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The sweet potato belongs to the Morning Glory family of plants and is a tropical plant. See the familial resemblance between the leaves and blooms of a sweet potato vine and those of morning glory. They are unrelated to potatoes, which belong to the nightshade family, despite their name. The edible part of sweet potatoes is a tuberous root, not a genuine tuber (which are technically modified plant stems), which is another distinction between them and "standard" potatoes.
Sweet potatoes rot underground, so you can't just put one whole in the ground and hope for a harvest as you can with normal potatoes. Sweet potato slips are used to cultivate sweet potatoes. The stems and leaves that emerge from mature sweet potatoes are known as slips. Take them off the potato by twisting it, soak it in water, and plant it. You should be able to obtain some sweet potatoes in three to four months.
Sweet Potato Planting Guide
Here are some easy-to-follow tips to grow the best quality of sweet potatoes in your home garden:
Planting Period
Because these plants are tropical in nature, do not plant them until the soil has completely warmed up in the spring. Sweet potatoes are frequently planted in elevated rows, approximately 8 inches high, to give them a head start. This keeps them well-drained and aids in the soil warming more quickly. Black plastic will also help the soil warm more quickly if you cultivate in a colder region.
Suitable Planting Location
In general, sweet potatoes grow nicely in any typical, well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Consider growing sweet potatoes in raised beds with rich, sandy potting soil if your soil is too stony or thick.
Efficient Spacing And Depth With Full Light
Place the slips spaced three to four feet between rows, about 12 to 18 inches apart. Give the vines lots of space, since they will fill in and spread out.
When planting sweet potatoes, make sure they are in full sun or partial shade. In hot, dry areas, they enjoy some afternoon shade, but they normally prefer full sun.
Well-Drained Soil And Sufficient Watering
Sweet potatoes want their soil to have a lot of organic content and good drainage. Sandier soil is preferable to deep, clay soil.
Sweet potatoes may withstand growing in dry soil once they are established. It's ideal to give it one inch of water once a week to keep it uniformly wet. For the final three to four weeks before harvest, avoid watering your sweet potatoes to prevent splitting the mature tubers. Retain the plants damp, particularly in arid periods.
Ideal Temperature
It is not advisable to plant sweet potatoes outside until the soil has warmed to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They require temperatures in the range of 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for soil growth and 65 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit for air growth. If you reside in the northern region of the country, go for the short-season variety.
Organic Fertiliser
Sweet potatoes don't require a lot of food, but it's still necessary to provide them with a balanced diet, which usually starts with well-prepared soil. Overfeeding usually encourages the development of leaves instead of tubers. The ideal method is to fill the beds with compost before adding the sweet potatoes. As an alternative, you might treat the soil with an organic liquid fertiliser before planting.
