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

(Best months for growing Sweet Potato in Australia - sub-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

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23 Mar 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Cut off some runners/vine and plant them - better than tubers. About 18
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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!
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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
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13 Mar 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
They cut this off from my post. You need a slip about 18
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25 Feb 18, Chloe (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
I have two furiously shooting kumara that have been growing in the pantry (!) Whilst I was overseas. I'm located in a very sunny spot in Auckland, is there any point in attempting to grow them now? (End Feb)
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27 Feb 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Give it a go.
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08 Mar 18, Mary (Australia - temperate climate)
Pop it in the ground, that way you will have slips for next Spring. However, if you get cold winters over there, pop it in a pot, so you can move it to the garage or shed during the cold days and nights.
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24 Feb 18, Val Clark (Australia - temperate climate)
When is the best time to plant out the new growth from a tubar. I have a sweet potato that has sprung heaps of shoots. I'd like to put them into pots. Will they grow over winter in I keep them warm or am I wasting my time?
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08 Mar 18, Mary (Australia - temperate climate)
I am in Adelaide -Temperate, and I leave mine in the ground over winter.
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26 Feb 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Put them in the ground if you have a garden. Cover with some shade until they start to establish themselves. Sweet spuds are grown all year round in Bundaberg - 30-35 degrees in summer.
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Showing 51 - 60 of 194 comments
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I talked to a commercial grower yesterday. Fertilise the ground before you plant. What fertiliser you use depends on how fertile your soil is. You would need a soil test to really find that out. But fertiliser with a reasonable amount of N, good P and high K. Mix this through the soil profile. If you cut off slips, make them about .4m long, strip off most of the leaves but leave the growing head part. Dig a furrow 50-75mm deep and place the slip in the furrow (place the slip level in the soil). Cover the slip over with soil but leave the growing bit sticking out of the soil. You could put the slips in a jar of water for a week or so to start the roots growing. Once you have planted the slip make sure it is watered for the next week, lIke each day. The soil around the slip has to be wet for the roots to shoot and grow. After a week or so you should notice the plant growing. The slip will produce sweet potatoes from where you stripped the leaves off giving a higher yield of crop. If the vines grow really long then I believe too high N, but I was told they need plenty of N. I was mainly asking about the placement of the slip but will ask more about the fertiliser next time.

- anon

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