Bumper sweet potato crop up north

[catjac1975]

I wish you could tell what a giant sweet potato the really big one is. I guess the sweets loved our hot summer. I was 80 degrees just 2 days ago. Now it's cold and damp waiting for the hurricane, So far we are in the clear except for rain.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I dug mine today, Beauregards. My biggest were not as big as last years biggest, but I got a lot of nice ones.

But I'm further south where I'm supposed to be able to grows them. You are not so you did really well. Congratulations.

 

[catjac1975]

I dug mine today, Beauregards. My biggest were not as big as last years biggest, but I got a lot of nice ones.

But I'm further south where I'm supposed to be able to grows them. You are not so you did really well. Congratulations.

Ridge- Do yours split like mine? Is it from waiting too long to dig? They are still great but ,I wish they looked a little nicer.

 

[buckabucka]

I find that the Georgia Jets I grow always split, but not the other varieties. This year, I only grew jets, and while there weren't huge numbers, they were big:

 

[PhilaGardener]

Great harvests!

I think fall rains drive splitting for me. I haven't dug mine yet; hope the heavy rains along the East Coast this week and next don't cause problems!

 

[seedcorn]

I am SO envious. My sand grows excellent sweet potatoes but unfortunately soil nematodes ruin them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Great harvests!

I think fall rains drive splitting for me. I haven't dug mine yet; hope the heavy rains along the East Coast this week and next don't cause problems!

I think this is the answer for splitting. Rain. Mine did not split but something, I am pretty sure rats, found them and chewed a lot of the tops right at the surface. They ruined some but most healed up. I'll see how they store.

 

[so lucky]

I haven't dug mine yet...probably will this weekend. Believe it or not, I still have a few sweet potatoes left from last year, barely starting to sprout.

 

[digitS']

I've got nice parsnips this year - Andover. Maybe this is a good combination. Maybe I will buy some sweet potatoes ...

Perfect Parsnips and Sweet Potatoes

Stop reading! Why can't I grow sweet potatoes?!

Okay, I can ... but people who know about growing them make fun of my harvest. The other day I was asked about growing under plastic tunnels through the season. Where would I put them - the gardens are miles from home?? I can imagine the phone calls about them blowing away.

Steve

 

[buckabucka]

I grow mine in a hoop house with a black plastic floor. There is a soaker hose, but it is really long (tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in the same house) and the plants get little water. If we run it a long time, the well starts to get low and develops a sulfur smell. They still manage to split, but not all of them. I do top-water early in the season when I can find the base of the plant.

@Ridgerunner -rodents are such a big disappointment! Our sweet potatoes were only hit in the spring, by something that chewed off all the starts at the stem, but they rebounded. Rodents took all our beets and carrots last year though.

@digitS' -can't you stake down some low tunnels? Even our giant hoop houses blew around and off the garden until we staked them.