@@SageandStoneHomestead so true! It is funny because I knew you were you could eat the leaves, but could never figure out if I were allowed to cut them off to eat them before harvesting or they if they were to be done at the same time…. But then a sign that they wanted to be harvested was that they were turning yellow so I just couldn’t make sense of it!
@@MFV77 the stems of the leaves are very good too. I was watching a Japanese youtuber and she cut the leaf from the stem part(not the main stem) and stir-fried those little leaf stems separately and so I tried it. Very yummy and tasty in the stirfry. I ate so many leaves from my pots last year I too wondered if that was why I didn't have a huge harvest of potatoes so I cut back a bit on eating the leaves 😅
Absolutely! Just what I was thinking. Plus with all the suggestions in the comments, they have a lot of new variables to try next year. It may not have been Epic, but it was still movement in the positive direction with more pluses than last year. This was def the right location, now they can just dial down and find the rest of the variables that will work in their situation. Next year will be better and the following should be the epic year!
I don't know I think that turned out to be pretty good all the vines that went to all your little piggies plus you found out that sweet potatoes do work in that Greenhouse I think you're onto something as far as the shade cloth is concerned I think that's the reason why you had so many Vines and the variety can make it very big difference and the size of those potatoes absolutely gorgeous all in all all that you learned I think you did awesome especially for next year absolutely love watching your Channel I have learned so much you are one of the reasons why my daughter and I decided to buy a house together so that we could do the homesteading trip
I don't do the slips. I plant the whole potato and I will get tons of sweet potatoes. I will trim my vines back some so the energy is going to the roots. Also make sure you dig WAY down deep in your raised beds. They don't just grow near the surface. You may have more than you think. If any of the vines growing on the OUTSIDE of the raised bed attached itself to the ground, you may have potatoes growing there too. Hoped that helps any.
I grow in buckets and the first year I didn't dump the buckets I only dug put the tops (they are huge buckets that were gifted to me and heavy) later that next year when I had help and dumped them to add amendments we found rotten remains of potatoes. This year I had hubby dump the buckets and there were huge potatoes around the very bottom of the buckets! So I totally agree they might have more potatoes deep. I only did 2 buckets this year as I had different things to try and only got about 12 pounds worth but its enough for Thanksgiving and Christmas so at least I can brag a little! Lol But my honeynut squash harvest was outstanding and for me squash or sweet potatoes for a meal are interchangeable lol. Don't tell family but my squashes end up being "pumpkin" pie. I get rave results about how smooth and creamy my pies are and its totally the squash lol
@@gelwood99 I have an outside garden with a bordering edge of 3 ft black fabric landscape cloth on the edges. I found a few large sweet potatoes under the black garden cloth, when I removed it. It was only about 2 ft from where I planted the slips originally, but that blew my mind!
Fertilize with phosphorous and potassium 5-10-10 or 8-24-24. Fertilize 2 weeks after planting and about once a month and stop a few weeks before harvesting. A lot of energy went into those vines. Looks like high nitrogen soil levels. Super healthy plants. You just need to tweak the feeding and you'll get a better harvest. They need 8 to 10 hours of full sun. Might want to remove the shade cloth but provide lots of air flow.
I think your right ...i give a bit more nitrogen the first time to get the slips going then follow about what you said.. First they have to test the soil to see what they have...
@@wrightfamilyhomestead Excess nitrogen gives plenty of top growth for sure. It had to be disappointing but that's how we learn. If it was easy everyone would be doing it so a learning opportunity as are most things really. I planted mine in some old leaves, left them, rabbits ate all leaves and potatoes came out great. I wish them well next year! 🌱
Also, the potatoes were very little work, & they ate some of the leaves. All the positives are a Win-Win IMO.👍 Anybody have some good sweet potato leaf recipes to share here? I'm thinkíng of trying some on the South side of my shed. Thank you!! 👍💕
@@carolynchadwick7867 boy those pigs sure loved those vines and the cows here mowed my initial slips down to nubs. I think that is the slip that actually grew a sweet potato as big as my head as a cow had mowed the top off my slips lol
I've always tilled in pine needles to where I will plant my sweet potatoes in the fall, then create a raised bed. We waited till frost to harvest our sweet potatoes the first year and the potatoes were as big as turkey breaststroke. One came in over 8 lbs, so now we dig around by hand to feel the size. We have very hard clay soil and the pine needles really loosens it up.
My first year with sweet potatoes I planted in the wheel tracks from tractors and wagons--heavy clay. I really had to jump on the shovel to work up 1 ft deep by 1 ft wide planting holes. I used a little potting soil, peat moss, and fertilizer and planted slips. The potatoes pushed up out of the ground about half way. Each plant produced several large potatoes. One weighed 6 lbs and 3 were 4 pounders. I am in mid Ohio.
I am just now watching you cut the vines back. I refuse to look at any comments because I am just too giddy to watch this "treasure hunt" and don't want to spoil the outcome before I see it. There is just something about planting seeds, watching them grow and produce that makes me so happy. I wish everyone could/would love it like we do! You two have taught me so much and I thank you for every video you put out. The Lord has surely blessed you both and me as well for finding your channel.
@@zak2u2 I didn't hear any yelling!! So silly to think because you type in caps that's it yelling. I'M NOT YELLING I JUST LIKE TO SEE WHAT I'M TYPING!!!!!
zac2u2 - I understand that most texters call uppercased text, there are some who need larger onscreen type or stronger contrast. Mine's set at max. I have Macular Degeneration, & enjoy the ease of reading yelling, far less eye strain. If you read carefully, you can usually tell if the person is angry or sarcastic. Just saying. 👍 🙂
The vines took all the energy from growing potatoes. Check your soil, it's properly to rich for potatoes. Check around locally for straw, we would mound the soil and the potatoes, not slips, we're laid on top of soil and covered with straw. More straw would be added during the summer. After harvest we added what we cleaned out of the barn and plow it in.
These things just happen. You fed your pigs something wonderful and made them totally happy and gave em a boost of health. You got some yummy produce and will have a nice sweet potato 🍠 treat this winter! This was no failure!!
I THINK YOUR SWEET POTATOES ARE BEAUTIFUL! DESPITE HOW FEW THERE ARE, YOU PLANTED ONE SLIP PER HOLE, AND ENDED UP WITH THREE OR FOUR! I SURE NEXT YEAR WILL BE BETTER YET! GOD BLESS AND THE LORD KEEP YOU!
Last year we planted sweet potatoes in a raised bed. Our harvest was just as good as the ones in ground. This year. I had one volunteer vine show up and each time it started hanging over the edge of the bed, I would place it back inside. To my surprise, the whole bed filled with beautiful vines and low and behold....sweet potatoes. Volunteer sweet potatoes. What an unexpected surprise.
