Your post helped me grow healthy and sweet potatoes – they’re so wonderful! This is extra work, but you may be rewarded with several more weeks of growing weather. The large plants grow rapidly towards the end, so there can be a big benefit in leaving them in the ground for as long as possible. Tastes similar to Yams, Winter Squash, Pumpkins. Have you seen my hub: 'How to grow sweet potatoes in a container', published in April last year? Take some cuttings (of youngish growth) and then root them in water before potting. Sweet potato slips are produced by year-old sweet potatoes in hot beds at large specialty farms in mid to late spring. You can use this for amazing landscaping effect – sweet potatoes vines and flowers are beautiful (and the leaves are edible!). Sweet potatoes are an excellent choice for south-facing, sunny windowsills or conservatories. Beauregard: This popular commercial variety produces a potato with pale reddish skin and dark orange flesh that takes 100 days until it reaches maturity. Barbara Smith, ©2016 HGIC, Clemson Extension Sweet potatoes do not produce tubers, but produce an edible storage root that is developmentally a true root derived from root tissue. Remember, they need a long growing season, so make sure they’ve had adequate time. Yes, but will need a large one, like a half wine barrel. Sweet Potatoes absolutely must have warm soil. The sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, is a large, starchy, sweet, tuberous root vegetable.Although widely believed to be from the potato family, sweet potatoes are actually from the morning glory family.. Sweet potatoes grow as a herbaceous perennial vine with long, tapered tuberous roots. Example first frost date on November 01. Copper wire around the pot is a good remedy. Hello, Dan! Pop your slips into small pots as early in the year as possible (February or March), water them well, and leave them on a warm, sunny windowsill to root. Visit us to learn more about our Beauregard Sweet Potatoes. Don't wait too long as any damage to the tubers will affect their storability. Because of their high sugar content, sweet potatoes are probably one of the most versatile veggies you can get your hands on. Compared to other varieties even big roots bake to completion in a short period of time. Tubers only start to form when the days and nights are of equal length. Grown more so in California, this medium-sized sweet potato has red skin and an orange interior and is oftentimes mislabeled as a yam. You can plant the slips (shoot cuttings that are ordered through the mail instead of seed potatoes) and leave them to it (more or less). The bush-type Porto Rico produces good yields of medium-sized potatoes, which are great for baking. These sweet potatoes have a purple-red skin and an orange-colored flesh. An excellent source of vitamin A, the tubers come in yellow, orange and purple-colored flesh. Sweet potatoes are known for their habit of sprawling, but this type has short and compact vines. They’ll be grateful for the heat. It would be remiss not to mention their flowers. ‘Beauregard’ sweet potato roots have a light rose skin, orange flesh, and a consistent shape. Make sure it’s a. Don't over-water though, as too much water encourages foliage growth at the expense of root growth. Gently dig up with a garden fork and allow drying and curing for 10 days, ideally in an area with a temperature of 80-85 F. (27-29 C.) (possibly near … ), which can stunt the roots. Storage: Store sweet potatoes in a cool, dry spot. If you don’t have that kind of space available, however, they are still perfectly suitable for growing outdoors. Grown more so in California, this medium-sized sweet potato has red skin and an orange interior and is oftentimes mislabeled as a yam. If they get these they should be happy. Take a look at Maggies Smart Garden, its vegetable garden Layout, Plants in her Garden, Weekly To Dos and her Garden Journal. The tubers are the typical orange colour that people expect and it’s a particularly high-yielding variety. Visit any sweet potato farm and there’s a good chance they are growing some Beauregards. It's an online vegetablegarden planner for anyone who wants homegrown, healthy and tasty food to be part of their lifestyle...while having a busy life.