Their lovely, sweet taste and versatile use in the kitchen make the sweet potato a popular vegetable. However, botanists do not only appreciate their culinary qualities. The pretty flowers and the extensive growth also make the exotic a handsome ornamental plant. Even if you don't have much space, you can still enjoy the vegetables. Keeping them in a pot even offers numerous advantages. Read for yourself!
The bucket for growing sweet potatoes must be big enough
Advantages of keeping in buckets
- can be cultivated to save space on the terrace or on the balcony
- the long shoots hang over the pot
- as a tendril a suitable privacy screen
- mobile (when early frost sets in)
demands on the pot
The sweet potato is not only spreading strongly above ground. Overhanging shoots are usually not a problem. You should rather consider that the tubers have enough space to grow. Therefore, the volume of your pot should be at least 30 liters.
The right location
Since the batata comes from the tropics, it only develops well in fully sunny and warm locations. Does your terrace or balcony face south? Perfect, your sweet potato will grow well here. Temperatures around 24°C are ideal. Below this value, the crop shows significantly slower growth. However, there are also varieties whose leaves burn in direct sunlight. You must store them in semi-shade.
The substrate
If you keep your sweet potatoes in pots, they do not make great demands on unusual substrate mixtures. Conventional potting soil is completely sufficient for the plant. It thrives even better in a mixture of sand and compost. However, the roots should never come into direct contact with the compost. Geranium soil has also proven itself for healthy growth. Make sure, however, that no waterlogging forms in the bucket. Loose soil and additional drainage on the pot prevent root rot. On the other hand, you should keep the substrate constantly moist. It is best to enrich the soil with some fertilizer. A liquid fertilizer is recommended during the growth phase from March to September.
planting partner
Your batata will be even more attractive with other plants in the pot. Summer flowers harmonize particularly well with sweet potatoes due to the rich colors of the flowers. However, keep in mind that after an initial delay, the sweet potato will grow very quickly in a suitable location. Slow-growing plant partners are therefore out of place. It is better to choose plants that spread just as quickly.