Do we have a Sweet Potato fancier in residence here?

[Shortcut Slim]

I'm hoping for some sweet potato guidance with regards to variety selection. The only exposure I am getting is mainly from websites and a few youtube videos.I have developed an interest in Carolina Ruby as well as an interest in Murasaki as both have dedicated followers.I do want a purple fleshed variety too,and thought Okinawan might be a good choice.I do have to be smart in selection too,as I don't have much room.

I then made the mistake of visiting Sandhill's site, where he says that people shouldn't pass up the old heirlooms. Now I don't know what to try. I'd email them for some advice,but they are terribly busy basically all year round,and I can't bring myself to trouble them with questions like this.

Anyone with some advice on varieties etc?

[habitat-gardener]

I don't have advice on varieties.
I have observed at the local community garden that sweet potatoes seem to be a gopher attractant. They can't resist!

[Shortcut Slim]

That is certainly a concern @habitat-gardener. I wonder what fiberglass mat costs to line the bed. Probably cost prohibitive. Probably cheaper to get a terrier and keep him guarding the garden.Or maybe build a bed on tiles.?... this somebody may not have the energy to do that...not to mention my back .Maybe hardware cloth would be the the cheapest option all things considered.

[Whwoz]

From what I read, both here and over at OSSI, any rodent that can dig will eat them, found out that rats like them here, should not have been surprised.

As far as varieties go, you have access to a lot more than I do but if space is limited consider the short bushy varieties or set up a trellis and train the vines through it. You will need to manually do so as they don't naturally climb. This would have the added benefit of keeping the ground clear so that you can see what is going on by way of pest activity around the tubers.

You also need to consider if you want varieties that form tubers in "nests" or spread out over a large area.

[Shortcut Slim]

Thank you @Whwoz.

I was really struggling about places to plant. I had thought about building another raised bed, but whooo golly,wood is so expensive. I considered cement block and that's about the same cost wise and a lot of work. I'd have a really hard time slinging a bag of cement around too.There are those beds people are building out of corrugated steel to consider as well. I then remembered that I have several of those food grade 55 gal barrels that I cut in half to plant potatoes in. I could use those I should think. I'll have to investigate about plants size and "nests". I would think maybe the "nest" type would be better suited to container growing....but I really didn't know there was even growth habit to consider.

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.

[GoDawgs]

Trellises work very well as space savers. As Whoz mentioned, you have to guide the runners through the fencing yourself but it saves so much space.



You can even try a 3' wide trellis next to a barrel where you've planted a sweet. Or a wider trellis along a row of barrels, each containing a different kind of sweet potato if you're exploring varieties you might like. Here's a smaller trellis, mainly just two poles in the ground with a piece of fencing hung from a few nails banged into the poles. For heavy plants I set in t-posts and then tie the wood poles to the t-post.

[eyegrotom]

This is only my third year of growing sweet potatoes. So far I found the best way to grow them is in the containers that I use I plant one slip in each container, my yield has been 3-5 lbs from each container,
It's also easy to harvest them and just dump the container on a tarp and sort through it for your potatoes

IMG_20220806_083111206_HDR.jpg

[Shortcut Slim]

@ GoDawgs @eyegrotom
You guys are good.
The wife had mentioned to me that a trellis would be helpful for training vines. Her family had grown sweet potatoes as she was growing up and remembered that her father did that to control the vines.

I spent some time looking over Sandhills listings looking for nesting types like @Whwoz mentioned. I saw bush and semi-bush varieties listed there along with a mention of types that set fruit under the plant. Maybe any of those might work well,and maybe vining would too,just perhaps a little more aggressive to handle.? I don't really know,I'm just floundering here.

I do know that I don't much care for the dry types after eating some in the Philippines. I did stumble upon an orange fleshed variety that was pretty moist and that one really opened my eyes to what types I like.

I am drawn to the description of Beauregard, and I'd like to try a Murasaki although a bit on the dry side. I also read glowing reports on Ginseng Red and several others,but how is a person supposed to decide when there are so many to choose from.?

[Uncle_Feist]

This is only my third year of growing sweet potatoes. So far I found the best way to grow them is in the containers that I use I plant one slip in each container, my yield has been 3-5 lbs from each container,
It's also easy to harvest them and just dump the container on a tarp and sort through it for your potatoes
IMG_20220806_083111206_HDR.jpg

I've had good success in 20 gallon cattle mineral tubs. I planted 3 slips per container and yields were good. Harvest from 3 tubs in the fall of 2020.

[eyegrotom]

@Uncle_Feist

The first year I planted 2-3 slips per container, but I got a lot of little sweet potatoes I call them finger size. Last year I just out 1 slip in each container and I got some good size ones.

[eyegrotom]

@Shortcut Slim
I didn't buy slips I just got a couple of Sweet potatoes from the store and started my own slips. What you might do is get a Sweet potatoes from the store that you like and start slips from one of those. This year I got a Purple one that I am growing. ( I know what you mean about Sandhills they have a lot of variety to choose from )

[Uncle_Feist]

@Uncle_Feist

The first year I planted 2-3 slips per container, but I got a lot of little sweet potatoes I call them finger size. Last year I just out 1 slip in each container and I got some good size ones.

