A non-commercial guide to organic gardening in the mid-Atlantic states, with some specifics to central Virginia..and some information applicable across the country! Or to other time zones! Across the seas! Who knew? "No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." Thomas Jefferson
Central Virginia Organic Gardener
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Ladies and gentlemen, start your sweets!
How to start sweet potatoes
Last year I had good success with starting and growing my own sweet potatoes (which I served for Thanksgiving dinner!). I started them in the traditional way, show in the photo above. Take a sweet potato, put four toothpicks in it (perpendicular to the potato), suspend the rounder end in a jar of water, and put in a sunny window. When the sprouts (called slips) are about 6 inches long, you can either cut them from the plant and directly plant them into the garden, 2 weeks after last frost (they need really warm soil, as the are a tropical vine) or you can pot them up and let the roots form.
I am also going to try another method this year- split a sweet potato in half lengthwise and bury it, cut side down, under some light soil in a plant flat, under light on a heat mat. This way the roots will form well and the slips should be well rooted. The time to do this, in order to plant at the end of April/beginning of May, is NOW! You can use sweet potatoes from the grocery, though might want to order or buy certified disease-free potatoes or even the slips themselves from a nursery.
Visit my garden pod cast by clicking on the Pod Bean button on the top left of this page and...as usual, happy gardening!
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Sweet potatoes
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1 comment:
This looks GREAT!
Do you mind if I share your photo with some school classes? Great shot.
Amy
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