Saving Sweet Potato Vines

Any ideas on saving sweet potato vines (blackie and marguerite)? A recent frost got my potted ones but as I was cleaning out pots today I discovered large tubers (obviously them and not dried out and in fact looking very healthy). Is it worth the effort or too much trouble to keep them? Would it work if I just repotted them and brought them into the house or do they need storage time to dry out and recuperate before I get them going again? I could put them in the unheated (but still fairly warm) basement for a period of time if that would work. There's also a root cellar but it's kind of damp sometimes. They're not particularly expensive here at the nursery I use but (as any garderner with limited budget) I'd love to reclaim them for next year's use if possible so I can spend my money on some other stuff I don't "need".
Thanks- Leigh

In 8 we leave them in the ground.

Ann

I am in 8a but since mine are in containers I brought them into the greenhouse. Do I need to put them out and let them go dormant?

Carol

I just leave mine in the ground all the time..Have to cut off the vines as they get so very long but those can be rooted in soil easily and they will have roots along the vine, too. Mine is still nice and green and growing. One of the "potatoes" got dug up about 6 wks.. ago in my zeal to clean out the bed but I just stuck it back in the ground and it seems to be doing just fine. The "potatoes" grow at intervals along the ground where the vines have been for awhile. I am a believer of non-intervention where plants are concerned. I do my best to ignore their culture and just enjoy them Mine has been growing for 3 years now.

Ann

Youre in a cooler climate than I am, so just to be sure, stick a few in a pot and bring them indoors. They will probably sprout for you if they stay warm and have some light. Here in the desert, I do virtually nothing to mine. I ignore them in all but the very hottest and driest months, when they MIGHT get some water just for them. Otherwise, the only water they get is from watering things nearby. They consistently come up every year, all varieties. When they get too ragged in the winter, I cut up the vines and dry them and use them for mulch. If they arent fully dried out, they will root and I have the vines all over the yard by late next spring!
For you, I would take some inside and mulch the others heavily. Most likely, they will come right back up next spring.
DD

Well, I've done a combo platter as suggested. Some are inside in pots and some are outside and mulched (I buried them in my herb garden which I'm convinced is at least AZ since we've frozen solid several times and all but the basil are still going strong). It's on the south side immediately adjacent to the house and has rock edging and a circular path in the center. Come late spring I hope to be able to give a helpful report! Thanks for all the advice- Leigh

I dig the potatoes, and place them in paper bags (with labels on the bags so I know what they are in the spring) in my cool basement. If they are large enough, they generally survive, and I replant them in spring after the danger of frost. However, in summer I often make new plants by rooting cuttings, and this works great. But in the fall, theses cuttings have developed only very small swellings, and these don't always survive the winter in the basement.

Susan in Minneapolis