sweet potato slip growth

Hi all,

I was given the proper methods of growing sweet potatoes as I learned they differed from regular tubers.  I have had 5-7 white flesh and purple sweets sitting in water to grow slips.

However,  they seem to be growing roots on the bottom and nothing on the top.  Watching various videos, it seemed like the slips are supposed to form on top.  I’ve had them half submerged in water for over a month while changing the water ever so often.  

I’m wondering if the process is going ok? If so, how do I go about the next steps of planting these sweets?

Here are some pictures of a couple for example:

Thanks!

I have no advice for the second one, but for the top one, I'd either:

1) Plant the whole thing on it's side in a wide shallow pot, and let it continue to grow slips from there, or...

2) Watch those slips that are growing from below the water, and remove them as soon as you think they're viable and grow them as normal cuttings.

T Melville wrote:I have no advice for the second one, but for the top one, I'd either:

1) Plant the whole thing on it's side in a wide shallow pot, and let it continue to grow slips from there, or...

2) Watch those slips that are growing from below the water, and remove them as soon as you think they're viable and grow them as normal cuttings.

Okie dokes!  I’ll start the fertile one in a five gallon bucket on its side.  Is the topping off technique the same for sweets as regular taters?  Continue to add/cover with dirt as they grow?

In a week I'd actually break off the shoots in the first photo and pot them up on their own in potting soil.  They'll take off and then you can plant them out when frost danger is past.  I might submerge that tuber less so that those shoots can get above water quicker and make better leaves before popping them off.  

I'm guessing the second one just needs a bit more time.

Todd Bud wrote:Okie dokes!  I’ll start the fertile one in a five gallon bucket on its side.  Is the topping off technique the same for sweets as regular taters?  Continue to add/cover with dirt as they grow?

You can do that, it'll probably make for a great root system, but the "barrel FULL of potatoes" thing seems to be a myth. It seems the trouble with the idea is that 'x' amount of sunlight translates into 'y' amount of tubers. A deeper root system with the same footprint will still collect 'x', so tends to still produce 'y'. If you have a sweet potato that vines agressively, and you let it, then the idea might work; more square footage of leaves will capture more than 'x', so might produce more than 'y'. It's worth a shot. I've also had vines put down a new cluster of roots when it touches the ground. Tubers take time to form, but I've gotten tubers from these secondary clusters. They will usually have fewer or smaller or both tubers compared to the original cluster, because they have less time to grow before harvest.

Also, since you have more than one variety, you may be able to produce seeds. (It usually takes another variety to pollinate.) Click here if you want to learn more about that.

Mike Haasl wrote:In a week I'd actually break off the shoots in the first photo and pot them up on their own in potting soil.  They'll take off and then you can plant them out when frost danger is past.  I might submerge that tuber less so that those shoots can get above water quicker and make better leaves before popping them off.  

I'm guessing the second one just needs a bit more time.

Excellent, thank you Mike!