I think you might have a variety problem. One year we ordered an exotic sweet potato variety and we were completely unsuccessful (they did have lots of vines though). Our standard varieties in the same bed did just fine. We've grown Georgia Jets and Beauregard varieties for years with 100% success. Our raised beds are 4x16 and we consistently harvest 3-4 full bushels from each bed with just two rows of plants spaced two feet apart. Our soil is garden mix (compost, top soil, sand, soil conditioner & clay). We use no fertilizer and have never tested the soil. Sweet potatoes like it hot & sunny so I think you may be on to something with removing the shade cloth, just make sure you vent well, they wouldn't like 120 degrees. We water ours about once a week unless they look droopy. Sweet potatoes don't like it too wet. I'd be happy to mail you a few of our potatoes you can store & use for slips next year. Reply if you'd like them.
i remember something my grandfather would do when the vines would start running he would wrap the vines in a circle like a lady putting a bun on top of her head they did not have to be tight the purpose was to keep us from having long string like potatoes i remember we always had big rounded like potatoes hope this helps
There might have been too much nitrogen in the ground which caused a lot more top growth at the cost of tuber formation. More Pottasium and Phroporus are required guys.
Yeah, snow is a major source of nitrogen, and when you consider how trees loose their leaves in winter, having an abundant source of nitrogen to get a new riot of leaves come spring... yep, lotsa nitrogen equals lotsa leaves for sure
There is obviously too much nitrogen. The clue is the upper parts (green part) growing so large and the fruit being so few. Im not that familiar with sweet potatoes but potatoes in general do this of the nitrogen is out of wack.
Hi Living Traditions! This year I grew Beauregard sweet potatoes in 2 raised beds that were 4’ x 8’. I planted 24 slips in each bed. Waited the 120 days, harvested 130 pounds. I am in Arkansas, a little south of you. The difference could be the variety, Beauregard has done great for me. I also don’t water mine as frequently as I do the rest of the garden, they don’t seem to need as much. Last year I harvested 110 pounds from 1 of those raised beds. I love the raised beds because our soil is clay separated by rocks! Best of luck on next years!
I too grew Beauregards this year. It was my first try and now I’m hooked! I planted six slips in a Dollar Tree grow bag with 1 40 quart bag of Kellogg’s potting mix. I knew I overplanted but it was an experiment for me. I added some 13-13-13 and a little sulfur. I did water very regularly. I harvested 21 pounds - on day 128 due to Hurricane Ida. They were packed in there, but they did great anyway. I agree, it’s the variety that makes all the difference.
I always consider it a win when I grow more of something than I have in the past. I am in zone 9b, south Florida, and we never wait until first frost. We would never harvest if that was the case. I usually wait until they bloom, and harvest then. If I wait to long, I run into the bug problems also. Thanks for showing it. I believe we should show the bad with the good. It helps people not to get frustrated with their own garden "fails". We have had really good success with containers. They spilled over last year, and we just left some go. Getting ready to start digging them up and see what we have.
I’m in Florida 9b too. Which variety did you plant? I’ve done Vardaman the last 2 years with moderate success. Thinking about experimenting with some Beauregard slips and seeing if that is more prolific.
@@comfortablynumb143 I am really not sure. I got them several years ago as slips, and just kept them going. They are dark red on the outside and orange on the inside. I have been successful with regular orange ones from the grocery store, also.
oh my....one thing I found out this year is that sweet potato vines and especially leaves are not only edible, but they are my new favorite green. They freeze well and can be dried. I just purchased dried sweet potato vines from an oriental store- next year I'm even saving the young vines! These are a multiple harvest vegetable- I ate leaves and shoots all summer here in central indiana, and then dug over seven pounds from 2 slips.
Those are beauties, despite being few. Once thing I've learned is to obtain slips from locally grown varieties. I've found this to be true with white and red potatoes, too. Next year will be better!
a little pot ash and bone meal might help. one comment i read stated they'd trim back the vines some, i would agree with that for that reason to put more energy to the roots and spud growth
I think they also like slightly acidic soil. I live in TN and my soil is very clay also. I made raised bed in my clay soil by adding vermiculite, peat and compost. This year, I also put dried and crushed egg shells, banana peals and also a little Epson salt in each whole and my area was about like yours but I got three times the harvest. Hope this helps.
I think you should give the vines vertical wires to grow up. If you leave them to flop and tangle like that, then they compete for light. If going up vertical wires they all get more light, so grow bigger tubers. I hope this helps. :) Ve
KEVIN: this year we got less than that in about the same amount of soil. Our soil was also loose and the conditions were optimal for sweet potato growth. Yet, we didn't even get a full-sized one. All were around the size of a baseball. Disheartening to say the least. Some years you just get less than others, but must move forward. Thanks for showing the reality.
I think even 5 or 6 would be a win for me. They are beautiful and if they taste like anything else home grown compared to store bought, l bet the taste is awesome. So glad you show everything. It was exciting to see.
40 slips, wow! Thank you for the tip on not waiting for first frost, and for the step by step demonstration! I love your truly happy personalities, and your great habit of telling the truth!
We live in Southwest Missouri and we had our best sweet potato harvest when we did straw bale gardening using hay instead. We prepared the square bales in a square with a hole in the center. We filled that with loose hay we had. We planted sweet potato slips in the bales and watermelons in the centers. We had a huge crop of both.
When you're growing root crops you want to have poor soil so that the plant is forced to grow bigger roots to seek out nutrients. Which is the goal for nice big sweet potatoes and such. The vines being so abundant is a bad sign for the actual potatoes because it means they have too many nutrients readily available.
Well, your harvest looks like everyone else's, this year. I had vines that took up a HUGE area...and I got a couple of hands full of taters. I gave them everything they needed and.. 😕 I think some years are just better than others. You keep going. This raised bed is a great idea! Next year may be the 200 pound year. All of our corn failed to grow well, this year. You just thank the Lord for what you do get and press on! 😊 I enjoyed watching the feeding of the pigs.. 🤣 Considereing, it wasn't a fail because they enjoyed those vines! 😁 Now, I have to run pick my 12 pickles, off of my 18 foot vines.. 😂🤣
We grow a variety called Willow Leaf here in Pa .They are a bush type and set potatoes where you plant them . We treat them the same as white potatoes till the ground deep and hill as they grow. This year we planted 75 and got bushels. We save seed and grow our own slips . We use no chemical fertilizer and no irragation only manure from the barn and we always have potatoes to give away.
Yum! They look beautiful! One thought is that I have watched Deep South Homestead in several videos about sweet potatoes and he does have a book you can purchase on sweet potatoes from Etsy. He does frown upon starting slips in water, as he prefers starting them in the ground. You might get some hints from him. Keep trying, no doubt you will find a way! God bless!
I live in Canada and have followed DSH, and have been able to harvest 15-25 pounds every year in a 4’x4’ raised bed. We start a slip by breaking it off the spud, removing all the leaves but the very top, dropping it into a hole in a 4” pot that is saturated with water. They usually sprout new leaves in 4-5 days. That when you know they have roots. They go in the ground about a month later. Our growing season is similar in length to your but we don’t get the heat you do, up here, and I need every bit of sun to warm these plants all season.
@@islandgardener158 I also live in Canada and tried sweet potatoes for the first time this year in large felt bags. Iwas quite pleased with mediocre success and although not real big I got about 25 lbs as well. not bad for first time I would say.
I ❤️ Danny & Wanda too. His tomato vid from 4 or 5 years ago has been one of the most watched vids on their channel- it really helped me, so did their sweet potato vids.
