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 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

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31 May 23, JJ Penza (USA - Zone 7b climate)
I am on the Va/NC line zone 7B.I have had success growing Beauregards, Okinawas, and Covingtons, The best producers at my place were in that order.
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02 May 23, Carolyn (USA - Zone 8a climate)
A friend of mine gave me some sweet potato plants rooted and planted in soil before last winter. She told me to keep them and water occasionally and plant in April/May in North Texas. These little plants are about 6" high with multiple shoots from a center stalk. Do I plant the whole plant in a pot or cut off the shoots and plant? Confused? Thank you.
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08 May 23, (Australia - temperate climate)
You can do both. More plants if you break it up into a few.
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02 Jan 23, Allen (USA - Zone 7b climate)
Hi; I know what a sweet potato slip is but what the heck is a sweet potato crown? All I can find on the internet is recipes for cooking not planting.
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08 Jan 23, Chris (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Crowns are the top sprouting part of a sweet potato. It should say slips too.
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05 Jan 23, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
A slip should be 20 cm/8 in
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12 Mar 22, DeAnn Johnson (USA - Zone 5a climate)
Thank you so much for the GREAT Tip!!!
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15 Mar 22, (USA - Zone 4a climate)
Read the posting here in the New Zealand section - I just put a reply there about growing Sweet Pots.
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27 Aug 21, Kirk McCoy (USA - Zone 10a climate)
If your sweet potatoes wont sprout it is because commercial growers spray them with a anti sprouting chemical. It can be removed buy giving your sweet potatoes a ascorbic acid bath for 15 minutes then rinsing. I use 2 tsp in a half gallon of water. you could also use crushed vitamin C pills.
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19 Jun 22, Maria (USA - Zone 10a climate)
Thanks for the tip! I am trying for the first time and will do this :)
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Showing 11 - 20 of 35 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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