• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • paul wheaton
  • Jay Angler
stewards:
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Anne Miller
  • Tereza Okava
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • M Ljin
  • Matt McSpadden
  • Megan Palmer

How late can I harvest sweet potatoes?

 
steward & bricolagier
Posts: 15554
Location: SW Missouri
11302
2
goat cat fungi books chicken earthworks food preservation cooking building homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Due to excess life chaos, we are dipping below freezing at night now. Warms up in the day, but about 3-4 hours a night are below 32, last night went down to 25.
How much of that can sweet potatoes take? The vines are long dead, we did quick freezes early, it's only the roots I care about.
Any advice?
I am really not sure I'm making it out there for several more days.
 
pollinator
Posts: 729
Location: SE Indiana
421
dog fish trees writing
  • Likes 10
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I think anything below 50 degrees can degrade the flavor and storage life, but as long as they haven't actually frozen, they may still be ok. Just get them in as soon as you can and keep a close eye on them in storage. Or may just go ahead and eat them up, they may not be as sweet as otherwise could be, but probably still good.

If you depend on them to start slips next year and if you see them getting a soft spot, withering or turning rubbery you might be able to go ahead and start your slips, and pot them up for house plants until spring.
 
master steward
Posts: 7701
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2847
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig solar wood heat homestead composting
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I tend to agree with Mark.  As long as they (or parts of them) haven’t frozen, you should be OK.
 
Posts: 3
Location: Toronto, Canada
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Sweet potatoes are sensitive to frost and should be harvested before the first frost occurs. If the vines are already dead, you can still harvest the roots, but they may not be as sweet and flavorful as if they had been harvested earlier in the season. The roots can tolerate a few light frosts, but a hard frost will damage them. If you are unable to harvest the sweet potatoes for several more days, it is best to cover them with a layer of mulch or straw to protect them from the frost.
 
pollinator
Posts: 508
Location: Upstate SC
100
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
The hardest part about harvesting sweet potatoes late in the season is providing them with the week or two of 80 to 90 degrees F temperatures that they need to cure before putting them into storage.  The curing process allows them to convert their milky sap into sugar to raise their sugar content and also to heal any damage incurred during harvest.  The most convenient locations to get these higher temperatures late in the year is either in a greenhouse, a cloche, a car parked in the sun or in an attic space that heats up during the day.
 
Pearl Sutton
steward & bricolagier
Posts: 15554
Location: SW Missouri
11302
2
goat cat fungi books chicken earthworks food preservation cooking building homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I got about 3/4 of them out today, have a tolerable day tomorrow to get the rest out and amend the beds.
I'll see how many I can get to dry on the kitchen floor, no better place.    Some are looking pretty rough, any that don't dry out well will be canner fodder.

So they are basically still tolerable, even having gone through several light freezes, not all perfect and looking classy, but still edible.
 
The airline is called "Virgin"? Don't you want a plane to go all the way? This tiny ad will go all the way:
permaculture bootcamp - gardening gardeners; grow the food you eat and build your own home
https://permies.com/wiki/bootcamp
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic