ECONOGAL

The 2024 sweet potato crop all grew from one slip. Last spring I would have said this second attempt at growing slips was a failure. But now I see things differently. The one slip produced enough root veggies to use in several meals.

Videos and blogs suggest growing sweet potato slips as easy. My experience is mixed. The 2023 crop of sweet potato slips were plentiful. The year before I ordered two dozen because the slips are shipped to Colorado in late June, right along with the first of the hot weather. Survival rate from the shipping is less than 50%. So, I wanted to increase the odds.

After shipping, transplanting can be a tricky business. Placing the slips in a vase of water for a couple of days before placing them in the ground is helpful. Unlike seedlings, slips are planted bare-rooted. 2023 was my first year of planting home grown sweet potato slips. This avoided the shipping damage. Through the winter of 2022-23, I kept vines in water and grew vines in a planting medium. About eight slips were produced.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the winter of 2023-24. Only one slip made it to June. This slip was planted in a fire ring planter.

The yield this year was naturally smaller in number. But the sweet potatoes are of a good size. Interestingly enough, a vine with newly sprouted leaves was mixed in with the maturing leaves. I have placed it in a vase and roots are already developing.

There were 2 small tubers. One I planted into soil. No signs of life so far. The other is propped in a small jar with toothpicks. It also has developing roots.

As for the sweet potatoes, the true test will come once they are cooked. Currently they are curing as I was not patient enough to wait for the first frost. My experience is sweet potatoes can be harvested after a light freeze if dug the morning after.