Perhaps you could also try a variety of sweet potatoes. Also, use some compost in the bed soon, so that it will be ready for next years slips. Those were some beautiful sweet potatoes. Perhaps in the hottest part of summer, let some sun in on those potatoes. I grow a few in potato bags. Talk about strange shapes. LOL. I enjoy all of your videos. Blessings.
I am sure most already know this. I am an old time guardener, root crops need to be planted in the dark of the moon. if not they go to tops. You may go back and check. I was taught all of my skills from the good old Farmers Almanac. Always had great results! I am 70 years old now, cant guarden anymore, I sure miss it! Still beautiful sweet potato's. God Bless.
Kevin &Sarah, Nothing but love and respect ❤. You have received a lot of suggestions from those who view your channel. You guys are living the life. Live and learn as you go. Protect & support each other. Use whatever ideas you can and let the rest be back ground noise you let pass you by. Love 💘 and prayers, blessings to you and the youngsters.
my mom and dad used the vines to plant/ grow new sweet potatoes , they never used slits. i think here in Madeira island everyone dot it like that. just cut the vines and put them in the ground and water it, you will see it new leafs grow.
Your cows would really enjoy some of those vines and small sweet potatoes! You need to get Danny's from Deep South Homesteads book on sweet potatoes! He seems to do wonderfully with them and has written a extensive book on them!
Hey guys when the slips grow you need to use some strong bent wire to anchor the slips down at the new growth and potatoes will grow from there so you can keep anchoring the slips as they grow and you will get a massive harvest
We did purple sweet potatoes 🍠 in a barrel with the bottom cut out we just kept adding mulch and they grew up through it add more mulch keep doing so then I just lifted the barrel off and the sweet potatoes just dumped everywhere no digging at all ( I would much rather do this in a Kick but green house like yours) but for a small family and no greenhouse you can do it this way and get a barrel of potatoes… we love your content keep up the amazing work you guys are awesome 😎
If that greenhouse gets hot and humid maybe you could try growing 1 or 2 small lemon trees in one of those large buckets. Just for fun and see if it would work.
Hello from the Florida/Alabama gulf coast. A good while back, someone told me that when they planted their sweet potatoes in the worst quality sandy soil their potatoes did great; and when they planted in quality soil the potatoes were more stringy and poorly. There is a sweet potato called Korean sweet potato. They're purplish on the outside and a creamy white inside. They are sweet as pie. Maybe that variety would do well in your area? I don't know if the plant energy went to the leaves? Does anyone trim back the vines a little to redirect the plan energy? Time to experiment further? Love you!
that's what i think. and i wish i could remember what causes leaf growth vs potato growth and how to chg it. roots and refuge addressed that once good luck next yr
That would be certainly true of the San Joaquin Valley in California where I grew up..Atwater and Merced..we had lots of fields of Yams..and we did feed the culls..( farmers gave us) to our pigs..they grew well.
I used to work for Frito-Lay agricultural research center in Northern Wisconsin. The soil around all of the fields were a sand and soil. To have a more resilient skin on the potato you need to kill off the vines about two weeks before you harvest them. If you add sand to your soil as well, it should increase your yield. You may want to test your soil before next year after adding sand. Great success from last year though! Enjoy every bite! 😉
Plants use energy to grow those vines....thin them back often to force the plant to put it's energy into the tubers......You did great and should try it again with thinner vines.
I planted 6 slips here in Southern Alabama, harvested in August and got 75 pounds. My plants were extremely holey from bugs but some of the potatoes were the size of a football. We will have enough to last us until next years harvest for sure.
Even though you didn’t get the best harvest for you, I’m glad you posted the video. I learned a lot from the video and the comments. My wife and I are new to homesteading and are currently saving for a little land so TY
I live in GA and never wait until first frost to harvest. I also harvest by number of days. I planted 6 - 3 gallon nursery pots with one slip in each back in May. I believe the variety is Beauregard. I produced all six slips from one sweet potato. I harvested 19 pounds last week. I used Foxfarm brand bagged soil in the pots, so it was excellent soil. I did not give them extra fertilizer at all. The biggest benefit from growing this way was I didn't have to go digging for the potatoes (and maybe miss some). I just dumped the bucket and gathered the potatoes up! I would suggest you use your Crystalyx tubs next year. Put one or 2 slips in each using either fresh soil or enhance the existing soil using the Espoma Land and Sea Compost. When you harvest, you could just cut the vines off and dump the buckets in the big raised bed. Laura at Garden Answer (YT channel) planted about 25 slips this year and had ONE survive. That one slip produced something like 30 pounds of sweet potatoes. She planted hers in a raised bed. She lives in the high desert of eastern Oregon - so there is a difference in climate - but she uses top quality soils and fertilizers - primarily Espoma. Her results are always phenomenal. This year I followed her example and spent the extra money for the top quality bagged soil and I'm extremely pleased with the results.
You not only got the sweet potatoes for you to eat but also your pigs got a treat they enjoyed from a garden bed that wasn't usually used, so maybe it was a win/win just not as big of a win that you wanted.
Learning from you in what you do is always interesting, you might think it was a failure crop but we all learned something. You always inlighten me every time I watch your channel. Keep up the amazing work. GOD bless!
Hey guys…my sweet potatoes did the same thing. I’m located in Alabama and planted mine in a raised bed as well. I ordered my slips from a place in Georgia. I will do my own next year. After getting frustrated with the potatoes that I was trying to sprout in water…I just put the rotting potato in a somewhat/ pot of half …full of old dirt… potting soil …to get it out of my window sill. I was out on my deck a few weeks later and BOOM I have beautiful sprouts all over the potato. So long story short I will be doing my potatoes myself in dirt in my sunny room. This will surely save me money and time. I guess I’m still learning and experimenting what works for my area. But I had a harvest about the same size. You have some great looking potatoes. Good luck farming them next year. It can only get better. Much love from Sweet Home Alabama!
Hi, my name is Sean. I had a similar experience this year with my sweet potatoes. I live in Rio Rancho New Mexico. I was told I fertilized and wasn't supposed to. Fertilizing the ground will cause leaf and Vine growth but very few sweet potatoes. This seems to be true with my sweet potatoes this year. I do believe it's possible your soil had too much fertilizer. Thank you for the honest video. Great stuff and always learning.
Loved the interaction with the pigs. So sorry about the harvest. The way it started, I thought you were going to have a lot. I grew sweet potatoes for the first time this year in a 4 X 4 raised bed and got about 38 pounds. I was happy with it for me. I love the vines also. I took some and dehydrated them and turned them into powder and even sauteed them. I don't have animals like you do. I'm sure they really enjoyed them.
Beautiful sweet potatoes! My grandfather farmed sweet potatoes and he kept the vines trimmed, so that the energy went to the roots. He would pull a wagon by mule to the field and fill it up with sweet potatoes. :)
I think it was a SUCCESS! Mostly because all the pigs got desserts! :) Myrtle is looking so chubby and cute and the other pigs, especially the first two were Very excited to chow down on those tasty greens! So you got some great Pig feed out of it and it was an experiment so perhaps a little knowledge gained for next year? Maybe test the soil and even plant the slips closer ? I really don't know because I have never grown sweet Potatoes... I love everything you share here, the good and the bad, it's all great for learning!! So yes, definitely a success in that regard.. THANKS FOR SHARING!!
