The sweet potato is a tropical vegetable that is very nutritious. Sweet potatoes have a high beta carotene content and supply vitamins C and B6 and minerals manganese and potassium. If you can't plant your slips right away, put the roots of the slips in some water near a sunny window. Sweet potatoes need to be protected from frost. Watch the weather forecast and cover your plants when there is a possibility of frost.
Sweet potatoes do best and produce higher quality roots when grown in well drained, sandy, loamy soil. Although they will grow in heavier soils, the quality of the roots will not be as good.
Prepare the site by tilling the soil well with 2 lbs of Espoma Plant Tone per 25 ft. row. Mold the softened soil into a foot wide, flat toopped ridge row that is 8 inches high. Plant sprouts 9 to 12 inches apart in the center of the ridge row and at a depth of 3 inches with at least 2 plant nodes underground and 2 or more leaves above ground. Space rows 24 to 36 inches apart. Water well after transplanting.
Thirty days after transplanting fertilize again with Espoma Plant Tone (2 lbs per 25 ft. row). Place the Plant Tone 2 to 3 inches to the side of the plants. Make sure to keep rows weed free. Sweet potatoes prefer 1 inch of water per 7 to 10 days. The manual water needs will vary with rainfall, soil type, plant size and temperature. Too much water is harmful and reduces yield and quality. Moisture should be withheld toward the end of the growing season to condition the soil and roots for harvesting and to discourage the development of cracks and oversized roots.
