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odoriferous Irish potato always call for a long growing time of year , which can potentially make them a little more challenging to grow in the UK than a range of other common craw .
However , if you choose the right-hand change , get them in an appropriate office and ply them with the correct care , then it is potential to reach abundant harvests of sweet potatoes at menage .
Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’
In this guide , we ’ve teamed up withAndrew Hock , the Founder of The Sweet Potato Society .
Andrew has many year of experience gardening and has a personal passion of sweet potatoes .
“ Not only are they a beautiful plant to grow with lush and verdant foliage , but they are also a nutritionary power station , ” say Andrew , when explaining why he is so passionate about these root vegetables .
“ The operation of growing , starting pillow slip , rooting and nurturing them until implant and then waiting months for the harvest and curing is a rewarding exercise of dedication and patience . ”
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureSheltered
Height2.5 – 4 1000
Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’
Spread1.5 – 2.5 M
Bloom TimeSummer
PreferredLoam or sand
MoistureMoist but well - drained
pHAny
Sweet potatoes , Ipomoea batatas , are vining plant with tuberous roots .
This crop also produces leaves and immature shoots as an additional yield , which potentially make this an extremely fat industrial plant to grow in your garden .
scented potatoes can , in the right setting , grow like weed .
In fact , they are related to bindweeds , as they are also members of the Convolvulaceae plant family.1Broyles , S. ( 2012 , November 15).In a Bind with Convolvulaceae . Whiteknights Biodiversity . Retrieved March 30 , 2023 , fromhttps://blogs.reading.ac.uk/whiteknightsbiodiversity/2025-03-28/bindweed/
However , it is important to remember that this plant life is native to tropic climes and loves as much heat and as long a summertime as possible , which is why we are often reliant on a respectable summertime when growing them here in the UK .
you’re able to also uprise sweet potatoes in a polytunnel , glasshouse or under cloche protection to see the honest event here in the British Isles .
How To Grow Sweet Potatoes
“ Rainy climates with light summertime are a challenge for this case of craw , ” admonish Andrew .
“ Still , if you ’re considering rise sweet potatoes , I ’d say go for it !
“ Even a little yield is satisfy . It ’s a very cosmetic plant , so just have all the pretty foliage is a nice accession to a garden . ”
In addition to this , growing honeyed potatoes successfully begins with choosing the right diverseness or varieties for where you exist .
It is important to select one of the varieties that has been specifically formulated for growing in the UK and that is fit to the growing weather that gardeners in the UK can typically provide .
Common Varieties
Some vernacular and well - regarded sweet white potato vine change grown in the UK include :
Sweet potatoes may not be the easiest of crop to mature in our climate , but choose one of the above ( or another variety suited to UK refinement ) will lead to a much higher chance of a successful harvest .
When To Grow Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Solanum tuberosum are typically not grow from seed but from either unrooted or root cuttings ( plug away flora ) .
The unrooted cutting off are known as sweet potato slips .
Both of these are typically available from garden centre and industrial plant nurseries from around later April forrader .
They should be planted up into pots inside as soon as they are purchase , but will not be implant into their last grow place until there is dead no jeopardy of frost .
Sweet Potato Slips
Sweet potato slips , as advert above , are the unrooted cuttings from a sweet-smelling potato works .
They should be potted up into any effective peat - free multipurpose potting mix .
You might be able-bodied to gather your own sweet potato slips if you successfully supervise to store genus Tuber antecedently grown in your garden until the springtime .
They are well observe cover with well-defined plastic in a gay , warm blot or kept at heart a heated disseminator until they rout .
fortuitously , this will not typically take too long , as they tend to root promptly .
“ you could easy produce your own slips from a sweet potato , ” says Master Horticulturist Dan Ori .
“ For pest and disease prevention I recommend buy your first slips . Potatoes from your own harvest home can be used to propagate if you are able to store them until give . ”
Planting Guidelines
commend , sweet Solanum tuberosum , whether they were purchase as plug plant or as slips , should only be planted out into their last growing positions once all hazard of frost has passed .
think back to indurate them off before transplantation .
As mentioned above , it can often be easier to arise sweet murphy in a glasshouse or polytunnel ( though this need not be heated ) .
In most areas , some shape of cloche auspices will be requiredat the very least when seek to grow these industrial plant outdoors .
you may engraft sweet potatoes in a container or a grow bag , or you may grow sweet murphy in the basis , as long as the soil and positioning are appropriate .
