Have you ever tasted the delicious sweet potato? Surely you have also bought your own sweet potato plant in order to be able to draw on a bounty harvest. You eagerly watch the shoots continue to develop all year round and can hardly bear the anticipation of the vegetables you have grown yourself. But when is it finally time to harvest the tubers? After all, you certainly don't want to pull unripe sweet potatoes out of the ground. Then all the patience would have been in vain. With the sweet potato picking time tips on this page, that won't happen to you.
Sweet potatoes are harvested in autumn
when to harvest
Sweet potatoes are harvested in autumn. The tubers are usually ripe in October. They are still available in supermarkets all year round. Once you have dug your sweet potatoes out of the ground, you should store them in a dark place for about two to three weeks. During this time, the starch turns into sugar and the vegetables develop their sweet taste.
This is how you recognize ripe sweet potatoes
The ideal time to harvest many types of vegetables can be easily identified by the color or the hardness of the flesh or the skin. However, sweet potatoes grow entirely underground. The leaves of the plant indicate that the fruit is ripe. If it turns yellow, you can start digging.
You must pay attention to this
- harvest the sweet potatoes on a dry day
- use a digging fork
- be careful not to damage the tuber (there is a risk of rotting during storage)
- store the sweet potato for a day or two before eating
- wash the sweet potato well after harvesting
Early harvest
If the first frost is already announced in September, you should harvest your sweet potatoes early. The sensitive root vegetables do not tolerate frost. You don't have to worry about any compromises in taste after longer storage.