to dig sweet potatoes becomes– Right Now! If you can’t harvest sweet potatoes right away, cut those dead vines off at the ground so the decay doesn’t pass to the tubers below. Sweet potatoes are well insulated underground after all. Many people think frost won’t affect your harvest. Usually this occurs in late September or early October before the first frost.
![sweet potato sweet potato](https://www.simplystacie.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/candied-sweet-potatoes-5-1-680x1047.jpg)
A good rule of thumb is to watch for the first signs of yellowing leaves. If the growing season has been good with adequate water and sunshine, harvesting sweet potatoes should begin about 100 to 110 days after planting depending on the variety. When to harvest sweet potatoes depends largely on the seasonal growing. The tubers will keep for about six months in storage.So you’ve decided to grow some sweet potatoes in the garden and now you need information about when and how to harvest sweet potatoes once they’ve matured. Cure sweet potatoes for 10 to 14 days prior to use by storing in a warm, dry place. If weather permits allow the harvested tubers to dry out for a few hours by leaving them on top of the soil. Use a garden fork to carefully dig up the roots being careful not to bruise the tubers. Sweet potatoes are usually harvested around the time of the first fall frost. Stop watering the plants 3 to 4 weeks before the anticipated harvest. Sweet potatoes require watering weekly especially during dry periods and the plants will benefit from a side dressing of fertilizer. Weeding is not necessary if using black plastic mulch. Weed the plants about two weeks after planting by gently pulling weeds by hand. Plant the slips in 15 cm (6 in) deep holes spaced 30–45 cm (12–18 in) apart, allowing 0.9 m (3 ft) between rows. Prepare the planting site beforehand by working in about an inch of compost. Sweet potato slips should be planted outside after all danger of frost has passed, usually about a month after the last frost date in your area. Those without should be snapped off and placed in a jar of water until they begin to develop roots. The shoots that have roots can be snapped from the main tuber and planted in individual pots. Some of the sprouts will develop roots, others may not. The easiest way to grow slips is to place a sweet potato in a jar of water using toothpicks to support it, place it in a bright, sunny window and and allow it to sprout. Slips are plants which have been grown from a mature sweet potato tuber. Sweet potatoes are grown from plants called slips.
SWEET POTATO FULL
Sweet potatoes should be planted in full sun and require plenty of space as the vines will spread over large areas.
![sweet potato sweet potato](https://www.marketsimple.com/assets/img/vegetables/sweet-potato/MarketSimple_vegetable_sweet-potato_pva1.jpg)
They grow best at temperatures in excess of 25☌ (77☏) in well-draining, loamy soil with a pH of 5.6–6.6. Sweet potatoes grow very well in tropical and subtropical climates and they are very sensitive to cold weather.