Sand Hill Preservation - sweet potatoes

[macmex]

Thanks Carolyn,
I hadn't dropped in here much, for some time. This was mainly due to time constraints. But I am trying to check in more. I trust you are doing well.

George

[wmontanez]

Excellent article, thanks for the link. It will help me greatly for this year and next year to preserve the varieties from this season.

[tuk50]

wmontanez, I noticed you said you might let the frost kill the vines of your sweetpotatoes... like the article George wrote said .. It is not a good idea..
unlike spuds, sweetpotatoes very well might rot if you let the vines get frost killed... if you do accidently have a killing frost .. try to cut the vines off at ground level that same day and if you can't dig them then, at least put a cover of straw on them, but get them out of the ground as soon as possible.. in my climate I can leave spuds in the ground into the winter and dig as needed, but not the sweetpotatoes.

[wmontanez]

tuk50, yes that was my line of thinking but George's article shed more light on my inexperienced approach. Thank you also for taking time and warn me. I am from the Caribbean and sweet potatoes there carefree but since moving to New England I have never try sweet potatoes in Massachusetts. I shall tell people how I do so move northener's venture into this crop. (any advice most welcome!)

[macmex]

Wendy, I have a friend in MA who successfully raises them. He's on the coast. If you have marginal heat, try using black plastic mulch; anything to warm the up. Sweet potatoes only really put on weight when average temps are warm.

If I recall, Glenn Drowns has some excellent tips for cooler climates.

George

[Tormato]

Wendy,

I've had great success with sweet potatoes in Massachusetts.
8 inch high hills and black plastic is the way I do it. My Sand Hill varieties were not even the "northern" ones. Korean Purple and another purple variety, that escapes my memory.

Gary

P.S. Sweet potatoes are like ringing the dinner bell for voles.

[macmex]

I place a large coffee can on the slope of a hill of sweet potatoes, with the mouth on the downhill side. In it I place a chunk of ray poison. The voles tend to get the poison and die before the get my sweet potatoes. My garden is fenced, so no dogs could get to the poison.

George

[wmontanez]

Ok. Taking notes...Thanks Tormato and Macmex
I probably do container or a raised bed/black plastic with the bottom with hardware cloth... i saw evidence of a critter digging tunels around my potatoes but none eaten that I could tell..