by Jennifer Poindexter
Are you considering growing sweet potatoes in your garden? It’s important to do your research prior to growing this crop. You should understand all the things you must do to find success with this vegetable. And importantly, it’s also vital to avoid the most common mistakes the gardeners before you have made.
It also saves you from wasting time and unnecessary frustration. I’ve been raising sweet potatoes for a few years and here are a few lessons I’ve learned the hard way, so that you won’t have to! These are the top mistakes you should avoid when growing sweet potatoes in your garden.
1. Don’t Pick the Wrong Variety of Sweet Potato
There are multiple varieties to choose from when growing sweet potatoes. Which variety you choose will depend upon where you live.
If you pick a variety which takes longer to mature, but you live in a colder area with a shorter growing season, this probably won’t be the best fit. Take this tip into consideration prior to planting sweet potatoes.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by choosing a variety of sweet potatoes which works for the amount of growing time you have available.
If you live in a warmer climate, you can choose sweet potato varieties which take longer to mature. If you live in a cooler climate, you should choose sweet potato varieties which are dwarfed and mature faster. This rule of thumb should help you have a positive growing experience with this plant.
2. Don’t Plant Sweet Potatoes in Rich Soil
It may sound counterintuitive to plant sweet potatoes where the soil isn’t rich. Most plants love an endless supply of nutrients.
However, if you plant sweet potatoes where there are too many nutrients, it could have a negative impact on this plant.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You should plant sweet potatoes where the soil is average. Don’t add too much fertilizer or compost as this could raise the nitrogen levels in the soil.
If sweet potatoes receive too much nitrogen, you’ll end up with lush plants and a small harvest. Be mindful of how many nutrients you place in the soil prior to planting sweet potatoes.
3. Don’t Skip Adding the Right Nutrients for Your Sweet Potato Plants
We just discussed avoiding too many nutrients in the soil where you plant sweet potatoes. You do need to be mindful of adding too much nitrogen.
However, there are a few nutrients which can improve the health of your sweet potato plants. These nutrients can also supply a boost to your harvest. Don’t skip these necessary nutrients when growing this crop.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by supplying the right nutrients to your sweet potato plants. Sweet potatoes enjoy a healthy dose of phosphorus and potassium.
It’s easy to purchase fertilizers which are balanced in phosphorus. You can add small quantities of wood ash to increase potassium in your garden plot. Be sure to test your soil to ensure everything remains balanced in your sweet potato bed.
4. Don’t Forget to Add Sand to Your Soil
Almost every plant thrives when planted in well-draining soil. Sweet potatoes are no different. They need even more help to ensure water drains away quickly.
By planting sweet potatoes in loamy soil, it ensures the plants aren’t left in a consistently soggy state. If you skip loamy soil, this is a mistake which could cost you your crop.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by ensuring you plant sweet potatoes in soil with a higher percentage of sand. If your soil doesn’t have traces of sand, you should add it.
By adding sand to your soil, it increases how quickly water will drain away from the plants. This will keep your sweet potatoes in growing conditions which allows them to receive moisture without becoming too saturated.
5. Provide the Correct Growing Conditions for Sweet Potatoes
Every plant has specific growing conditions they need to thrive. If you plant sweet potatoes outside of these conditions, you shouldn’t expect great results.
By understanding what sweet potatoes need, and supplying those needs, you’re setting this crop up for success.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
When growing sweet potatoes, ensure the soil is accurate. We’ve discussed this, in detail, in a previous section of this article.
However, you must also ensure the lighting is adequate. Sweet potatoes love the sun and need at least six to eight hours of full sun each day.
6. Don’t Forget to Water Your Sweet Potato Plants
What happens to you if you don’t have water? In approximately three days, you’d be in serious trouble. Plants have the same need.
Sweet potatoes must be watered adequately. If they aren’t supplied with this basic need, they won’t thrive under your care.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
Sweet potatoes thrive by being watered deeply. You should apply more water, fewer days of the week. This ensures the water reaches the roots during the initial watering session.
As the days go by, the plant’s roots will dig deeper to reach more water. This encourages a stronger root system and healthier plants.
7. Don’t Plant Sweet Potatoes Too Soon
After a long winter, do you feel the itch to begin putting plants in the ground? I think we all feel this way from time to time.
However, you can’t include sweet potatoes in this mad dash to plant a garden. This crop won’t thrive if planted too early.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by waiting to plant sweet potatoes. This crop loves the sun and does better in warmer temperatures.
Therefore, be sure to wait until the soil temperature is at least 65-degrees Fahrenheit before planting. If you can wait until the soil temperature is around 80-degrees Fahrenheit, it would be even better.
8. Don’t Ignore Pests and Diseases Which Threaten Your Sweet Potato Plants
Pests and diseases should never be ignored in your garden. If given the opportunity, pests will ravage your harvest quickly.
Yet, disease is the same way. If left untreated, many diseases can take over your garden in what seems like the blink of an eye. Stay alert to pests and diseases to avoid this mistake when growing sweet potatoes.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
Sweet potatoes face a variety of threats. They are prone to fungal disease and leaf spot. If fungal disease moves into your garden, reduce the amount of water being applied to your plants.
You should also increase airflow around the plants and treat the disease with a fungicide. Water your crops earlier in the day to give the foliage time to dry before the cooler night temperatures set in.
This plant also is threatened by aphids, flea beetles, and sweet potato weevils. You can treat these problems by applying an insecticide meant to treat these pests specifically.
9. Don’t Harvest Sweet Potatoes Too Early
The final mistake many gardeners make, when raising sweet potatoes, is to harvest their crop too soon. Sweet potatoes must be timed accurately for both planting and harvesting.
By understanding the appropriate time for harvest, you should be able to enjoy a bountiful crop that’s well worth your efforts.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid harvesting too early by understanding the signs that your plants provide. The timing of harvesting sweet potatoes depends greatly upon the variety you planted.
However, once you see a sweet potato begin to bloom, wait two weeks. You can dig around the plant to check the size of the potatoes.
If they’re an adequate size, you can dig the entire plant up to begin the harvesting and curing process. Yet, if they’re too small, wait a few more weeks before checking again.
Some varieties are slower to mature and may not be ready to harvest until the middle of fall, prior to the first hard frost.
You should definitely harvest prior to the soil temperatures dropping below 55-degrees Fahrenheit. If you wait to harvest until the soil is too cold, it will have a negative impact on the taste of your crop.
This concludes our tour around the sweet potato garden plot. You should have an understanding of what you shouldn’t do when raising this crop.
When paired with informative growing instructions, you should have a firm foundation for growing this crop. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy raising your own sweet potatoes around your home.
Learn More About Growing Sweet Potatoes
http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/growing-sweet-potatoes-home
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/sweet-potatoes
Is it okay to trim/cut sweet potatoes vines ???
Trimming the vines helps root development. But dont toss the trimmings! Chop them up and steam or stirfry the younger stems and leaves for a super nutritious dish.