I grew 28lb in a 6x4 area this year. I didn’t use fertilizer but I do add compost to that plot each year in the spring. I also had planted my slips in June right after my garlic was harvested from that same bed. Better luck next year. This was my first shot at a sweet potato harvest and it was definitely a blessed harvest.
Shade didn't help the ones in the middle. I think the ones at the edge shows the strategy worked for them, but failed for the other ones. I think you all are heading in the right direction!
I am so surprised you didn't get more sweet potatoes than that! I got about the same amount as you and I only planted 4 slips in a 3 ft by 3 ft space and I thought I wouldn't get many! I hope you have better luck next year!
You've got 22lb of Sweet Potatoes that you wouldn't normally have, so it's still a win. A little win, but a win none the less. You'll do better next year, like you always do. You've learned a few things and it didn't really cost you much, so take it for what it is and enjoy them 👍
If sweet potatoes grow like other potatoes, I think a tip I have heard is you need to burry the vine as it grows and it will send out more potatoes. Take quite a bit of dirt out of your bed, plant the slips, as the vine grows add more dirt to the bed. This might help you get more bang for your buck and effort!
First off, I know nothing about growing sweet potatoes. I have a hard time keeping house plants alive. But the one thing I know about growing is that when a plant puts all it energy into growing the vines and leaves it doesnt have enough energy to develop other parts of the plant. Maybe prunning back some of the green growth will help develop more of the potato. Just a thought.
My best harvest was when I used compost tea on my plants and put clipping around the plant to limit evaporation. I wander if you can grow sweet potato in straw like you can other potatoes.
I don't know diddly squat about growing sweet potatoes but sure did enjoy your video! I wish other TH-camrs would use the type of microphones you use, you can always hear every word you say. Am anxious to see new piglets.
Ah...the elusive sweet potatoe. I have tried up in 3b starting really early and although I got some pencil sized potatoes they never matured into anything more than a taste. I agree that the vines indicate very high nitrogen and that fertilizing with P and K could make a difference. Plus, as you say removing the cover may help. I would try it all because after all, isn't that what gardeners do....trial and error for a couple years and then make a decision from there. And, it could just be the year too! In the mean time, any amount is a blessing. Pigs are looking good. Good job! Take care, keep smiling and God Bless.
Hi, Annette here from Appletree Urban Homestead in Perth Australia. Love your channel. We are in the process of turning our Aussie backyard into our dream urban homestead and I am documenting our journey to self sufficiency on my TH-cam channel. Looking forward to learning lots ☺️
I live in Missouri and planted slips in several different places in my garden. Some were open to the sun the whole season and some were shaded by alot of plants and tons of sunflowers and zinnias. The ones with the sun did good all season vines growing everywhere. The shaded ones didn't grow more than a foot long until the flowers died back and had sun available. Then I left them in for a bit and they took off. I had 15 slips and ended up with about a 5 gallon bucket. Some roots or pieces i missed since have sent off new slips and started growing more potatoes. Maybe you could let yours try that since its covered and see if you get more.
my garnets are beautiful, but not as heavy this year as the beauregards. I also grew a red skinned white in pots this year. They did well in pots..and were beautiful, especially when flowering started.
When you grow a variety known for large uniform tubers with overall low yield, you should expect large uniform tubers with low yield. They are a premium sweet potato, not intended as a main crop for mass production. Now I would have expected more than that, but none the less there are much higher yielding varieties out there. As for concerns about the nutrient levels, the quality of the potatoes and their foliage says that if there is any imbalance it isn’t that much of an issue. As others have said, I wouldn’t be surprised if you find a few smaller ones further down in the bed. I have dug sweet potatoes as far down as a foot in loose soil.
My Dad would hill mound and plant and would mulch with straw, made it much easier to get out of the ground. Hope this helps you out. My dad had such a green thumb when it came to his gardens.
I clipped some of the vine from my sweet potatoes after I harvested them and put them in water to root into next Spring’s slips. I tried container sweet potatoes in a large old mineral bucket. The sweet potatoes came out too small, though they were easy to harvest. Next year they will have to go into the ground.
We discovered that keeping the greens trimmed back made the plants put more energy into the root.
We also found this to help the potatoes to make more
Wish I’d known this a few months ago! Lol
@@MFV77 there's always next season!
@@SageandStoneHomestead so true! It is funny because I knew you were you could eat the leaves, but could never figure out if I were allowed to cut them off to eat them before harvesting or they if they were to be done at the same time…. But then a sign that they wanted to be harvested was that they were turning yellow so I just couldn’t make sense of it!
@@MFV77 the stems of the leaves are very good too. I was watching a Japanese youtuber and she cut the leaf from the stem part(not the main stem) and stir-fried those little leaf stems separately and so I tried it. Very yummy and tasty in the stirfry.
I ate so many leaves from my pots last year I too wondered if that was why I didn't have a huge harvest of potatoes so I cut back a bit on eating the leaves 😅
It is still a win ... kept the ground covered over the summer to save your soil, pig feed, and 25 lbs of sweet potatoes.
Absolutely! Just what I was thinking. Plus with all the suggestions in the comments, they have a lot of new variables to try next year. It may not have been Epic, but it was still movement in the positive direction with more pluses than last year. This was def the right location, now they can just dial down and find the rest of the variables that will work in their situation. Next year will be better and the following should be the epic year!
Its all success when its more than you had before, and you learn from it.
Besides a large part of the harvest is being turned into bacon and that’s always a good thing!!😆
Absolutely!
I don't know I think that turned out to be pretty good all the vines that went to all your little piggies plus you found out that sweet potatoes do work in that Greenhouse I think you're onto something as far as the shade cloth is concerned I think that's the reason why you had so many Vines and the variety can make it very big difference and the size of those potatoes absolutely gorgeous all in all all that you learned I think you did awesome especially for next year absolutely love watching your Channel I have learned so much you are one of the reasons why my daughter and I decided to buy a house together so that we could do the homesteading trip
Said perfectly!
@@jeansirbaugh3616 I agree. They need full sun except in the heat of the afternoon. Pretty good looking sweet potatoes though!
I don't do the slips. I plant the whole potato and I will get tons of sweet potatoes. I will trim my vines back some so the energy is going to the roots. Also make sure you dig WAY down deep in your raised beds. They don't just grow near the surface. You may have more than you think. If any of the vines growing on the OUTSIDE of the raised bed attached itself to the ground, you may have potatoes growing there too. Hoped that helps any.
They have a ground cover on the floor of the greenhouse so that couldn't happen.
I do the same thing. I plant whole potatoes as well. As soon as I see a potato sprouting, I wash it and plant it. I have potatoes growing year round.
I grow in buckets and the first year I didn't dump the buckets I only dug put the tops (they are huge buckets that were gifted to me and heavy) later that next year when I had help and dumped them to add amendments we found rotten remains of potatoes.
This year I had hubby dump the buckets and there were huge potatoes around the very bottom of the buckets!
So I totally agree they might have more potatoes deep.
