Anyone planting sweet potatoes?

[Greenthumb18]

My Sweet Potato plants came today in the mail I'll be planting them on Sunday. Theirs 6 plants I'm thinking of digging out 3 holes in the soil and plant 2 slips in each hole. Maybe add any bonemeal or potato food fertilizer to the planting hole?

 

[jojo54]

My Sweet Potato plants came today in the mail I'll be planting them on Sunday. Theirs 6 plants I'm thinking of digging out 3 holes in the soil and plant 2 slips in each hole. Maybe add any bonemeal or potato food fertilizer to the planting hole?

I would only do one slip per hole. They go crazy once they take off. The potatoes grow right under the plant so two togther would be crowding the potatoes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree. One slip per hole about a foot or more apart. And you need to mound up the soil, maybe 8" to 12" high. That helps warm the soil, which is important for sweet potatoes. Makes them a lot easier to dig too.

I took this quote off another site about growing sweet potatoes. Since bone meal is high in phosphorus and low in nitrogen, it would make a great sweet potato fertilizer.

Fertilize every two to four weeks. Fertilizers high in nitrogen will result in a leafy, green plant at the expense of root development. A good fertilizer for sweet potatoes and yams contain low levels of Nitrogen, and high levels of phosphorus. 6-24-24, or 8-24-24, are good fertilizers for sweet potatoes.

 

[jojo54]

I agree. One slip per hole about a foot or more apart. And you need to mound up the soil, maybe 8" to 12" high. That helps warm the soil, which is important for sweet potatoes. Makes them a lot easier to dig too.

I took this quote off another site about growing sweet potatoes. Since bone meal is high in phosphorus and low in nitrogen, it would make a great sweet potato fertilizer.

Fertilize every two to four weeks. Fertilizers high in nitrogen will result in a leafy, green plant at the expense of root development. A good fertilizer for sweet potatoes and yams contain low levels of Nitrogen, and high levels of phosphorus. 6-24-24, or 8-24-24, are good fertilizers for sweet potatoes.

I agree with the mounding but they need to be farther than 12" or so apart. I planted mine 18" apart and rows 4' apart last year and they grew to a huge mass of green!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Exerpts from a few different sources.


http://www.sweetpotatoplant.com/growingtips.html

"Set" plants about 12 inches apart as soon as possible ... preferably near sundown to avoid exposure to the hot sun. If weather or other conditions prevent immediate planting, place roots in real wet, muddy soil in a shady spot or place roots in fresh, cool water. After planting, cultivate to minimize weed competition and irrigate if soil becomes too dry.


http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/sweetpotato1.html

Spacing & Depth
Set the plants 12 to 18 inches apart, preferably on a wide, raised ridge about 8 inches high. A ridge not only dries better in the spring but also warms earlier than an unridged area. Black plastic mulch can be a good way to speed early season growth by capturing and storing more of the suns heat in the soil under the plastic cover. Because the vines of spreading varieties need a great deal of space, allow at least 3 to 4 feet between rows.

http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6368

In Missouri, sweet potatoes can be planted in late April (Southern Missouri) through mid to late-May (central and northern Missouri) when soil temperatures are warm and all danger of frost has passed. Plants (slips) are planted three to four nodes deep (3 to 4 inches deep), 9 to 18 inches between plants in rows 36 to 48 inches apart.