Sweet potato
Today, Monday, April 6, is sweet potato day. I find this odd because here in Virginia, one does not plant or harvest sweet potatoes at this time. So I did some digging (no pun intended) and discovered the origins of the date.
In Benton, Kentucky, there is an annual sweet potato event the first weekend in April. Apparently, the sweet potato grows well in Kentucky’s hot, humid summers. Tater Days is celebrated with a parade, a carnival, and baking and canning contests.
Sweet potatoes are botanically different from white potatoes. Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are in the morning glory family while white potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are in the nightshade family. Both produce tubers but sweet potatoes are planted in the summer and harvested in the fall, while white potatoes are planted in the early spring and harvested in the summer. Sweet potatoes need a long growing season, at least 4 months, and thrive in Virginia summers, much like Kentucky.
While white potato plants are started with chunks of the tuber, sweet potatoes are grown from rooted sprouts called slips. Slips may look like limp, short stems with no roots. If you order slips, plant them when the soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees and night temperatures are above 60 degrees. If it is too cold, pot them up and hold them inside near a sunny window.
Plant slips about a foot part, covering with soil up until the first pair of leaves. These plants are usually grown in the ground, in loose, well-drained soil. These plants are vines that grow several feet long so give them plenty of space. The green, heart-shaped leaves are edible (deer like them too). The plants will grow up until frost and the tubers should be harvested before the first heavy frost. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange sells slips but try any company that specializes in vegetables.
Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Red ornamental sweet potato
You may see ornamental sweet potato plants for sale in small containers at the local garden centers. These are not grown to eat the tubers, they are grown for their beautiful foliage. Ornamental sweet potato plants can have chartreuse, dark purple, bronze-red, mahogany red, or variegated cream, green, and red colored leaves. These are used frequently in containers in public spaces and gardens because the vines are ideal “trailers,” draping over containers. Since they are tropical plants, they tolerate the summer’s heat and add quite a lot of color.
Try both, they will do well in your garden.