Harvest Issues with sweet potatoes

[Raggedyman]

we've grown sweet potatoes (Beauregards) for 12-15 years with great success averaging harvests of 350 lbs with regularity. I always thought we were pretty good at it - UNTIL THIS YEAR.

we planted our own slips in the same fashion as we always do - and at the same time (the last week of may) - under black plastic 18" apart. we moved two rows over from last year to rotate. we harvested about a week earlier than typical (mid September anytime after the 15'th) this year due to Florence and concerns that we'd be too wet for too long. this year we went from our typical harvest where there'd be at least two bushels of tubers being football sized with the rest being "typical" to this years crop of less than 100 lbs. with the majority of them looking more like large carrots than sweet potatoes and less than a bushel of "typical" sized sweet potatoes.

we did have a wet spring and a very dry period shortly after planting but I did not see it as "atypical" in terms of drought. in point of fact we had a bit of problem with tomato blight because it was too wet for the vines.

interestingly our white (Yukon Gold) potatoes SEEM to have done pretty well this year . . .

anyone have a similar issue this year?

any thoughts about it?

 

[China Connection]

It could be fertilizer problems. Only one mineral has to be lacking to cause a problem. Also, trace elements can lead to problems with disease. Seaweed extract fixes most of the problems for trace problems.




Mittleider Gardening: How to Plant Sweet Potato Slips



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9bhNIWVGJk



We planted our sweet potato slip a little late this year, ok a few weeks late. This bed is 25% sand and 75% sawdust. We treated this 4' bed as (2) 18" bed and planted a total of 4 rows of sweet potato, spaced out 12". This bed is made out of pressure treated lumber and is 12' long 4' wide and 12" deep.

Mittleider Pre Plant Fertilizer Recipe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2nRsTqZKs8


Mittleider Weekly Feed Recipe


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLsWp2XeJ2Y



Mittleider Weekly Feed - Make Garden Fertilizer yourself - Mittleider


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCmF3wePuT4

 

[SusieSunshine]

First timer here.

Thanks for all the info!

I've started some slips & am getting ready to plant them.

Can I plant a couple in a large container? My available space is limited.

 

[LC]

Susie, my dd planted 2 slips in a cattle feed tub and they did very well. Maybe not quite as large as mine in the ground but very respectable.

 

[Rabbit]

Susie, I also grew some sweet potatoes in large flower pots on the patio and they did pretty well. Like LC said maybe not as large as grown in the ground but they fit just fine on my dinner plate.

Just remember after you pull the potatoes they have to cure for at least a couple of weeks to allow the starches to convert to sugar.

 

[China Connection]

Look I have grown sweet potatoes in pots very successfully. You need a very open mix that holds water well and you need to fertilize constantly with a weak mix. COCO Peat is good to grow in.


If you can trellis the leaves to get better production.

 

[SusieSunshine]

Great news! My slips are ready to plant. I have a couple of containers. This week they are going in. Thanks for the help.