Many commercially grown potatoes are treated to prevent them from sprouting so this works best if you have a potato from your own garden or one that you know to be organically grown. We grew sweet potatoes last year so I've used a few of those to get started. I gave my parents a couple because the potatoes they tried from the store wouldn't sprout.
If you can get ahold of a potato that already has a few eyes on it, you'll be one step ahead. All you need to do is put the potato in water with at least 2-3 inches of the potato above water. Any eyes on the potato should be above the water. It works well to suspend the potato with a few toothpicks or skewers over a jar or bowl. Place this in a sunny spot near a window or a warm spot in the house. I have mine under grow lights with the other seeds I've started.
If your water gets cloudy or starts to smell, change it out. If the water level gets too low, add to it. After a few days, you should notice growth on both the top and the bottom of your potato. Little white roots will grow out the bottom, sometimes very fine, hair like roots.
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| Can you see the little white roots? |
The top of the potato will sprout little leaves that will soon start vining out. These are the slips. Once a slip is 4-5 inches long, it can be picked off at its base and placed in another container of water. It will then start to grow its own roots. When your slips have a good set of roots they are ready to plant. One potato can produce many slips, like this one.
Sweet potatoes like warm weather. In my area (Indiana) the slips won't go in the ground until between Memorial Day and Father's Day. That gives me another solid 8 weeks or so to get them ready. Check the planting dates for your local area. You may have enough time to get some started as well.
Hi Carrie,
ReplyDeleteJust hopped over here from Katherines Corner Thursdays Favorite Things Blog Hop and wanted to thank you for this post. I love sweet potatoes and never knew how to take the slips and root them.
I will be doing this with the organic sweet potatoes I bought at the store.
I also pinned this on my In The Garden Pinterest board.
Have a great day.
Thank you for stopping by Sally Ann! I'm glad you found the post to be helpful. Good luck with starting your slips!
DeleteI planted a sweet potato one year and it took forever to get rid of it. I dug sweet potatoes out of the front yard for two years. However, they are beautiful leaves. I am going to try one in a pot this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Gracie!
DeleteHi Lovely, I am your new follower from Blog Hop. Followed you via FB, & GFC. Love your awesome blog!
ReplyDeleteFeel free to visit, follow and leave me comments @www.revampspunkyrena.com
xoxo
Rena Lynn
Hi Rena Lynn - Thanks for stopping by and for following us!
DeleteThis is a great tutorial and I am excited to try it! I have never grown sweet potatoes before, but would love to try! Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteIt is surprisingly easy, Shannon. Just takes patience. Something I don't often have. :)
DeleteOMGosh, I haven't done that since I was a kid! Mostly we didn't plant them...just had fun watching them grow. I have some sweet potatoes in the pantry, and I think I'll start them to plant outside. Thanks for the tutorial.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from My Turn for Us, Freedom Fridays.
Babs
Thanks for stopping by Babs! I hope your sweet potatoes do well for you.
DeleteOh! This is wonderful! I’ve been wanting to grow sweet potatoes. Thanks for sharing this at the HomeAcre Hop. Look forward to seeing you again tomorrow: http://blackfoxhomestead.com/the-homeacre-hop/
ReplyDeleteour garden center plant their sweet potatoes in a container using soil then as the sprout grow
ReplyDeletethey put one hand on the potato to keep it from coming out and pull the sprout after they get about 6 inches long. I do this at home and it works fine. I keep my pot on the deck and water daily.
Rue