The sweet potato, also known as batata, is a trendy vegetable. Except for its name, it has little in common with the well-known potato. The tubers from the supermarket are excellent for breeding.
Young sweet potato plants can be outdoors from May
Grow young plants
Cut a sweet potato into 7 to 10 cm long pieces and let the cut surface dry. Put half of the material in a nutrient-poor substrate and place the plant pots in a light and warm place. The soil should not dry out in the next few days. After a few weeks, the first shoots will appear. When these have reached a length of ten centimetres, break off the rung. This measure promotes root formation.
Plant outdoors
The young plants are ready for the garden bed from mid-May. Ideally, you put the sweet potatoes out after the ice saints, because late frosts can damage the plants. If the weather is cool and unstable at this time, wait another two weeks.
Site and soil requirements
The morning glory plant is originally native to Central America and therefore loves warmth. In your garden, the plants will enjoy a spot sheltered from cold winds with mild conditions. The plants feel comfortable in the vicinity of a south-facing house wall. Alternatively, you can put the potatoes in raised beds or cultivate them in 30-litre containers on the balcony. They develop magnificent tubers on sandy and rather dry soil. They attach great importance to an adequate supply of nutrients.
row planting
You can put both complete tubers from as well as individual pre-germinated potatoes in the bed. If you use entire rhizomes, you should only put them halfway into the ground. The incidence of light stimulates nucleation. You can plant young plants a little deeper to promote root formation.
Ideal bed conditions:
- Plant in rows 60 to 70 cm wide
- Prepare ridges 20 cm high
- ensure a planting distance of 35 cm
The earth dams offer the advantage that the earth around the plants warms up more quickly. This will encourage the growth of the tubers. Excess irrigation water runs off better, so that no waterlogging forms.