Holly's Homestead — Root & Tuber
Sweet Potato
Ipomoea batatas · Morning glory family
DIFFICULTY Easy
TYPE Tender perennial, grown as annual from slips
MATURITY 100–170 days
TYPE Tender perennial, grown as annual from slips
MATURITY 100–170 days
Sun
Full sun
Water
Moderate
Soil pH
5.5–6.5
Spacing
35cm × 90cm
Depth
8–10cm
01Ridge planting
Slips are laid horizontally along a raised ridge with 2–3 leaf nodes buried. Tubers form at the buried nodes along the stem, not just at the base — the ridge keeps them easy to find at harvest.
02Planting
Method
Grow or buy rooted slips; lay horizontally along a mounded ridge with 2–3 nodes buried.
Soil
Loose, sandy-loam, well-drained. Rich soil grows more leaf and fewer tubers.
Timing
Plant in late spring once soil is reliably warm above 18°C.
03Growing care
- Water deeply while establishing; ease off once vines are running to favour tubers over leaf.
- Lift trailing vines occasionally so they don't root at nodes and divert energy.
- Ridge soil up at planting for drainage and easy harvesting.
- Go light on fertiliser — high nitrogen grows vines, not tubers.
04Problems
- Sweet potato weevil — larvae tunnel tubers; rotate beds and hill well.
- Fungal wilt — improve drainage, choose resistant varieties.
- Vine borer — inspect regularly, remove affected sections.
- Rodents — protect ripening tubers near harvest time.
05Harvest & storage
Signs
Leaves yellow, 100–170 days from planting, before the first frost.
Method
Cut back vines, then fork gently from the ridge edge inward.
Curing
Cure at 27–30°C and high humidity for 5–10 days to heal and sweeten skins.
Storage
Cool (13–15°C), dark, ventilated. Keeps several months. Never refrigerate.
06Companions & rotation
Plant nearby
BeansThymeDillMarigold
Avoid nearby
PumpkinSquash
Rotation note
Avoid replanting root crops in the same bed for 2 years; follow with legumes to rebuild nitrogen.