Want an exotic plant in your garden? Then grow your own sweet potato plant. The morning glory plant impresses with its long, climbing shoots and beautiful flowers. In addition, with conscientious care, you can harvest delicious, edible tubers in October. The best thing is, growing your own sweet potato is easier than you think. With the following instructions and the helpful tips for cultivation, you are guaranteed to succeed.
How do you grow sweet potatoes in your own garden?
To grow sweet potatoes in your own garden, start growing tubers or shoots in January. Plant these after the ice saints, usually in mid-May, in a sunny location and well-drained, nutrient-rich soil. Make sure you have enough water and fertilizer and harvest the tubers in October.
Recommended varieties
The sweet potato has become increasingly well known and popular in Germany in recent years. It is now available in numerous varieties. Their tubers come onto the market in different sizes and colors. Which variety you cultivate in your garden primarily depends on whether you want to use the sweet potato as an ornamental plant or want to reap a high-yield harvest. The individual plants also differ visually in terms of leaf size and color. The following varieties have proven themselves suitable for cultivation in the home garden:
- Beauregard and S8 are very productive
- Evangelia also forms many tubers and is easy to harvest, it also impresses with wine-red leaves, which make it an attractive ornamental plant, the pulp contains a lot of sugar and is therefore a delicate temptation
- Murasaki impresses with its impressive root and leaf growth, even if the harvest yield is rather low, the variety has a pink-red skin and white flesh with a nutty, aromatic taste
- Bonita has comparatively small tubers, but is very versatile in the kitchen
Grow your own sweet potato
Anyone can buy a ready-made plant from a specialist retailer. You will be all the more proud when you harvest the first tubers from your own cultivation. Cultivation is child's play. All you need is one batate, or shoot, of a sweet potato. How to proceed:
- It's best to start growing in January
- cut off one end of the tuber
- place the batate or cuttings in a bowl of water or in a box with potting soil
- provide sufficient light and heat
- first shoots form after just a few days
- when they reach a length of 10 cm, repot them in a cultivation container
- If the nights remain frost-free, you can plant the sprouted sweet potatoes in the ground
Planting sweet potatoes
To ensure that your sweet potato develops properly, you should consider the following aspects:
Site conditions
The batate, which comes from the warm tropics, needs sun and light to grow. Only a few varieties are better off in partial shade. A south-facing location ideally meets these conditions. Cultivation on the balcony is also possible. However, it is important, especially when keeping pots, that no waterlogging occurs. A sandy, well-drained soil that is still rich in nutrients is recommended for cultivation.
Planting spacing
Encourage the growth of your sweet potatoes by not planting them in a shallow bed, but by creating small ridges. The earth warms up more quickly, rain and irrigation water flows away more quickly, so that waterlogging does not form. This method is also ideal for growing in heavy soils. Please adhere to the following dimensions:
- Height of the dams: 20 cm
- Width of the dams: 60 cm
- Distance between dams: at least 1 m
- Distance between plants: 30 cm
Time
Since frost significantly inhibits the growth of a sweet potato or even damages the plant, you should only put your batate outside in mid-May after the Ice Saints. If you grow your sweet potatoes yourself, it is recommended to start growing them in January.
Tip
In a protected greenhouse or under a fleece, the planting has already taken place at an earlier time
Further care
Pouring
Initially, young plants hardly need any water. Only later, especially on warm days, will your sweet potato need a lot of water. Daily watering may be necessary in summer. Always keep the substrate well moist, but avoid waterlogging.
Fertilize
With a well-prepared bed, all the requirements for an adequate supply of nutrients are met. However, if you decide on a mixed culture, the nutrient requirements increase. It is then recommended
- Distribute three liters of mature compost with 100 g of horn meal per square meter
- the administration of complete fertilizer
When cultivating in pots, you need to fertilize more often, about once a week with liquid fertilizer (€18.00 on Amazon).
Harvest
If your cultivation was successful, your Batate will reward you with delicious tubers in October. The yellowing of the leaves is an indication that you can dig up the sweet potatoes. It's best to use your hands alone to avoid damaging the delicate tubers. You can store the sweet potatoes intact at 12-16°C for about a month.
