The sweet potato vine was named after its edible scientific name, Ipomoea batatas. It is typically grown during warm seasons, mostly annually. Some people are growing them for their vining and attractive leaves. The plant has enlarged roots known as tubers that act as an energy store for the plant. The tubers can be different depending on their color or shape.
To grow the sweet potato vine, consider the following five tips, which will also help those looking for answers to common questions such as, “Is the sweet potato vine easy to grow?” Consider the following:
1. Location
You should look for the right location for the sweet potato vine. It requires plenty of sunshine, so you will need to find an area that receives direct sunlight for about 5 hours daily. Choose a location with rich and well-draining soil, and you should amend the planting area with compost. When you want to plant sweet potato vines, they should be 1-3 feet apart, depending on the variety.
2. Time
As you know, the sweet potato vine is a worm-loving plant, and it should be planted during the spring once the temperature is above 10 degrees Celsius. When the temperature warms up, you can plant the sweet potato vine anytime, even during the summer.
The sweet potato vine is very frost-sensitive, and its leaves die or turn black in freezing temperatures.
3. Plant Different Varieties of Sweet Potato Vine
The uniqueness of the sweet potato vine can add beauty and interest throughout your landscape. Some people plant potato vines in containers or windows, and it’s an excellent idea since
It’s also done well, but it should be about 5-7 inches deep if it’s a container or bucket.
4. Care for Them Correctly
Growing a sweet potato vine needs to be handled with care from the period of planting to the period of harvesting. It would be best to look at its health since it may be affected by parasites. The prevalent problems you may encounter include holes in leaves, which indicate pest problems; wilted leaves, which are caused by a lack of water; and changing colors of leaves.
5. Propagation of Sweet Potato Vine
It is easy to propagate sweet potatoes, so when you are looking for a way to add potato vines in other areas of your garden, you can share them with friends or overwinter them for planting. Sweet potatoes can be propagated by cuttings or tubers.
How Many Sweet Potatoes Will One Vine Produce?
On a planting of a sweet potato vine, one vine may give about 4–10 sweet potatoes, but it mostly depends on how you care for the plants during their growing season and also on the type of potatoes you choose to grow.
The sweet potato vine takes around 90 to 150 days to mature, depending on the climate. When it comes to sweet potato vine plants, climate is everything; it is the most important factor to consider when growing sweet potato vines. The sweet potato vine requires a frost-free growing season of about 90–120 days when it’s a short season.
Sweet potato vine can be grown on poor soil, although it may affect the yield and give small tubers since an excellent growing condition gives good harvesting for sweet potatoes for each plant. The best-growing requirements for a good yield depend on the expected conditions, such as full sunlight for about 5–10 hours daily, 1 inch of water weekly, and soil that is moderately fertile, slightly acidic, and well drained.
How Long Does it Take to Harvest a Sweet Potato Vine
After growing the sweet potato vine, you will be required to know the time of maturity. Harvesting will begin 90 to 120 days after planting, when the potatoes will be mature and ready to harvest.
You can also consider when the leaves and vine turn yellow, showing that your potatoes are ready for harvest. Using a garden fork, carefully dig your potato plant.
The above is also an answer to, “how long does it take to grow a vine from a sweet potato?”
Do Sweet Potato Vines Need to Climb?
No. The sweet potato vines do not need to climb but can crawl in any direction above the ground. The vine takes a big part of the ground covering it with its leaves and creating shades. For sweet potatoes, the roots are grown underground.
Some sweet potato varieties have vines that grow for about 5–8 feet as they crawl on the surface. The height of the sweet potato plant crawling along the surface may be limited to 5 to 20 inches. If your plant crawls up, you need to support it with a trellis or tie it to the stake to grow much taller and take up less space.
The sweet potato vine overgrows, reaching a height of between 8 and 13 feet and 4 to 7 feet wide every season. For the researchers looking for “How fast does sweet potato vine spread?” This is the best answer to help them understand how they grow up.
How Do You Take Care of a Sweet Potato Vine?
When growing the sweet potato vine, you will be required to take care of your plants. It would be preferable if you met some conditions to ensure that your plants grow healthily.
The following are five tips that you need to follow to ensure your plants are in good health and you are ready for a good harvest:
1. Light
2. Soil
3. Water
4. Fertilizer
5. Temperature
Types of Sweet Potato Vine
There are different types of sweet potato vines; consider the following four examples below:
1. Ragtime
2. Blackie
3. Sweet caroline
4. Marguerite
