Growing Sweet Potato, also Kumara

Ipomoea batatas : Convolvulaceae / the morning glory family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec

Not recommended for growing in USA - Zone 5a regions

  • Plant shoots or cuttings (Slips). Best planted at soil temperatures between 63°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 16 - 24 inches apart
  • Harvest in 15-17 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Best in Separate bed

Your comments and tips

10 Jul 18, Cathy (Australia - temperate climate)
When my tomato bed finished i refilled the bed with conpost and the sweet potatos started growing. I got quite a few potatoes and pulled them out in September to replant tomatoes. I couldnt get tomatoes to grow that summer so i gave up and let the je sweet potatoes come back naturally. Should i try for tomatoes again in that same bed? If so do i need to help the soil in any way? Thanks!!
13 Jul 18, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate)
I have been told sweet potatoes are a big consumer of nutrients from the soil - other words not much nutrient left in the soil after the crop Tomatoes would also take a lot from the soil. Did you add compost or totally refilled the bed with compost again. If the compost is not totally broken down then it will take N from the soil - therefore very little N for the intended crop. Look to the guide here for planting - although it has no planting time for sweet potatoes in temperate climates. After each crop you need to do one of two things - add completed compost, manures etc and make sure this is all broken down into the soil. Or you hit it up with some all round fertiliser. Also give your soil a rest for a few months and add compost and turn it in.
09 May 18, Godfrey Ramatlhape (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
If my vine sweet potatoes are growing fast how must i prevent them to do so and how often must I watering them per a week or monthly?
16 Oct 18, Marie (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Godfrey, did you know that you can harvest some of the leads and cook them like spinach? Watering depends on your soil type. Keep the soil moist, but never too wet, since your tubers will not.
12 Apr 18, Dale Westergard (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
I live in Utah, USA. We grow most vegetables here, and potatoes do well. Where could we obtain some starts (slips), etc. to start growing kumara? I've been to NZ several times, enjoying everything about Aotearoa, especially, Kumara. Would appreciate any helps/suggestions. thank you. Dale Westergard.
25 Mar 18, Julie Casidy (New Zealand - temperate climate)
When should I dig up Kumara? I didn't get them into the ground until late in spring. Should I do so before the first frost? I live in Wellington and never grown them. Yours thankfully Julie
30 Mar 18, Prakash Chandra (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
You can dig out Kumasi when you see the end of vines and the leaves are turning yellow or just take a hand fork and dig around one plant carefully and see but do not dig the plant outright
21 Mar 18, Kathy charles (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted 3 tubers of yellow and 1 purple sweet potato in October 2017 now March have picked first purple one but cannot find even a little yellow tuber. Healthy looking plants but WHY no s/potato. Thank you in advance
23 Mar 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Cut off some runners/vine and plant them - better than tubers. About 18
10 Mar 18, Greg (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I'm in Ipswich , SE QLD. I planted five purple sweet potato slips back at the beginning of August (2017). They have been in the ground seven months. They have grown well but have not flowered or died back at all, unlike the normal orange ones i grew the previous year. I've had a little bit of a dig around but have not found any tubers at all. Has anyone grown these before in my climate and should i be expecting to find tubers by now? Perhaps they went in at the wrong time of year? If i could upload a photo here, i would. Thanks for your help!
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