posted 7 years ago
They grow real easy from vine cuttings. Every leaf node can grow a new leaf as well as roots. Since we get a couple of frosts here in Jacksonville, I will grab a few of vines and cut them up so I have plenty for the next year. I cut the leaves off, cut about an inch above a node, then go down a couple nodes and cut, again not cutting too close to the node as sometimes it will dry out and kill the node with it. I toss them in jars of water for a few days and then throw them in pots. Whenever it is going to get about 38* or below overnight I pull them in from the cold to protect them from damage. I easily have a hundred new plants for little effort.
They do grow back well on their own outside since the ground doesn't actually get cold, but this way it gives me way more plants than I need. I started out growing them in makeshift bins I slapped together and they started growing more than a dozen feet from their source. If it gets loose like that for any length of time, it will put down roots at every leaf node and you will end up with sweet potatoes everywhere! Hurricane Mathew critically damaged the house next door and the sweet potatoes started to encroach on the abandoned property. When they came to knock it down months later, they pulled up the fence and sweet potatoes started rolling around on the ground! They were mostly the purple ones too. They seem to do the best for me and I have had better flavor from home grown ones than the ones from local organic stores.
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