I only did 2 buckets this year as I had different things to try and only got about 12 pounds worth but its enough for Thanksgiving and Christmas so at least I can brag a little! Lol
But my honeynut squash harvest was outstanding and for me squash or sweet potatoes for a meal are interchangeable lol. Don't tell family but my squashes end up being "pumpkin" pie. I get rave results about how smooth and creamy my pies are and its totally the squash lol
@@paulapforbes where are you located? I live in Florida so I wonder if I can do this 🤔
@@gelwood99 I have an outside garden with a bordering edge of 3 ft black fabric landscape cloth on the edges. I found a few large sweet potatoes under the black garden cloth, when I removed it. It was only about 2 ft from where I planted the slips originally, but that blew my mind!
Digging up potatoes is my favorite part of gardening. It’s like a little treasure hunt.
Agreed!
A treasure hunt, yes😃
@@michelifig6356 It never gets old!
I love potato harvest, combine that with sweet potato’s, heavenly!🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻
Fertilize with phosphorous and potassium 5-10-10 or 8-24-24. Fertilize 2 weeks after planting and about once a month and stop a few weeks before harvesting. A lot of energy went into those vines. Looks like high nitrogen soil levels. Super healthy plants. You just need to tweak the feeding and you'll get a better harvest. They need 8 to 10 hours of full sun. Might want to remove the shade cloth but provide lots of air flow.
I think your right ...i give a bit more nitrogen the first time to get the slips going then follow about what you said..
First they have to test the soil to see what they have...
Agreed!
@@wrightfamilyhomestead Excess nitrogen gives plenty of top growth for sure. It had to be disappointing but that's how we learn. If it was easy everyone would be doing it so a learning opportunity as are most things really. I planted mine in some old leaves, left them, rabbits ate all leaves and potatoes came out great. I wish them well next year! 🌱
Agree Kelly
That is exactly what I was thinking..
Since the hoop house normally is empty I call this a success!
Also the leaves "will be turned into bacon".
Also, the potatoes were very little work, & they ate some of the leaves.
All the positives are a Win-Win IMO.👍
Anybody have some good sweet potato leaf recipes to share here? I'm thinkíng of trying some on the South side of my shed. Thank you!! 👍💕
Agreed!
@@loriewart1877 hahaha love that!
@@carolynchadwick7867 boy those pigs sure loved those vines and the cows here mowed my initial slips down to nubs. I think that is the slip that actually grew a sweet potato as big as my head as a cow had mowed the top off my slips lol
I've always tilled in pine needles to where I will plant my sweet potatoes in the fall, then create a raised bed. We waited till frost to harvest our sweet potatoes the first year and the potatoes were as big as turkey breaststroke. One came in over 8 lbs, so now we dig around by hand to feel the size. We have very hard clay soil and the pine needles really loosens it up.
Great to know!
yep... took me 3 years to figure out how to get good harvests here. pine needle compost w clay is a winner btw
My first year with sweet potatoes I planted in the wheel tracks from tractors and wagons--heavy clay. I really had to jump on the shovel to work up 1 ft deep by 1 ft wide planting holes. I used a little potting soil, peat moss, and fertilizer and planted slips. The potatoes pushed up out of the ground about half way. Each plant produced several large potatoes. One weighed 6 lbs and 3 were 4 pounders. I am in mid Ohio.
I am just now watching you cut the vines back. I refuse to look at any comments because I am just too giddy to watch this "treasure hunt" and don't want to spoil the outcome before I see it. There is just something about planting seeds, watching them grow and produce that makes me so happy. I wish everyone could/would love it like we do! You two have taught me so much and I thank you for every video you put out. The Lord has surely blessed you both and me as well for finding your channel.
I would plant 3 rows next year keep the shade cloth off and add potassium and phosphorus.
I would suggest a soil test and then learn what sweet potatoes need for the best results, but they are beautiful.
GETTING A SOIL TEST COULD SAVE SEVERAL YEARS OF STABING IN THE DARK TO GET THE NUTRIENT RATIO RIGHT FOR SWEET POTATOS
@@joannmahaffey1068 Please don't yell. It's not nice.
@@zak2u2 I didn't hear any yelling!! So silly to think because you type in caps that's it yelling. I'M NOT YELLING I JUST LIKE TO SEE WHAT I'M TYPING!!!!!
zac2u2 - I understand that most texters call uppercased text, there are some who need larger onscreen type or stronger contrast. Mine's set at max. I have Macular Degeneration, & enjoy the ease of reading yelling, far less eye strain.
If you read carefully, you can usually tell if the person is angry or sarcastic. Just saying.
👍 🙂
The vines took all the energy from growing potatoes. Check your soil, it's properly to rich for potatoes. Check around locally for straw, we would mound the soil and the potatoes, not slips, we're laid on top of soil and covered with straw. More straw would be added during the summer. After harvest we added what we cleaned out of the barn and plow it in.
These things just happen. You fed your pigs something wonderful and made them totally happy and gave em a boost of health. You got some yummy produce and will have a nice sweet potato 🍠 treat this winter! This was no failure!!
I THINK YOUR SWEET POTATOES ARE BEAUTIFUL! DESPITE HOW FEW THERE ARE, YOU PLANTED ONE SLIP PER HOLE, AND ENDED UP WITH THREE OR FOUR! I SURE NEXT YEAR WILL BE BETTER YET! GOD BLESS AND THE LORD KEEP YOU!
Keep on trying! I always appreciate that you share both the good and the bad. Thank you!
Last year we planted sweet potatoes in a raised bed. Our harvest was just as good as the ones in ground. This year. I had one volunteer vine show up and each time it started hanging over the edge of the bed, I would place it back inside. To my surprise, the whole bed filled with beautiful vines and low and behold....sweet potatoes. Volunteer sweet potatoes. What an unexpected surprise.
I think you might have a variety problem. One year we ordered an exotic sweet potato variety and we were completely unsuccessful (they did have lots of vines though). Our standard varieties in the same bed did just fine. We've grown Georgia Jets and Beauregard varieties for years with 100% success. Our raised beds are 4x16 and we consistently harvest 3-4 full bushels from each bed with just two rows of plants spaced two feet apart. Our soil is garden mix (compost, top soil, sand, soil conditioner & clay). We use no fertilizer and have never tested the soil. Sweet potatoes like it hot & sunny so I think you may be on to something with removing the shade cloth, just make sure you vent well, they wouldn't like 120 degrees. We water ours about once a week unless they look droopy. Sweet potatoes don't like it too wet. I'd be happy to mail you a few of our potatoes you can store & use for slips next year. Reply if you'd like them.
I don’t know anything about growing sweet potatoes, but my first thought was to try a different variety also.
I thought Garnet was pretty commonplace? Maybe though.
I’ll take some sweet potatoes from you guys. You sell ?
I agree, hard to beat jets
I agree on trying a different variety. I have friends that grow giant sweet potatoes of the beaugard (spelling?) variety in MO!
I agree, every time you learn, it's a winner.
i remember something my grandfather would do when the vines would start running he would wrap the vines in a circle like a lady putting a bun on top of her head they did not have to be tight the purpose was to keep us from having long string like potatoes i remember we always had big rounded like potatoes hope this helps
gardening is like baking,if you fail , just keep on trying..something is learned every time..keep up the good work...
There might have been too much nitrogen in the ground which caused a lot more top growth at the cost of tuber formation. More Pottasium and Phroporus are required guys.
