Growing Sweet Potato, also Kumara

Ipomoea batatas : Convolvulaceae / the morning glory family

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

(Best months for growing Sweet Potato in Australia - tropical regions)

  • P = Plant crowns
  • Plant shoots or cuttings (Slips). Best planted at soil temperatures between 17°C and 35°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 40 - 60 cm apart
  • Harvest in 15-17 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Best in Separate bed

Your comments and tips

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for Australia | for all countries
13 Aug 22, Phillip (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I lived in Maitland in the Hunter Valley until 1985. We used to get a white fleshed sweet potato that when cooked was soft, almost opaque, and very sweet. My mother would post to me when I moved to Brisbane as I couldn’t get them here! My questions is. What were they and where can I get them? Phillip Caruthers.
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16 Aug 22, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
They grow a white purply one in Bundy - check on the internet.
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30 May 22, Bryon Ellison (Australia - tropical climate)
Where can I get kumara Wairaraka. Red with white flesh and very light central red streeks
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31 May 22, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You would have a very slim chance of finding some in Australia.
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01 Jun 22, Bryon Ellison (Australia - tropical climate)
Does any one know what is a similar species in Australia?
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30 Apr 22, Robyn ballantine (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
When we have a big supply, how do you cure? And keep them. ? I have found they just rot when we dig them up
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02 May 22, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Don't water them for the last 2 weeks or so before digging them up - toughen them up a bit.. Put them out in the sun or shaded area for a week or two to get a tough skin. Then in a cool dry place. They should keep for few months.
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21 Apr 22, Julie Edwards (USA - Zone 5a climate)
When do I plant the slips sweet potatoes? In my zone. We have been having late frost as late as March the past couple of years
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22 Apr 22, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
There is no planting guide for your climate zone in the USA. Your climate doesn't suit by the sound of it.
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05 Apr 22, (Australia - temperate climate)
i was looking for websites to help with my school project and this helped so much. thanks alot.
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Showing 11 - 20 of 201 comments
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Hi there :-) found this thread while looking for a diagram of kumara (sweet potato) and thought this info might help you Jason. In early Feb, had this awesome fella come show us how to plant kumara in the traditional way, used successfully by Maori before European colonisation. I recently emailed him asking for general care and cultivation tips... this was his reply: "Kia ora ano sis, chur mean, glad to hear the kumara are in abundance! Have y'all pulled the runners up yet? - about 3 weeks ago you shouldve pulled up the runners on a sunny day and exposed the roots to the sun for a few hours to kill them. Otherwise the plants direct energy away from the tubers and into setting down new roots via the runners and your kumara wont be as big as they could. If you havent done it yet, still do! At that point you can also start harvesting the new shoots of vine growth - pick leaves and vines that are still that brighter green and use it like puha or watercress. If you eat mature leaves it might upset your stomach so kia tupato! (you probably already know all this!). This has same effect of directing energy to the tubers." For your reference, "puha and watercress" are greens that can be added to salads or boiled/blanched similar to spinach and silverbeet and "kia tupato" means I need to "be careful" - eating mature leaves can be harmful! Well, I am off to pull up the runners and expose them to the sun! Glad there is some today :-) Good luck with the kumara growing!! "As the garden grows so does the gardener." - Proverb

- Starrlite

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