Holy cow Sweet Potatoes!

Up till this summer I have never had a successful sweet potato crop.  Deer, rabbits and all sorts of critters feasted on the greens long before I could get the tubers.

But finally this year I got up my fencing around the bed, planted the sweet potato starts and kept the critters hungry.  By now I have half a bed covered in sprawling sweet potato vines and even crawling through the gates.  I just hope they don’t smother the tomatoes in the same bed.

I should have some nice sweet potatoes this fall.

Eric

I am envious. I love sweet potatoes but our season is too short.

Someday I will build a greenhouse and earn my way to sweet potato heaven.

What variety are you growing BTW?

I have 2 varieties, Covington and Beauregard.  

The Covington went in first, but a late cool snap killed of about half.  The Beauregard was a replacement.

Honestly, I planted too early, but local stores are inconsistent in stocking them—some years they do and some years they don’t.  The online sources run out early so I get them when I can and plant them ASAP.

Eric

excellent sweet potato source

Try the greens once the plants can spare a few. Discover why the animals like them so much. Yum.

I had just finished planting sweet potatoes when that late cold blast arrived. They struggled a little but survived & look good now.

I will try to get a picture in.  But I have a little challenge first.  My gates are constructed of 2x4 lumber with a 48” square mesh in the middle of the frame.  This mesh is working great at keeping out the critters.  But to access the garden I lift out the gates—it was the easiest way to construct.  By now the sweet potato vines are crawling up the mesh and really holding the gates down!

I would like to add more fencing in the future to other gates, but I would like lighter construction and a swing-out gate.  The bed dimensions are 8’x16’.  Any suggestions?

Eric