Yeah, snow is a major source of nitrogen, and when you consider how trees loose their leaves in winter, having an abundant source of nitrogen to get a new riot of leaves come spring... yep, lotsa nitrogen equals lotsa leaves for sure
There is obviously too much nitrogen. The clue is the upper parts (green part) growing so large and the fruit being so few. Im not that familiar with sweet potatoes but potatoes in general do this of the nitrogen is out of wack.
Great share ,thank you for all your hard work and featuring your lovely piggys🐷🐖🐗🐽🌱🌵🥔
Hi Living Traditions! This year I grew Beauregard sweet potatoes in 2 raised beds that were 4’ x 8’. I planted 24 slips in each bed. Waited the 120 days, harvested 130 pounds. I am in Arkansas, a little south of you. The difference could be the variety, Beauregard has done great for me. I also don’t water mine as frequently as I do the rest of the garden, they don’t seem to need as much. Last year I harvested 110 pounds from 1 of those raised beds. I love the raised beds because our soil is clay separated by rocks! Best of luck on next years!
I too grew Beauregards this year. It was my first try and now I’m hooked! I planted six slips in a Dollar Tree grow bag with 1 40 quart bag of Kellogg’s potting mix. I knew I overplanted but it was an experiment for me. I added some 13-13-13 and a little sulfur. I did water very regularly. I harvested 21 pounds - on day 128 due to Hurricane Ida. They were packed in there, but they did great anyway. I agree, it’s the variety that makes all the difference.
I always consider it a win when I grow more of something than I have in the past. I am in zone 9b, south Florida, and we never wait until first frost. We would never harvest if that was the case. I usually wait until they bloom, and harvest then. If I wait to long, I run into the bug problems also. Thanks for showing it. I believe we should show the bad with the good. It helps people not to get frustrated with their own garden "fails". We have had really good success with containers. They spilled over last year, and we just left some go. Getting ready to start digging them up and see what we have.
I’m in Florida 9b too. Which variety did you plant? I’ve done Vardaman the last 2 years with moderate success. Thinking about experimenting with some Beauregard slips and seeing if that is more prolific.
@@comfortablynumb143 I am really not sure. I got them several years ago as slips, and just kept them going. They are dark red on the outside and orange on the inside. I have been successful with regular orange ones from the grocery store, also.
oh my....one thing I found out this year is that sweet potato vines and especially leaves are not only edible, but they are my new favorite green. They freeze well and can be dried. I just purchased dried sweet potato vines from an oriental store- next year I'm even saving the young vines! These are a multiple harvest vegetable- I ate leaves and shoots all summer here in central indiana, and then dug over seven pounds from 2 slips.
I think if you dig deeper you may be surprised to see deeper sweet potatoes down there! I've always been surprised!❤
Those are beauties, despite being few. Once thing I've learned is to obtain slips from locally grown varieties. I've found this to be true with white and red potatoes, too. Next year will be better!
a little pot ash and bone meal might help. one comment i read stated they'd trim back the vines some, i would agree with that for that reason to put more energy to the roots and spud growth
I think they also like slightly acidic soil. I live in TN and my soil is very clay also. I made raised bed in my clay soil by adding vermiculite, peat and compost. This year, I also put dried and crushed egg shells, banana peals and also a little Epson salt in each whole and my area was about like yours but I got three times the harvest. Hope this helps.
Kevin and Sarah your green house is looking so awesome
When homesteading, any win, big or small is a win. Regardless, L.T.H. is always inspiring. Blessings.
I think you should give the vines vertical wires to grow up. If you leave them to flop and tangle like that, then they compete for light. If going up vertical wires they all get more light, so grow bigger tubers. I hope this helps. :) Ve
Laura with Garden Answer grew sweet potatoes in a raised bed. She got a great harvest from just one slip. 🥳🥳
Laura could plant sweet potatoes in gravel on top of her concrete sidewalk and have a massive harvest!
Laura got 80 lbs out of one plant at 100 degree weather this summer!
@@savvydirtfarmer… So true….
They are beautiful, and the pigs got a great nutritional treat.
KEVIN: this year we got less than that in about the same amount of soil. Our soil was also loose and the conditions were optimal for sweet potato growth. Yet, we didn't even get a full-sized one. All were around the size of a baseball. Disheartening to say the least.
Some years you just get less than others, but must move forward.
Thanks for showing the reality.
@@zeniazenia2787 They mentioned their best timed drip irrigation schedule.
I think even 5 or 6 would be a win for me. They are beautiful and if they taste like anything else home grown compared to store bought, l bet the taste is awesome. So glad you show everything. It was exciting to see.
40 slips, wow! Thank you for the tip on not waiting for first frost, and for the step by step demonstration! I love your truly happy personalities, and your great habit of telling the truth!
We live in Southwest Missouri and we had our best sweet potato harvest when we did straw bale gardening using hay instead. We prepared the square bales in a square with a hole in the center. We filled that with loose hay we had. We planted sweet potato slips in the bales and watermelons in the centers. We had a huge crop of both.
When you're growing root crops you want to have poor soil so that the plant is forced to grow bigger roots to seek out nutrients. Which is the goal for nice big sweet potatoes and such. The vines being so abundant is a bad sign for the actual potatoes because it means they have too many nutrients readily available.
Honestly I think it was the shade cloth that was on top of the greenhouse. Sweet potatoes love the sun, 100% sun.
Well, your harvest looks like everyone else's, this year. I had vines that took up a HUGE area...and I got a couple of hands full of taters. I gave them everything they needed and.. 😕 I think some years are just better than others. You keep going. This raised bed is a great idea! Next year may be the 200 pound year. All of our corn failed to grow well, this year. You just thank the Lord for what you do get and press on! 😊 I enjoyed watching the feeding of the pigs.. 🤣 Considereing, it wasn't a fail because they enjoyed those vines! 😁 Now, I have to run pick my 12 pickles, off of my 18 foot vines.. 😂🤣
We grow a variety called Willow Leaf here in Pa .They are a bush type and set potatoes where you plant them . We treat them the same as white potatoes till the ground deep and hill as they grow. This year we planted 75 and got bushels. We save seed and grow our own slips . We use no chemical fertilizer and no irragation only manure from the barn and we always have potatoes to give away.
Yum! They look beautiful! One thought is that I have watched Deep South Homestead in several videos about sweet potatoes and he does have a book you can purchase on sweet potatoes from Etsy. He does frown upon starting slips in water, as he prefers starting them in the ground. You might get some hints from him. Keep trying, no doubt you will find a way! God bless!
I live in Canada and have followed DSH, and have been able to harvest 15-25 pounds every year in a 4’x4’ raised bed. We start a slip by breaking it off the spud, removing all the leaves but the very top, dropping it into a hole in a 4” pot that is saturated with water. They usually sprout new leaves in 4-5 days. That when you know they have roots. They go in the ground about a month later. Our growing season is similar in length to your but we don’t get the heat you do, up here, and I need every bit of sun to warm these plants all season.
@@islandgardener158 I also live in Canada and tried sweet potatoes for the first time this year in large felt bags. Iwas quite pleased with mediocre success and although not real big I got about 25 lbs as well. not bad for first time I would say.
