Sweet Potatoes

I have some sweet potatoes that started growing on their own so I put them on a widowsill for light. How do I get them to make roots so they can be planted, and what would I have to do to grow some sweet potatoes?

I hope someone answers this cause I'd like to know too, annemarie. I've never grown sweet potatoes before. Maybe I'll give them a try. They're soooooo good with lots of _real_ butter on them. Yummy! :)

Terri

Just noticed this thread...hard to believe ya'll have been so ignored for 8 days! ;>) annemarie, and pete-ski, they don't grow roots. Let your taters grow their 'sets', one potato should produce quite a few. Prepare your ground by loosening up the soil...I usually make a raised row about two or three ft wide. Then, when you have enuff "plants", or "sets", just yank them off the potato and stick them into the ground till just the very top is sticking out. Water them in good. Believe it or not they'll root and 'fore ya know it you'll have vines growing all over the place. have fun1

Umm...I stuck one sweet potato in a qt. yoghurt container kept 1/3-1/2 full of water in window with afternoon/early evening sun. It has one large and several small (just starting)sets, and the bottom of the sweet potato has rapidly increasing roots.
How large should the sets be, how many leaves, before planting? I've been holding off planting them because it isn't past our average last frost date yet, and we probably will have one more cold spell before end of May.

tashak2, I'd let them get at least 3-4 inches tall. If they get taller no big deal...they'll do just fine. It sounds like you'll have plenty of time in your area...remember, even after your last cold spell it's gonna take a while till your soil gets warm. If you could till it now and then it will speed up the warming of the soil. Also, if you're not getting enuff sets perhaps you have time to start another potato. Try this...cut a sweetpotato in half lengthwise...put the cut sides down on some moist peat and cover with plastic wrap to help keep the moistness in, HOWEVER don't completely seal the wrap over the container or the potato will most likely rot, it needs to breath a bit. For a container I've used a shallow casserole dish. Also, here in our area some folks used to just put a pile of sweetpotatoes in a corner of the field and cover them with a pile of straw...the taters will grow sets under there in perfect timing for planting in warm ground. Have fun!

Horseshoe, more info for next year please on the sweet potatoes under straw. When, in relation to last frost date of area, does one do this?
Incidentally, my two slips have been in the ground the last 2-3 weeks, and growing more leaves. Definitely better results so far than last year's catalog ordered slips!

Update: The sets I took from the sweet potato are growing. I planted the rooting in water sweet potato also, and noticed this week that it too is growing outside and now has about eight leaves above the soil. (The slips are larger leaved and definitely have two to three times as many leaves as when planted outside.)