sweet potato questions

kevinrs · October 4, 2011

I'm growing sweet potatoes for the first time, got slips from sand hill, as I didn't find any other suppliers that could ship to california.

I do think I might have done better if I'd been able to start a month or 2 earlier, as around here it was basically the heat of summer (mid-late june, consistent 90s) when I planted them, some didn't make it, and most took quite a while to take off.

I'm wondering when to harvest. Looking at temps dropping to highs in the low 60s and lows in low 40s in the next few days(early winter type storm, 70% chance of rain), then going back up to low 80s/low 50s going into next week. There being no obvious sign that they are ready, like with a fruit, and wanting to get them up before frost, need some advice.

Also trying to figure how to cure and store them. Humidity is normally pretty low here.

Was looking at http://www.motherearthnews.com/grow-...b0z10zkon.aspx and it seems to advise letting them get a light frost before digging, though this goes against other instructions I've read. It says cure: "ideally between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit at around 85 percent humidity — for a week to 10 days." and "After curing, move the sweet potatoes to a storage space, such as a root cellar, kept between 55 and 60 degrees with humidity of 75 to 80 percent."

The curing temperature I can maybe manage if I can fit them in a box or container I can fit on my seed starting mat, and use the thermostat, or put the mat in the container. The humidity though... it's more likely to be 10% here than 85%. If I try to add moisture the wrong way, I'm likely to cause a lot of rot and molding I'd think. I've got stuff running through my head about using a plastic bin + heat + fan + humidity source, but that might be too complicated, I might not have time to set it up, and might be completely wrong anyway.

Actually the video linked on that mother earth news page talks about flowers, I haven't seen one yet, I think the combination of getting them late in my season, shipping time, and shipping in heat set me back quite a bit. My plants don't look nearly as full as those in the video.

October 4, 2011	#1
kevinrs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Littlerock, CA Posts: 218	sweet potato questions I'm growing sweet potatoes for the first time, got slips from sand hill, as I didn't find any other suppliers that could ship to california. I do think I might have done better if I'd been able to start a month or 2 earlier, as around here it was basically the heat of summer (mid-late june, consistent 90s) when I planted them, some didn't make it, and most took quite a while to take off. I'm wondering when to harvest. Looking at temps dropping to highs in the low 60s and lows in low 40s in the next few days(early winter type storm, 70% chance of rain), then going back up to low 80s/low 50s going into next week. There being no obvious sign that they are ready, like with a fruit, and wanting to get them up before frost, need some advice. Also trying to figure how to cure and store them. Humidity is normally pretty low here. Was looking at http://www.motherearthnews.com/grow-...b0z10zkon.aspx and it seems to advise letting them get a light frost before digging, though this goes against other instructions I've read. It says cure: "ideally between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit at around 85 percent humidity — for a week to 10 days." and "After curing, move the sweet potatoes to a storage space, such as a root cellar, kept between 55 and 60 degrees with humidity of 75 to 80 percent." The curing temperature I can maybe manage if I can fit them in a box or container I can fit on my seed starting mat, and use the thermostat, or put the mat in the container. The humidity though... it's more likely to be 10% here than 85%. If I try to add moisture the wrong way, I'm likely to cause a lot of rot and molding I'd think. I've got stuff running through my head about using a plastic bin + heat + fan + humidity source, but that might be too complicated, I might not have time to set it up, and might be completely wrong anyway. Actually the video linked on that mother earth news page talks about flowers, I haven't seen one yet, I think the combination of getting them late in my season, shipping time, and shipping in heat set me back quite a bit. My plants don't look nearly as full as those in the video.