I ❤️ Danny & Wanda too. His tomato vid from 4 or 5 years ago has been one of the most watched vids on their channel- it really helped me, so did their sweet potato vids.
I can imagine that the chickens would love some of those sweet potatoes vines, too!
From what I have read sweet potatoes need full sun. Perhaps the shade cloth over the greenhouse was the issue in low production.
Yes, they do like full sun.
Perhaps you could also try a variety of sweet potatoes. Also, use some compost in the bed soon, so that it will be ready for next years slips. Those were some beautiful sweet potatoes. Perhaps in the hottest part of summer, let some sun in on those potatoes. I grow a few in potato bags. Talk about strange shapes. LOL. I enjoy all of your videos. Blessings.
I am sure most already know this. I am an old time guardener, root crops need to be planted in the dark of the moon. if not they go to tops. You may go back and check. I was taught all of my skills from the good old Farmers Almanac. Always had great results! I am 70 years old now, cant guarden anymore, I sure miss it! Still beautiful sweet potato's. God Bless.
Can you expand what you mean “dark of the moon” planting?
@@pamelaburdick8366 I believe is the "new moon", no light.
@@pamelaburdick8366 Yes, the new moon. Plant above ground plants (tomatoes etc.) during full moon.
Myrtle seemed to be the one who dug into the sweet potato leave the quickest. But of course she is eating for 8 or so.
Kevin &Sarah,
Nothing but love and respect ❤. You have received a lot of suggestions from those who view your channel. You guys are living the life. Live and learn as you go. Protect & support each other. Use whatever ideas you can and let the rest be back ground noise you let pass you by. Love 💘 and prayers, blessings to you and the youngsters.
Hedge shears work great on your sweet potato vines. Saves much time.
my mom and dad used the vines to plant/ grow new sweet potatoes , they never used slits. i think here in Madeira island everyone dot it like that. just cut the vines and put them in the ground and water it, you will see it new leafs grow.
Our chickens love the sweet potato vines, too.
Your cows would really enjoy some of those vines and small sweet potatoes! You need to get Danny's from Deep South Homesteads book on sweet potatoes! He seems to do wonderfully with them and has written a extensive book on them!
Hey guys when the slips grow you need to use some strong bent wire to anchor the slips down at the new growth and potatoes will grow from there so you can keep anchoring the slips as they grow and you will get a massive harvest
We did purple sweet potatoes 🍠 in a barrel with the bottom cut out we just kept adding mulch and they grew up through it add more mulch keep doing so then I just lifted the barrel off and the sweet potatoes just dumped everywhere no digging at all ( I would much rather do this in a Kick but green house like yours) but for a small family and no greenhouse you can do it this way and get a barrel of potatoes… we love your content keep up the amazing work you guys are awesome 😎
If that greenhouse gets hot and humid maybe you could try growing 1 or 2 small lemon trees in one of those large buckets. Just for fun and see if it would work.
Hello from the Florida/Alabama gulf coast.
A good while back, someone told me that when they planted their sweet potatoes in the worst quality sandy soil their potatoes did great; and when they planted in quality soil the potatoes were more stringy and poorly.
There is a sweet potato called Korean sweet potato. They're purplish on the outside and a creamy white inside. They are sweet as pie. Maybe that variety would do well in your area?
I don't know if the plant energy went to the leaves? Does anyone trim back the vines a little to redirect the plan energy?
Time to experiment further?
Love you!
that's what i think. and i wish i could remember what causes leaf growth vs potato growth and how to chg it. roots and refuge addressed that once good luck next yr
That would be certainly true of the San Joaquin Valley in California where I grew up..Atwater and Merced..we had lots of fields of Yams..and we did feed the culls..( farmers gave us) to our pigs..they grew well.
I used to work for Frito-Lay agricultural research center in Northern Wisconsin. The soil around all of the fields were a sand and soil. To have a more resilient skin on the potato you need to kill off the vines about two weeks before you harvest them. If you add sand to your soil as well, it should increase your yield. You may want to test your soil before next year after adding sand. Great success from last year though! Enjoy every bite! 😉
I mow over the leaves that hit the ground when they sprawl outside the raised bed.
@@lesliejacobs1439 I pray that you and yours and your property are completely protected from this storm.
Plants use energy to grow those vines....thin them back often to force the plant to put it's energy into the tubers......You did great and should try it again with thinner vines.
Plant sweet potatoes earlier and more light YALL DID GOOD GOD BLESS
I planted 6 slips here in Southern Alabama, harvested in August and got 75 pounds. My plants were extremely holey from bugs but some of the potatoes were the size of a football. We will have enough to last us until next years harvest for sure.
Even though you didn’t get the best harvest for you, I’m glad you posted the video. I learned a lot from the video and the comments. My wife and I are new to homesteading and are currently saving for a little land so TY
We live for potato and sweet potato harvest season! Love digging for the delicious buried treasure.
I live in GA and never wait until first frost to harvest. I also harvest by number of days. I planted 6 - 3 gallon nursery pots with one slip in each back in May. I believe the variety is Beauregard. I produced all six slips from one sweet potato. I harvested 19 pounds last week. I used Foxfarm brand bagged soil in the pots, so it was excellent soil. I did not give them extra fertilizer at all. The biggest benefit from growing this way was I didn't have to go digging for the potatoes (and maybe miss some). I just dumped the bucket and gathered the potatoes up!
I would suggest you use your Crystalyx tubs next year. Put one or 2 slips in each using either fresh soil or enhance the existing soil using the Espoma Land and Sea Compost. When you harvest, you could just cut the vines off and dump the buckets in the big raised bed.
Laura at Garden Answer (YT channel) planted about 25 slips this year and had ONE survive. That one slip produced something like 30 pounds of sweet potatoes. She planted hers in a raised bed. She lives in the high desert of eastern Oregon - so there is a difference in climate - but she uses top quality soils and fertilizers - primarily Espoma. Her results are always phenomenal. This year I followed her example and spent the extra money for the top quality bagged soil and I'm extremely pleased with the results.
You not only got the sweet potatoes for you to eat but also your pigs got a treat they enjoyed from a garden bed that wasn't usually used, so maybe it was a win/win just not as big of a win that you wanted.
Learning from you in what you do is always interesting, you might think it was a failure crop but we all learned something. You always inlighten me every time I watch your channel. Keep up the amazing work. GOD bless!
Hey guys…my sweet potatoes did the same thing. I’m located in Alabama and planted mine in a raised bed as well. I ordered my slips from a place in Georgia. I will do my own next year. After getting frustrated with the potatoes that I was trying to sprout in water…I just put the rotting potato in a somewhat/ pot of half …full of old dirt… potting soil …to get it out of my window sill. I was out on my deck a few weeks later and BOOM I have beautiful sprouts all over the potato. So long story short I will be doing my potatoes myself in dirt in my sunny room. This will surely save me money and time. I guess I’m still learning and experimenting what works for my area. But I had a harvest about the same size. You have some great looking potatoes. Good luck farming them next year. It can only get better. Much love from Sweet Home Alabama!
Hi, my name is Sean. I had a similar experience this year with my sweet potatoes. I live in Rio Rancho New Mexico. I was told I fertilized and wasn't supposed to. Fertilizing the ground will cause leaf and Vine growth but very few sweet potatoes. This seems to be true with my sweet potatoes this year. I do believe it's possible your soil had too much fertilizer. Thank you for the honest video. Great stuff and always learning.