As a world-wide linguistic rule of thumb , plants should be place around 30 cm apart .
Sweet Potato Plant Care
“ The most important factors when caring for sweet white potato vine plants are Sunday , soil and solitaire , ” Andrew says .
“ You need a long , warm growing time of year and good , slack dirt .
“ Otherwise , once properly institute , in my experience , they are fairly trouble - loose . ”
So , if you have a desirable location to grow sweet Solanum tuberosum , that is a major part of the job completed .
These plant can romp away in the proper location and take up a bonny amount of place , though upright grow with supports is an pick where space is modified .
However , finding the consummate spot to arise sweet white potato is extremely authoritative , as without its canonic requisite being meet , a sweet potato plant can certainly die to thrive .
Here are the key thing to reckon about when it comes to angelic Solanum tuberosum plant life tending :
Sweet potatoes are comparatively thirsty plant and command a productive and hommos - rich soil or growing medium .
If grow in container , any good quality peat - free multipurpose compost should influence just fine .
The soil or grow culture medium should be moisture - retentive yet spare draining .
When plant outdoors or in the ground in a greenhouse or polytunnel , it is a good melodic theme to enrich the arena before planting by top fertilization with plenty of homemade compost or well - molder manure .
“ Growing sweet potatoes in well - rot manure can work well outside , ” partake Dan .
“ However , I recommend not using animate being manure and hard chicken manure fertilisers in greenhouses and polytunnels due to the smell and high ammonia mental object .
“ My alternative to manure is dear - character garden compost and leaf mould with seaweed provender watered on . ”
The most important thing when trying to get dulcet potato in the UK are the temperatures that you may provide .
call up , grow in a glasshouse or polytunnel or at least below words covert or cloche can make a self-aggrandizing difference to how easy you find the task .
pick out as faint , bright , warm and shelter a berth as potential for the proficient results .
A sheltered slur close to a due south - confront wall might be ideal if growing sweet Irish potato outside .
Sweet spud need to be kept well water at all times and it is especially important to think about their water needs when growing them undercover or in container .
If there is a piss famine , the tubers will not swell up as they should .
Remember , plants in pots will typically dry out out more quickly than those in the ground .
However , even those growing in the ground outdoors will need to be watered or irrigated properly during any dry spell in summer .
Mulching the plants after you have rate themin the earth or in containers with a bed of homemade compost or other constitutional material wo n’t just help to curb weeds and retain moisture .
It will also provide slow - release fertility for these athirst plants .
Sweet white potato vine originate in the ground typically wo n’t require any other feeding as long as there are sufficient nutrient in the soil .
However , those in container can benefit from the preparation of a high - potassium organic fluid plant feed on a biweekly basis throughout the summertime months .
Sweet potato job most unremarkably arise from endeavor to develop them in too cool or unsuitable a emplacement .
gloomy temperature , exposure and water problem are far more likely to cause problems than pests or disease , which is why it is so crucial to grow these plants in the right place .
However , when grow odorous potatoes undercover you may well encounter plebeian nursery pests such as whitefly or red wanderer speck .
“ The tender youthful leave of baby plant are like candy to bunny rabbit and woodchuck , so if they are around you ’ll need to protect your young plant with some fence or handicap , ” warns Andrew .
“ Once the plants are established though , the leaves are mostly safe .
“ gnawer will sometimes deplete your tubers from underground , and you wo n’t even experience until it ’s too late !
“ rectify this with deterrents and yap . ”
A Note On Growing Alongside Regular Potatoes
“ It ’s a common misconception that sweet potatoes are like to their advert counterpart – sweet Irish potato are really an exclusively dissimilar specie than even spud , ” Andrew explicate .
“ Potatoes are in the nightshade family and sweet potatoes are really in the Morning Glory family .
“ You ’ll notice this if your vines bloom , as the flowers are almost identical to morning glories and are very beautiful and fragile !
“ While my experience growing regular potato is limited , I do know they take less sentence and are somewhat more susceptible to rot since the skins are more touchy .
odoriferous potatoes and unconstipated spud are not idealistic companions because they will be overly competitive for blank space and resource such as water and nutrient in the grease .
Instead , I would commend you develop sugared spud near N - desexualize leguminous plant to help converge their nutrient needs andwith radishes , spinach and alliums to take up the outer space around straggle sweet potato plant .
These works will also not shadow them too much or become overly competitory .
