Growing Sweet Potatoes – Providing the Suitable Conditions for the Plant Growth

Sweet potato shrubs can be grown without much hurdle in small patch of backyard. However the shrub thrives under certain conditions and soil types and if those conditions are supplied to the plant then you will not have to dedicate time and energy to maintain the plant.

Growing Sweet Potatoes – Plantation Techniques

Sweet potatoes flourish in soils, which are sandy and prefer hot climate to grow. The plant must also get moderate amount of water and derive essential nutrients from the soil. Growing sweet potatoes is easy and the most popular method to cultivate the plant is by planting runners. All you have to do is to clip a 30cm runner from a plant and then you must take out all the leaves from the runner leaving only the ones on the tip. After which embed the entire runner in the ground in a manner that only the tip will stick out. You will notice that after few days an entire leafy shrub has appeared on the spot. This plant needs loads of space to grow, so the runners must be planted a foot apart. Raised beds which have good drainage are good for growing sweet potatoes. Refrain from using manures which have considerable amounts of nitrogen. To prevent weeds from encroaching fresh plantations use mulches heavily.

Sweet Potato Plant – Care Essentials

It is important to note that sweet potato plant survives in very little water. Nevertheless you must regularly water plantations that are merely weeks old. Also the plant will not thrive if the ground remains water logged. This is why sweet potato plants are often cultivated on mounds to ensure water drainage. If your soil is rich in essential nutrients then fertilizers are not required but if the soil lacks nutrition then you can use seaweed extract or sulphate of potash. Wood ash composts are beneficial for the plant. Never use nitrogen based fertilizers. Pests like weevils destroys crop completely. The only way to prevent this menace is to wipe out the existing plants entirely. You must even remove traces of tubers from the soil. You must then plant fresh runners after soaking it in an effective pesticide, which is readily available.

Sweet Potato Slips – Simple Plantations

Growing sweet potato slips in a jar of water is an interesting way to begin plantation. You can submerge the tip end of a tuber in the water and let the other end remain above the water level in a jar. Several slips will appear on the tuber, which can then be harvested and planted for a fresh bed of plants. The other technique involves planting the tuber in a moist ground. The tuber will produce several shoots and when these shoots become 15cm long you can just snip them. After which simply replant the shoots or slips in the soil to produce sweet potato shrubs.

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