sweet potato question

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brigidlily Lumberton, TX(Zone 8b) May 22, 2008

I know this has been mentioned before but I'm too lazy to go through more than two pages of threads to find it.

I have sweet potatoes sprouting in water on the kitchen windowsill. How big do I let the slips get before I pull them off and put them in water to root? They're about 2" now, and I have a raised bed all ready (and protected from the cats, to whom it looks like a Vegas litter box) so I can get them in the ground as soon as the slips have roots.

AND... I just pop the shoot off the potato, right? I don't have to cut a piece of the potato to go with it?

Thanks so much!

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tomatofreak Phoenix, AZ May 22, 2008

Brigidlily, this is an interesting thread about starting SP's. Sounds like you might need one more step before planting. If Farmerdill weighs in here, he'll know for sure.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/market/msg0319531224783.html

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rtl850nomore Glendale/Parks, AZ May 22, 2008

I pulled the shoots off, stuck them in the soil in my tires and they promptly looked dead the next day. BUT, they all put out new green leaves shortly thereafter. And they are still growing even in our recent 110 degree heat.

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feldon30 Houston, TX(Zone 9a) May 22, 2008

I've seen that the slip stems should be soaked in water for a day or two to put on roots first.

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Farmerdill Augusta, GA(Zone 8a) May 22, 2008

I like for them to be 5 -6 inches. Just pull them off , stick them in the ground, pour about a pint or so of water around the plant and let them go. It is not necessary for them even to have roots. Later on if you want more plants, you can snip off 5-6 inches of a growing vine and stick it in the ground. Sweet potato plants are tough.

Thumbnail by Farmerdill
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brigidlily Lumberton, TX(Zone 8b) May 22, 2008

Thanks, everybody! I'll try to keep a journal on these, and if I find anything new and fun to report, I'll let you know.

On a side note, I lost a branch from a tomato plant in a windstorm a couple of weeks ago. Stuck it in the ground just in case, and now I have a new tomato plant. Sometimes we forget how much plants WANT to grow, which is a real boon!

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