Growing Sweet Potato, also Kumara

Ipomoea batatas : Convolvulaceae / the morning glory family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec

Not recommended for growing in USA - Zone 5a regions

  • Plant shoots or cuttings (Slips). Best planted at soil temperatures between 63°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 16 - 24 inches apart
  • Harvest in 15-17 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Best in Separate bed

Your comments and tips

09 Sep 16, Darla (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Growing orange sweet potato from sprouting end cut off. I have been told if I do it this way you will only get vines & no sweet potatoes. Told it was best to plant vines with roots to start with. I have rapidly growing vines, just waiting for it to die off so I can see the results.
17 Sep 16, Lou Cowan (Australia - tropical climate)
Hi Darla. Sweet potato can be grown this way, but the shoots need to be detached from the tuber and planted out separately, otherwise all you get will be vines. We did it this way, and from one sweet potato to grow the sprouts (slips) we ended up with about 15-20 plants.
25 Aug 16, Pono (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Is that white when raw or cooked because real kumara are yellow or lemon if you like in the inside.
19 Aug 16, Alexander (Australia - temperate climate)
Kumara or sweet potato is so easy to grow here in Perth WA, It grows like a weed , and spreads out through your garden over two years.
12 Aug 16, Karnry (Australia - temperate climate)
I am living in henley beach SA & wondering if anyone localyl has grown kumara with success? If so what is your success recipe Thanks Karney
07 Aug 16, la potager dreamer (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Im looking to have a go at growing purple kumera. My fatherinlaw would cut them in half flat side down in saucer of water to get it sprouting then plant. Which is best horse or chook manure?
27 Aug 16, Gerard Plant (Australia - temperate climate)
It's best to use dried out cow manure, which has been broken up into a almost powdered state and dug into the soil below where you are going to put the sprouts, before planting. You can do this by putting the cow pads into a cement mixer with a few old 1/2 bricks and tumbled for 1/2 hr or so, or just using a shovel on a hard surface. Concrete path etc. Just bust them and pulverise as best you can. Don't use fresh manure under any circumstance. Horse manure is pretty useless and has too much acid, while chook manure is best just laid on top of soil around the plants after a good showing of leaf from the runners. Best to use something like Organic Life or Dynamic Lifter, chook manure that has been treated. So every time you water, the nutrients will just seep into the soil at an even rate. A small sprinkling of garden lime dug in with the cow manure is a good idea too. If you ever come across the original white sweet potato, plant them too. Much better texture and taste, than the purple. Anyway....best of luck !
31 May 16, Dennis wallace (Australia - temperate climate)
grew sweet potato for the first time, vine grew really well over past 20 weeks, producing lots of vine but sadly no tubers not 1 very disappointing .what did i do wrong?.
03 Jun 16, Elizabeth (Australia - temperate climate)
I grew some this year, a friend of mine told me to fertilizer them ever 2 weeks and I gave them a bucket of water every night for quite a while, they are a little small but look to harvest them about a months time.
02 Dec 15, Genevieve (Australia - temperate climate)
I live in Sydney and have been planting Kumara (red skin and white inside, as well as white skin and light purple inside) for the last 5 years. The leaves change shape and they are ready to harvest ( approx 3 months after they have been planted). Plucking the young leaves for greens doesn't seem to bother the plants. You can wrap individually in newspaper and store in an airy place and they have been known to last at least 5-6 months this way. The leaves don't go yellow much, the fruit in the ground are just re-sprouting.
Showing 191 - 200 of 307 comments

Hi there.. I harvested my Kumara in March and unfortunately most of them tubers had multiple small holes in them. Looks like some type of insects got there first and ruined it. Is there anything that I can spray them with and kill them little bugs before they ruin my crops next season.. cheers

- Sam

Please provide your email address if you are hoping for a reply


All comments are reviewed before displaying on the site, so your posting will not appear immediately

Gardenate App

Put Gardenate in your pocket. Get our app for iPhone, iPad or Android to add your own plants and record your plantings and harvests

Planting Reminders

Join 60,000+ gardeners who already use Gardenate and subscribe to the free Gardenate planting reminders email newsletter.


Home | Vegetables and herbs to plant | Climate zones | About Gardenate | Contact us | Privacy Policy

This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
We cannot help if you are overrun by giant slugs.