Interesting! I was just asking Rachel how this would work.
Thanks for sharing!
Maybe you should have cut back the leaves to put growth back into making potatoes instead of so much vine?
I was thinking the same thing
We used to lace our potato beds with triple 13 fertilize. Always had a great production.
Loved the interaction with the pigs. So sorry about the harvest. The way it started, I thought you were going to have a lot. I grew sweet potatoes for the first time this year in a 4 X 4 raised bed and got about 38 pounds. I was happy with it for me. I love the vines also. I took some and dehydrated them and turned them into powder and even sauteed them. I don't have animals like you do. I'm sure they really enjoyed them.
Beautiful sweet potatoes! My grandfather farmed sweet potatoes and he kept the vines trimmed, so that the energy went to the roots. He would pull a wagon by mule to the field and fill it up with sweet potatoes. :)
Just a thought... since the leaves are edible and so high in protein why don't you freeze dry some to add to soups and such for your winter stores...
I think it was a SUCCESS! Mostly because all the pigs got desserts! :) Myrtle is looking so chubby and cute and the other pigs, especially the first two were Very excited to chow down on those tasty greens! So you got some great Pig feed out of it and it was an experiment so perhaps a little knowledge gained for next year? Maybe test the soil and even plant the slips closer ? I really don't know because I have never grown sweet Potatoes... I love everything you share here, the good and the bad, it's all great for learning!! So yes, definitely a success in that regard.. THANKS FOR SHARING!!
Oh my goodness I love the sounds Charlie made asking for some of the sweet potato vines!
SUGGESTION!! Try again next season 😉👍 thanks for the information on waiting for them to become sweet. News to me.
I grew 28lb in a 6x4 area this year. I didn’t use fertilizer but I do add compost to that plot each year in the spring. I also had planted my slips in June right after my garlic was harvested from that same bed. Better luck next year. This was my first shot at a sweet potato harvest and it was definitely a blessed harvest.
Shade didn't help the ones in the middle. I think the ones at the edge shows the strategy worked for them, but failed for the other ones. I think you all are heading in the right direction!
I am so surprised you didn't get more sweet potatoes than that! I got about the same amount as you and I only planted 4 slips in a 3 ft by 3 ft space and I thought I wouldn't get many! I hope you have better luck next year!
I have never grown sweet potatoes, but my first thought was you let the vines grow to much. Maybe giving the pigs a treat more often would help.
You've got 22lb of Sweet Potatoes that you wouldn't normally have, so it's still a win. A little win, but a win none the less.
You'll do better next year, like you always do. You've learned a few things and it didn't really cost you much, so take it for what it is and enjoy them 👍
You guys never give up on trying to improve your growing acumen. And that's what it takes. Thanks for sharing, we all learn so much from you both.
If sweet potatoes grow like other potatoes, I think a tip I have heard is you need to burry the vine as it grows and it will send out more potatoes. Take quite a bit of dirt out of your bed, plant the slips, as the vine grows add more dirt to the bed. This might help you get more bang for your buck and effort!
I love how you all work together. Also Sarah gets down an dirty.
First off, I know nothing about growing sweet potatoes. I have a hard time keeping house plants alive. But the one thing I know about growing is that when a plant puts all it energy into growing the vines and leaves it doesnt have enough energy to develop other parts of the plant. Maybe prunning back some of the green growth will help develop more of the potato. Just a thought.
The potatoes you did get look beautiful and will still give your family a lot of great meals. The pigs sure enjoyed the greens too. God Bless!
Yes, definitely not a failure by any measure.
Oh yea… love you two ! 💜💜💜
My best harvest was when I used compost tea on my plants and put clipping around the plant to limit evaporation. I wander if you can grow sweet potato in straw like you can other potatoes.
I don't know diddly squat about growing sweet potatoes but sure did enjoy your video! I wish other TH-camrs would use the type of microphones you use, you can always hear every word you say. Am anxious to see new piglets.
Ah...the elusive sweet potatoe. I have tried up in 3b starting really early and although I got some pencil sized potatoes they never matured into anything more than a taste. I agree that the vines indicate very high nitrogen and that fertilizing with P and K could make a difference. Plus, as you say removing the cover may help. I would try it all because after all, isn't that what gardeners do....trial and error for a couple years and then make a decision from there. And, it could just be the year too! In the mean time, any amount is a blessing. Pigs are looking good. Good job! Take care, keep smiling and God Bless.
I love digging sweet potatoes. It's like a treasure hunt.
We had the best year ever we have hard clay soil I added compost on top planted. In compost heavy fertilized once 200lbs in a 20x15 plot
What variety?
@@6648rome Beauregard
@@tking613 thank you. From Baker Creek?
@@6648rome no my own saved sweet potatoes from 2 years now think from bonnie i just start my slips in spring
Hi, Annette here from Appletree Urban Homestead in Perth Australia. Love your channel. We are in the process of turning our Aussie backyard into our dream urban homestead and I am documenting our journey to self sufficiency on my TH-cam channel. Looking forward to learning lots ☺️
I live in Missouri and planted slips in several different places in my garden. Some were open to the sun the whole season and some were shaded by alot of plants and tons of sunflowers and zinnias. The ones with the sun did good all season vines growing everywhere. The shaded ones didn't grow more than a foot long until the flowers died back and had sun available. Then I left them in for a bit and they took off. I had 15 slips and ended up with about a 5 gallon bucket. Some roots or pieces i missed since have sent off new slips and started growing more potatoes. Maybe you could let yours try that since its covered and see if you get more.
NEXT YEAR WILL BE YOUR BEST SWEET POTATO HARVEST, I am looking forward to it, loving the learning experience.
Never grew garnets but old school Beauregard will grow with almost no care. Maybe give them a try.
my garnets are beautiful, but not as heavy this year as the beauregards. I also grew a red skinned white in pots this year. They did well in pots..and were beautiful, especially when flowering started.
The Garnets may not produce as much as the Beauregards, but I am sure they will taste better.
Most of the energy went to vines. I congratulate you on learning and getting some great potatoes. Maybe another variety will do better.
When you grow a variety known for large uniform tubers with overall low yield, you should expect large uniform tubers with low yield. They are a premium sweet potato, not intended as a main crop for mass production. Now I would have expected more than that, but none the less there are much higher yielding varieties out there. As for concerns about the nutrient levels, the quality of the potatoes and their foliage says that if there is any imbalance it isn’t that much of an issue. As others have said, I wouldn’t be surprised if you find a few smaller ones further down in the bed. I have dug sweet potatoes as far down as a foot in loose soil.
Mine grew CRAZY vines everywhere and I had no sweet potatoes at all! 😭 I was so excited because they are my favorite!
My Dad would hill mound and plant and would mulch with straw, made it much easier to get out of the ground. Hope this helps you out. My dad had such a green thumb when it came to his gardens.
I clipped some of the vine from my sweet potatoes after I harvested them and put them in water to root into next Spring’s slips. I tried container sweet potatoes in a large old mineral bucket. The sweet potatoes came out too small, though they were easy to harvest. Next year they will have to go into the ground.