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

19 Sep 16, gwen (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
how long does it take to harvest the sweet potato, i planted mine in august and they are starting to grow now
19 Sep 16, Gabrielle (Australia - temperate climate)
Lol... Not suitable for growing in Oz? Yams are a staple diet for our Indigenous Peoples, they've been growing them for centuries in Australia.
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?.
Showing 191 - 200 of 309 comments

I live in the Redlands on the sourthern outskirts of Brisbane. I am trying to grow sweet potatoes for the first time. I have grown my own slips and planted them out and the vines are growing nicely. What I would like to know is where do the tubers grow from. Is it from the base of the slip or from the vines. Also I only have one vine growing from each plant. Do I need more than one vine and if so how do I encourage the extra vines.

- bernie

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