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              

(Best months for growing Sweet Potato in USA - Zone 7a 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
  • New shoots on Kumara
  • Well grown Kumara

Sweet Potatoes require a long warm growing season. Plant in free draining loose soil. Fertilise before planting but no more when the plants are growing as it will encourage vine growth. They will go for miles and you will get no tubers. If they do start spreading, lift the vines off the ground to prevent them rooting.

Mound up the soil about 20 cm (8 in) before planting. Let the plants die down, (leaves die or turn yellow) before harvesting the tubers. Dry them in the sun for a few days. then store in a cool dry place for up to five months.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Sweet Potato

Use mashed, boiled, roasted, baked or fried. Or use in soups, pies, casseroles, curries and salads.

Your comments and tips

Post a comment or question Show comments for USA | for all countries

Be the first to post a question or tip from the USA

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.

- Mike L

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.