Growing sweet potatoes with gophers

Dak · January 4, 2023

I want to try my hand at sweet potatoes this year. I've ordered a dozen slips which should be here in May, so I'm wanting to prepare their bed now.

Since I'm only starting with 12 slips, I'm debating whether to use gopher baskets or use hardware cloth and make my own protection.

If I use gopher baskets, what size would accommodate each slip, 5 gallon? 10? 15?

If I DIY, how deep should I go? Planning on planting 15" apart.

Last year I tried trellising my squash. Some did OK but overall I found that squash really prefer to sprawl on the ground, our summer last year was brutal, their leaves keep the soil cooler.

Does anyone know, are sweet potatoes the same, or will they happily let me trellis them?

January 4, 2023	#1
Dak Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: CA Posts: 494	Growing sweet potatoes with gophers I want to try my hand at sweet potatoes this year. I've ordered a dozen slips which should be here in May, so I'm wanting to prepare their bed now. Since I'm only starting with 12 slips, I'm debating whether to use gopher baskets or use hardware cloth and make my own protection. If I use gopher baskets, what size would accommodate each slip, 5 gallon? 10? 15? If I DIY, how deep should I go? Planning on planting 15" apart. Last year I tried trellising my squash. Some did OK but overall I found that squash really prefer to sprawl on the ground, our summer last year was brutal, their leaves keep the soil cooler. Does anyone know, are sweet potatoes the same, or will they happily let me trellis them?