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Old March 26, 2014   #1
Durgan
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Default Sweet Potato Slips

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?NMOIG 26 March 2013 Sweet Potato Slips
My first attempt at growing sweet potatoes. The quality sweet potato was purchased from the supermarket about six weeks ago. It was placed in water in bright sunlight,in a warm place to produce slips. Slips being the green shoots that grow from the main body. When they reach about six inches long they will be removed and placed in water to produce roots. The slips will then be planted in the outdoor garden about the first of June in my Zone 5. The sprouts or slips are very slow to start but are now growing about a quarter inch a day. This planting procedure is different from the typical potato planting method where part of the tuber is planted.
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Old March 26, 2014   #2
Geezer
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Looking pretty darned good! I just so happened to have an extra sweet potato from the grocery and this looks like a wonderful project to try myself.

I may not know what variety I have, but if it works and tubers taste good........

Evil Ed
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Old March 26, 2014   #3
kath
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That's the way I start mine, too. This year after the slips have produced some roots, I may try potting them up in ProMix to see if there will be less transplant shock.

I heard that sometimes the potatoes from the store have been treated with sprout inhibitors.

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Old March 26, 2014   #4
Durgan
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Originally Posted by kath View Post
That's the way I start mine, too. This year after the slips have produced some roots, I may try potting them up in ProMix to see if there will be less transplant shock.

I heard that sometimes the potatoes from the store have been treated with sprout inhibitors.

kath
I tried growing slips a couple of years ago and got nothing from store potatoes, so thought about trying again. So far so good and there is almost two months to go before planting in the outdoor garden. In looks like I will have about six slips and I have the room to grow them outdoors. My zone 5 is probably not the ideal climate to grow sweet potatoes, so it will be interesting to see what is produced.
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Old March 26, 2014   #5
kath
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I tried growing slips a couple of years ago and got nothing from store potatoes, so thought about trying again. So far so good and there is almost two months to go before planting in the outdoor garden. In looks like I will have about six slips and I have the room to grow them outdoors. My zone 5 is probably not the ideal climate to grow sweet potatoes, so it will be interesting to see what is produced.
Do what you can to keep them as warm as possible. I've read that hilling up a row and covering it with black plastic/landscape fabric ahead of time makes them happy and it seems to work for me. Plant out is usually at the end of May and I've got huge tubers by Sept. but usually leave them in until just before frost. A lot depends on what variety yours turns out to be since some are earlier than others. Hope you have good luck with them. They produce a LOT of food and store well into spring in conditions easy to provide.

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Old March 27, 2014   #6
wmontanez
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This is a Maine Sweet Potato guide of sorts for our Northern Climate
http://www.mofga.org/Publications/Ma...1/Default.aspx

I had some good results with Koimo (Korean or Japanese variety) and Frasier White.
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Old March 27, 2014   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Durgan View Post
I tried growing slips a couple of years ago and got nothing from store potatoes, so thought about trying again. So far so good and there is almost two months to go before planting in the outdoor garden. In looks like I will have about six slips and I have the room to grow them outdoors. My zone 5 is probably not the ideal climate to grow sweet potatoes, so it will be interesting to see what is produced.
Buy your sweet potatoes from an organic grocery store. Commercial sweet potatoes are treated with a chemical that prevents slips from growing.
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Old March 27, 2014   #8
Durgan
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Originally Posted by wmontanez View Post
This is a Maine Sweet Potato guide of sorts for our Northern Climate
http://www.mofga.org/Publications/Ma...1/Default.aspx

I had some good results with Koimo (Korean or Japanese variety) and Frasier White.

Looks like these people have a winner. Most encouraging from my point of view.
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Old March 27, 2014   #9
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I get my slips from Sandhill Preservation, and they have lots of great information on growing sweet potatoes and making your own slips, as their vision is to keep many of the heirloom varieties going by encouraging others to propagate them. I have had success with early varieties in my zone 4-3 location most years, so zone 5 should be no problem. I have not even tried to make my own slips yet, mainly because I don't have good storage conditions, so I haven't been able to keep any roots in good enough shape come spring to use for slip-making.
Shawn


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Old April 2, 2014   #10
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Default sweet potato slips cut instead of pulling

Hey ! I just thought i would share some info on the way we harvest sweet potato slips. To keep from transferring diseases from the seed potato to the new plant we cut the slips just above the soil line instead of pulling the slips from the seed potato. The slips are transplanted to the row and will put on root in about 5 to 7 days. After the new plants begin to vine good you can take more vine cutting and transplant those in the same way. I hope this is helpful !!!


Brian
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Old April 5, 2014   #11
Stvrob
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What I do is bury the sweet potato about 2/3rds in light soil, (laying horizontally) and keep it warm and moist, then when the slips appear, I just reach under the soil and snap them off the sweet potato, usually they have a little bit of root already. They are fun to grow, and super productive. The vines will try to root wherever they touch the ground, I was always told to hoe them out of the ground when they try to do so, otherwise you get lots of small potatoes spread all over the place. Others may have different ideas about growing fewer, but bigger potatoes.
They seem to thrive in the heat of summer in the South, when everything else is overwhelmed by heat and humidity. I hope they do well for you in Ontario.
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Old April 5, 2014   #12
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I have grwon slips from supermarket potatoes a few times with no problems . Perhaps they are not treated.

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Old April 9, 2014   #13
Geezer
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The one sweet tater I started from a Meijer grocery store has started producing roots. No sign yet of leaves, but it's a start........

Evil Ed

P.S.
I've got three more on hand from Kroger. I thinl I'll try them too.....
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Old April 11, 2014   #14
Durgan
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http://www.durgan.org/URL/?MBLFZ 11 April 2014 Rooting Sweet Potato Slips
Potato slips were removed from the potato, placed in water in a small cup to enable the shoot to produce roots. A total of eight slips were chosen. My first attempt at growing sweet potatoes.
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Old April 11, 2014   #15
kath
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Geezer View Post
The one sweet tater I started from a Meijer grocery store has started producing roots. No sign yet of leaves, but it's a start........
In my limited experience of suspending the potato in water, the roots show up just a bit before the slips begin to emerge, so it should happen soon.

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