The Sweetest Potato

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Some varieties, such as ‘Centennial,’ produce vines that seem determined to take over the garden. Others, such as ‘Vardaman,’ have a more compact, bushy growth habit. Some require a long growing season — up to 150 days — while short-season varieties best suited for northern gardens mature in 90 to 100 days.

“Choose a planting stock with a pedigree for performance in your area,” says Wingate, who cites ‘Georgia Jet’ and ‘Tainung 65’ as a couple of his favorite short-season varieties well suited to a Canadian garden. “They size up very quickly and tolerate cooler conditions better than most.” (See “Outstanding Sweets” below for more recommended varieties.)

Growing Sweet Potatoes

Unlike Irish white potatoes, which are started by cutting the potato into pieces of “seed,” sweet potatoes are started from “slips,” young shoots that grow from the stem end of the root (see “How to Start Sweet Potato Slips” below). You can buy slips in bundles of a dozen or so from local garden or farm supply stores, or through the mail. Keep them moist and wait to plant them until the soil temperature is consistently above 70 degrees. Sweet potatoes love heat. Irish potatoes are normally planted on or near St. Patrick’s Day when the ground has barely thawed, but sweet potatoes flounder in soil that is even slightly chilly.

Sweet potatoes need lots of room and lots of sun — they produce the best roots in a light, sandy, slightly acidic soil. They will grow in heavier soil, but the roots may be knobby. Work the soil to a depth of at least 8 inches, incorporating well-rotted compost or other organic matter.

“Easy on the fertilizer,” says Don LaBonte, a professor of breeding and genetics at Louisiana State University. “They are a bit like tomatoes, the more fertilizer the more foliage, but the less root mass.”

Space the rows at least 3 to 5 feet apart. To encourage good drainage, which is especially important with heavier clay soils, hill the center of each row about 8 inches high. Set your slips 12 to 15 inches apart in the row, burying them so that only the top leaves are above the soil. Water them well for the first week or two until they start to take off, after which the plants will be fairly drought tolerant.

Remove weeds when the plants are young. Once the vines cover the ground, they provide their own living mulch. The sweet potatoes begin to form 30 to 45 days after planting and continue to develop until cold weather slows their growth in the fall.

Digging and Storing

As temperatures drop in the fall, it’s time to harvest the potatoes. Conveniently, the vines will wither, reminding you it’s harvest time. Although roots are generally unhurt by a light frost, a hard frost may injure roots near the surface. Cool soil temperatures also can promote decay.

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