Sand Hill sweet potatoes

shelleybean · June 6, 2008

If anyone ordered for 2008, mine arrived today. If you don't have yours yet, you should soon.

Tormato · June 6, 2008

Michele,

Thanks for the update. It looks like I have a day or so to actually construct a bed for them. Black plastic and a forecast of 99 degrees may help in the prep.

Gary

OmahaJB · June 6, 2008

Sweet potatoes are something I wanted to grow this year, but decided I'll have my hands full enough with 3 varieties of regular potatoes & everything else I'm trying to grow. So hopefully next year I'll be able to give them a shot.

I read somewhere, perhaps on this forum, that sweet potatoes are actually easier to grow for some reason than regular potatoes. Whether it's true or not, I don't know.

Jeff

OmahaJB · June 8, 2008

I just visited Sandhill Preservation's website. They are having a closeout sale for the season. I believe shipping is $5.75, and for a couple of the package deals (i.e. Northern, meaning early varieties) you get 5 slips for $3.50, and they have other quantities to select from (like 5 or 6 dollars for 10 slips). I see you can't order on their site or by phone, but it appears you can download an order form on PDF format, which I don't have unfortunately (Webtv limitations). And they are out of physical catalogs so I can't order that way either. Oh well, there's always next year.

Jeff

shelleybean · June 8, 2008

Hi, Jeff. I grew both regular and sweet potatoes last year and I think sweet potatoes are easier to grow. No hilling. Give them a try next time.

barkeater · June 8, 2008

I got mine from Steele Plant Co. in Tennessee 3 days ago and am a bit disappointed, maybe because I've never grown them before. But some of the slips were pretty miniscule, and 2 of the 18 planted already look dead.

They were the smallest ones. Will the roots send up new shoots? The instructions made it sound like the roots were extremely hardy and you could actually cut off any green plant material and just plant roots! Is this true?

OmahaJB · June 8, 2008

Thanks for the info Michelle. I visited a website today that mentioned even using store bought sweet potatoes to grow out. Doesn't sound like a great idea though - possible disease & the fact some potatoes are sprayed to not grow.

barkeater, I'm sure someone will answer your question, but I was wondering if you have considered letting the Steele Company know you received inferior slips? Perhaps they'll replace them.

macmex · June 9, 2008

I haven't tried that. But I do know that sweet potato slips are extremely hardy. I'd just plant everything they sent. If the stems are still green they are likely to make it.

We used to live in the high desert of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. There we did flood irrigation. Rain was very infrequent. One time, there, we harvested sweet potatoes and someone dropped some vines on an unused garden plot. It was unused, therefore it received NO WATER of any sort, for months. Those vines completely shriveled up and turned brown. But several months later, when that plot got irrigated, we had sprouts!

Having said this, I do lose a slip or two every year. Don't know why either.

George

Quote:

They were the smallest ones. Will the roots send up new shoots? The instructions made it sound like the roots were extremely hardy and you could actually cut off any green plant material and just plant roots! Is this true?

barkeater · June 11, 2008

macmex, thanks for the info. It's 6 days now, and many that were half dead have perked up like crazy. I pulled up the two I thought were dead, and a couple fresh roots had started growing, and were a half an inch long. Plus, a few spares I had put in water, were rooting like crazy.

So, needless to say, I have no worries about them anymore. Maybe because we had four straight 90 degree days and tons of rain? I even put my last two spares in a big pot, and expect a bucketful this fall!

shelleybean · September 30, 2008

I dug mine up this morning--all Ivis White Cream. Again this year, I'm very pleased with these. I love those white sweet potatoes! Yum yum!!

Tormato · October 1, 2008

Michele,

I'm glad you had success.

Mine, Violetto and Korean Purple, didn't arrive until June 30th, so they're still in the ground.

The vines are still green and healthy, so I don't think the voles have found them, yet.

Gary

shelleybean · June 5, 2009

The slips from my 2009 order just arrived. I ordered right away so those of you who ordered early should be getting your slips soon. A friend of mine here grew Violetta last year and gave me some and they were very good. So that's what I have this time. I hope they do as well for me as the Ivis White Cream.

aninocentangel · June 5, 2009

I didn't get any slips this year. I found a nice sized sweet potato inside the tires I had them planted in last year and chucked it into a hole left where the dog dug up a tomato plant. Poured some left over potting soil on it, and a couple of weeks later a vine popped up. We'll see what I get.

June 6, 2008	#1
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	Sand Hill sweet potatoes If anyone ordered for 2008, mine arrived today. If you don't have yours yet, you should soon. __________________ Michele

June 8, 2008	#5
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	Hi, Jeff. I grew both regular and sweet potatoes last year and I think sweet potatoes are easier to grow. No hilling. Give them a try next time. __________________ Michele

September 30, 2008	#10
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	I dug mine up this morning--all Ivis White Cream. Again this year, I'm very pleased with these. I love those white sweet potatoes! Yum yum!! __________________ Michele

June 5, 2009	#12
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	The slips from my 2009 order just arrived. I ordered right away so those of you who ordered early should be getting your slips soon. A friend of mine here grew Violetta last year and gave me some and they were very good. So that's what I have this time. I hope they do as well for me as the Ivis White Cream. __________________ Michele

June 6, 2008	#2
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,964	Michele, Thanks for the update. It looks like I have a day or so to actually construct a bed for them. Black plastic and a forecast of 99 degrees may help in the prep. Gary

June 6, 2008	#3
OmahaJB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Toledo, OH Posts: 1,821	Sweet potatoes are something I wanted to grow this year, but decided I'll have my hands full enough with 3 varieties of regular potatoes & everything else I'm trying to grow. So hopefully next year I'll be able to give them a shot. I read somewhere, perhaps on this forum, that sweet potatoes are actually easier to grow for some reason than regular potatoes. Whether it's true or not, I don't know. Jeff

June 8, 2008	#6
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	I got mine from Steele Plant Co. in Tennessee 3 days ago and am a bit disappointed, maybe because I've never grown them before. But some of the slips were pretty miniscule, and 2 of the 18 planted already look dead. They were the smallest ones. Will the roots send up new shoots? The instructions made it sound like the roots were extremely hardy and you could actually cut off any green plant material and just plant roots! Is this true?

June 11, 2008	#9
barkeater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NE Kingdom, VT - Zone 3b Posts: 1,439	macmex, thanks for the info. It's 6 days now, and many that were half dead have perked up like crazy. I pulled up the two I thought were dead, and a couple fresh roots had started growing, and were a half an inch long. Plus, a few spares I had put in water, were rooting like crazy. So, needless to say, I have no worries about them anymore. Maybe because we had four straight 90 degree days and tons of rain? I even put my last two spares in a big pot, and expect a bucketful this fall!

October 1, 2008	#11
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,964	Michele, I'm glad you had success. Mine, Violetto and Korean Purple, didn't arrive until June 30th, so they're still in the ground. The vines are still green and healthy, so I don't think the voles have found them, yet. Gary

June 5, 2009	#13
aninocentangel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: 8a Coastal SC Posts: 251	I didn't get any slips this year. I found a nice sized sweet potato inside the tires I had them planted in last year and chucked it into a hole left where the dog dug up a tomato plant. Poured some left over potting soil on it, and a couple of weeks later a vine popped up. We'll see what I get.