I gave my containers plenty of space, nutes and water.

[Whwoz]

@Shortcut Slim, Beauregard is a good one, the main variety grown here Down Under. Makes good nests, have dug over 10 lb from one plant, but vines can be vigorous and trellising a definite benefit.

@eyegrotom suggestion to grow your own slips is also a good one as you can taste test each variety before growing them so you know that you like them.

Sandhill, yes an enormous selection, would be growing lots of them if I could, but no hope of that.

[Shule]

I don't have a lot of experience growing sweet potatoes, yet, but as Whwoz said, Sand Hill Preservation Center has a lot of kinds:

https://www.sandhillpreservation.com/co ... arieties-2

[Tormahto]

Number 1 on my list is knowing if you have burrowing critters that will eat sweet potatoes. I have voles, and they will consume about 75% of the crop. If sweet potatoes weren't so productive, I think it would be closer to a 100% loss. The voles, here, I believe would eat sweet potatoes to the exclusion of everything else.

Since there are so many varieties, It'll likely take a few years of experimenting to find out what you like, and what grows best. I have a relatively short growing season. The sweet potatoes always size up nicely, but aren't in the ground long enough for the skins to toughen up. Therefore storage quality is going to be short. I think my favorite from Sandhill was Korean Purple (purple skin/white flesh). I've never had a sweet potato that I didn't like. One local grocery store still has them at about .59 to .69/lb, so I no longer plant them in the garden.

[GoDawgs]

@Shortcut Slim, growing your own slips is easy. I use sprouting sweets and lay them in an old plastic window box and then cover them with about 2" of soil.





Here's a helpful link for growing sweets:

[Shortcut Slim]

@Uncle_Feist I'd use one of those tubs if I had any. I actually priced some of those water troughs,and that cured me
of wanting to use one. Old half drums will work great,and the drums only cost me $5ea. I'd be tempted to use some of those as garden containers if I could afford it. I thought about using old galvanized culverts too,but I don't know if I trust myself cutting those with an angle grinder.

@eyegrotom I will likely buy at least 2 varieties,but after that I'll produce my own slips.We have a Trader Joes that opened a year ago,and they sell Murasaki.That is a variety that I want to grow out,so I'll buy some Murasaki from them and then produce slips. In fact, I plan on starting
a few slips in flower pots,and then just cut starts off those.
"
@Whwoz Beauregard is a serious contender for a spot in the garden. I'm also considering a couple others, but the "Beau" sounds like
an excellent variety.

@Shule Sandhill actually lost quite a few varieties when they had that big weather event a season ago.Several of the lost varieties are
being shared to Sandhill from another conservancy. They do ask in their online catalog for help securing many varieties that were otherwise lost.
I have read over their offerings until my eyes bleed.I have elicited help from a gardener who knows quite a bit about sweet potatoes,
so I hope to get all decided here pretty soon.

@Tormato I have been warned more than once about the fondness that gophers and voles etc have for sweet potatoes. That is the reason
I will grow in my half drums.I keep a close watch for critters as I have had to deal with them previously. I think the word has got
out tho,as I haven't seen any in quite some time. There is also an Owl that hangs out in a tree that borders my property. I've seen it swoop my garden
more than once.I wonder if there is something I can do to encourage it to become a fixture in the neighborhood.

@GoDawgs That is exactly the tek I'll use to produce the initial slips from the purchased sweet potatoes. I found a good video on
youtube that really clicked with me.The tek he uses is the one you also use.I watched the other video as well.Lots of good info on
the youtube for just about anything,and all it takes is some searching. So helpful!

[Whwoz]

Sounds like you are on the right track @Shortcut Slim

[zendog]

I've gotten slips from George's Plant farm that they ship in the Spring and they are a good source for some nice varieties.

Here is a link to George's Plant Farm: https://tatorman.com/index.php/our-varieties/

For short vined "bush" varieties I'd recommend Bunch Porto Rico (lighter fleshed) and Vardman (closer to what people consider regular but very tasty). Both are a bit firmer than the more mushy Beauregard that is in most stores and I think tastier, although each one is different. Nancy Hall (light fleshed) is another much-loved older variety with lighter flesh. Garnet is often available at Whole Foods or other organic markets and is a rich orange fleshed variety that I think is better than most commercial types. As a plus it also has very pretty ivy shaped leaves so works as an ornamental vine if you grow it in a large tub with flowers.

I've never grown Murasaki since they are readily available in Asian markets locally and I try to mostly grow things that are different than what I can buy.

I have grown a few of the dark blue/purple fleshed types, one I found in a local market and one I bought from a vendor that is now out of business that was listed as Rebecca's favorite. They were very similar which lead me to believe most of the dark blue types were similar. I like them, but they are definitely drier than the more mushy types like Beauregard. I forgot exactly why, but something about the blue flesh has good health properties I believe. I also enjoy the leaves as a summer green to sautee like spinach or use in curries, etc.

Here are a few of the blue ones from a couple of years ago.

bluetaters.jpeg

[Whwoz]

Some good looking sweet potatoes in that link @zendog . Pity I can't get some of them down under. Wonder how many flower and set seed.