Sweet Potato Slips

Korean Sweet Potatoes are ADDICTIVE!! When I first moved to South Korea, I thought the Korean obsession with sweet potatoes was strange, but I grew to appreciate the unique taste of the Korean Sweet Potato, 고구마.

When I returned to America, I was disappointed by the taste of the sweet potatoes here. The orange sweet potatoes cannot hold a candle to the Korean Sweet Potatoes.

Then I found the Japanese Yam one at a Whole Foods store, and I was ecstatic. The taste was similar to the sweet potatoes I grew to love. I decided to use it to grow more sweet potatoes. It was a little ambitious since it was my first year of gardening, but what did I have to lose?

I was surprised to discover how easy it is to grow a sweet potato slip. You need an organic sweet potato, water, toothpicks, a jar, and patience. 

My first year growing sweet potatoes was a smashing success!! The sweet potatoes harvested were not very large, but I had a harvest, and the sweet potato plants were not high maintenance. 

I recommend growing sweet potatoes, especially if you love them as much as I do!!

Here is how you do it- you will need:
An organic Sweet Potato
Glass Jar
Water
Toothpicks
Potting Soil
Small pots for transplanting

Buy an organic sweet potato. Organic is better because non-organic sweet potatoes have a chemical that prevents them from sprouting. 

Cut the sweet potato in half, put three toothpicks into the side of each sweet potato, and place it on top of a glass jar filled with water. Change the water out frequently for the best results.

Be patient because it can take a few weeks for the sweet potatoes to sprout. When you see little green leaves, it is time to move them.

Pull out each little sprout and place the bottom in water until roots form.

Once you have roots, place the sweet potato slip in a pot with dirt. I got over nine slips from one half a sweet potato! Do not transplant until after the last chance of frost. (We transplanted a few weeks after because sweet potato plants like it HOT.)

Sweet potato slips are expensive if you order them from a garden supply store. This project is worth the effort if you want to grow sweet potatoes. Start growing the slips in March or April, if you live in zone five.

Growing Sweet Potatoes

A quick-growing tip: use mulch. The first year I grew sweet potatoes, I had mulch paper over them and had a better harvest. The following year, I got lazy and did not use mulch paper. The harvest was much smaller than our first year. 

I have considered growing sweet potatoes in a small greenhouse because I live in zone five, and sweet potatoes like hot weather.
Also, use a trellis. Sweet Potato plants like to climb!

The first year, I grew sweet potatoes in a bushel basket. I placed it on my patio and did NOT get enough sun exposure. Sadly, the bushel basket grew a pretty plant but no sweet potatoes. (There was not enough sunlight). 

If I try the bushel basket method again, I will grow it in a basket or a growing bag in the sunny part of my yard. (I don’t live in an apartment anymore; I have an acre of land to use.)

I successfully grew potatoes in a growing bag a few times, and harvesting them was fun and easy.

Have you grown sweet potatoes? Do you have growing tips you would like to share?