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 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

13 Jan 19, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It does say harvest 15-17 weeks. Pick early if you want smaller size and pick later if you like the bigger ones.
01 Oct 18, Jeanette (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I'm in Ipswich Qld .I've planted a whole tubor of the purple sweet potato ( after it produced roots in water) and it's shooting up beautifully, do I break these off and plant separately? or try to grow roots in water first? I have had no luck at all with the orange sweet potato.
02 Oct 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Cut it into 4-6 pieces and plant. Then when they have grown for about 2 mths take some of the vine about 5-600mm long and plant in the soil laying horizontal with just the end sticking out of the soil. Water well for week or so.
10 Jul 18, Cathy (Australia - temperate climate)
When my tomato bed finished i refilled the bed with conpost and the sweet potatos started growing. I got quite a few potatoes and pulled them out in September to replant tomatoes. I couldnt get tomatoes to grow that summer so i gave up and let the je sweet potatoes come back naturally. Should i try for tomatoes again in that same bed? If so do i need to help the soil in any way? Thanks!!
13 Jul 18, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate)
I have been told sweet potatoes are a big consumer of nutrients from the soil - other words not much nutrient left in the soil after the crop Tomatoes would also take a lot from the soil. Did you add compost or totally refilled the bed with compost again. If the compost is not totally broken down then it will take N from the soil - therefore very little N for the intended crop. Look to the guide here for planting - although it has no planting time for sweet potatoes in temperate climates. After each crop you need to do one of two things - add completed compost, manures etc and make sure this is all broken down into the soil. Or you hit it up with some all round fertiliser. Also give your soil a rest for a few months and add compost and turn it in.
21 Mar 18, Kathy charles (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted 3 tubers of yellow and 1 purple sweet potato in October 2017 now March have picked first purple one but cannot find even a little yellow tuber. Healthy looking plants but WHY no s/potato. Thank you in advance
23 Mar 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Cut off some runners/vine and plant them - better than tubers. About 18
10 Mar 18, Greg (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I'm in Ipswich , SE QLD. I planted five purple sweet potato slips back at the beginning of August (2017). They have been in the ground seven months. They have grown well but have not flowered or died back at all, unlike the normal orange ones i grew the previous year. I've had a little bit of a dig around but have not found any tubers at all. Has anyone grown these before in my climate and should i be expecting to find tubers by now? Perhaps they went in at the wrong time of year? If i could upload a photo here, i would. Thanks for your help!
11 Mar 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I planted the orange ones one summer and they produced heaps. The next year nearly nothing. I talked to a farmer a few months ago and they plant slips. That is they go onto an existing growing crop about 6-8 weeks old and they take slips/runners/vine
13 Mar 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
They cut this off from my post. You need a slip about 18
Showing 51 - 60 of 200 comments

Trying to grow in my apartment.. any advice welcomed.. what kind of soil should I buy? How often should I water? I don’t get direct sunlight how long should I leave outside on my patio?

- Frankie

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