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To those of you who have been waiting for this post I apologize for the delay.
The two photos below are the sweet potatoes that I found sprouting in my pantry. These photos were taken on Feb 02. For a larger view click on the photos.
I placed each sweet potato into a glass of water to root and continue to grow. Be sure to keep an eye on the water level during this time.
A month later I had several sprouts that were ready for potting.
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| March 06 2011 |
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| March 6 2011 root ball |
There were a few sprouts growing from below the water line. I was able to remove the sprout with the roots intact.
To remove a sprout place your fingers at the end of the sprout closest to the potato and twist until it breaks off.
Once removed pinch off some of the lower leaves to give you more stem to plant into the soil.
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| Sprout before lower leaves are removed. |
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| Sprout after lower leaves are removed. |
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| Sprout ready for planting |
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| Cover stem with soil and water well. |
It is not unusual to see some wilting once planted. Keep the soil moist to encourage root growth.
I was able to pull a total of 16 sprouts from the 5 potatoes.
I kept some of the sprouts on the potatoes to continue to grow just in case I lose a few during the rooting process.
The photos below are one week after planting the sprouts into the soil. So far I only have one sprout that is showing signs of stress.
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| March 12 2011 |
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| March 12 2011 |
Sweet potatoes like full sun and warm temperatures so be sure to keep them in a warm and sunny location until you can plant them into your garden. I hope you found this post helpful.
Update: March 19 2011
It's been seven days since I planted the sweet potato slips into pots. They are all rooting now and are putting on new growth. In the photos below you can see the roots. They look strong and healthy.
Click on photos for a larger view.
I will have more than enough slips for my garden and for the Haven Family Garden.
