Sweet Potatoe Vine: Potatoes?

I was digging in a frinds garden for some cannas, when I reached down and grabbed a hold of what I thought was a really nice bulb. It turned out to be a potatoe (red skin). Another potatoe followed that one (white skin). I was seriosly confused; until I saw the wilted sweet potatoe vines. How do I keep these so they will grow for next spring? Do I put them in peat? Or should I put them in dirt right now and grow 'em as house plants?

Good morning Rachel' What I've done in the past is cut the ends off,let dry(heal) then place in a jar(water barely touching the potato) to get roots growing' One potatoe,2 plants'

Then put them into soil(not garden soil) for houseplants'

Cook the rest of the potato and eat''' They'll need very bright light too and misting when it's very dry inside' Hope this helps' Good luck' Sis'

Sis, mine are dying outside. Can I cut all the leaves off, and dig the potato? and when you say cut the ends off, do you mean off the end of the potato?

Yes TiG on both questions' When the vines die,that's how we know when to harvest potatoes'

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (uh oh, another two plants for inside, someone hold hubby back!!! :)

ROFLOL.......Brought more inside this morning,"Jungle Time",lol'

I said i had more to dig n bring in the house, which is already a jungle-he said you are putting them all in the basement in your grow room -Right? hahahahaaaaaaa
not the tropicals that are blooming or the hanging plants or the...........!
dori

This message was edited Monday, Oct 1st 9:10 AM

ROFLOL,that's soooo funny''My DH is thankful we don't have a basement,he knows me,lol'''

Can't believe this, I said something last night about I wish our bathroom was much warmer, it's got the most bright light in the house and it's huge. He said he would find me a little heater!!!!!!!!!! I think it's the pod-people. watch out if they come around!!!!

What is "pod people" tiG?

an old movie where the aliens grow a clone in a pod and then replace the real person with the clone. They act totally different from the real person. So if your hubby or others start acting really weird (as in putting a heater in the bathroom for the plants) you know they are the clone:)

That's right,I'm a movie buff too,and knew but thought it was a "new gardening term",lol' Keep an eye on him,lol'''

That was invasoin of the body snatchers wasnt it?

right!!!

I live in Alabama and have been growing sweet potatoes for over 40 years. We farm and have grown them to harvest. I have to differ with a few things you mentioned. Maybe it is the zone we live in. If so, TIG, what I have to say is for you, since you live in Georgia.
I have NEVER cut off the ends of the potato and let it dry out. The only resoning I see behind this is to get the bulb more level for the jar so it won't fall over. Sometimes that can be a problem.
One thing to keep in mind: Sweet Potatoes will not grow until the soil is warmed up good. We usually put plants in the ground in May (my zone, north Alabama) or usually around one month after the regular planting time for other veggies that need "no frost" to grow. THE SOIL NEEDS TO BE WARMED UP GOOD or they won't grow properly!!
I grow my own plants. There are more than one way to start these "slips" as we call them. We "DO" use the method that was mentioned using a jar. But, you will get more than one plant per bottle, if done the way I do it.
I do not start sweet potato slips until January (my zone). I put toothpicks around the sweet potato to help hold the potato in water and to balance on the edge of the jar. Caution: the potato needs to be loose in the jar, not justed plopped in or wedged in to hold it up.
It should not touch the bottom of the jar. You need room for roots to grow in the bottom of the jar. I usually run water thru my water filter to water this potato with...no chlorine this way. As long as the water touches the sweet potato bulb, you are fine. I keep the water level a couple of inches up from the bottom.
Every few days, I dump the water carefully, clan jar and rinse the bulb gently...I hold under slow moving water and rinse, not scrub. I then put the bulb back in the jar and put my filtered water in.
Once "slips" or foiage starts developing, you need to be careful because you do not want these new plants to fall off...less plants. I usually get enough to plant a garden from one bulb!
Once the "slips" or foliage is 3-4 inches long, I pull them off of the potato "gently" and put them in water to make roots on these "slips". I keep my sweet potato in the water still. More plants or "slips" will develop. I keep this process going until about 6 weeks before planting them in the ground.
The main thing to remember, you need "roots" on these "slips" in order to avoid growing problems once in the ground.
I til and fertilize my soil and make raised beds. I dig a hole and put the sweet potato "slip" or plant into this hole, water and tamp soil around plant well. Once the plant and ground is watered real well, I put 4-6 layers of newspaper down on all the ground up to a couple of inches from the plant (this will help keep the soil moist) and then pile mulch on and around the plant, at least 6 inches thick. The reason I do my plants this way with the newspaper is for three reasons. 1. The plant does not dry out 2. Keeps the plant once it starts running from putting out roots along the stems. 3. NO WEEDING!!! Does #2 matter. If you want large sweet potatoes...yes. We have won ribbons for having large potatoes! Another thing the mulch will do is to give the plants a weed free spot to roam and help keep them from drying out. I rarely have to re-water the plants after planting. When you put down your newspaper and mulch, mulch not only the top of the raised bed but down the sides and between the rows. I fill betwen the rows with mulch EVEN with the top of the raised bed. The plants will roam so you want to make sure they do not put on roots all along their path. I know this sounds complicated but it is less trouble than growing alot of other veggies. Once I have the slips in the ground and mulched, I do nothing, unless they need an occsional drink of water, until harvesting.
Caution: ALWAYS...ALWAYS, dig before frost. An extremely light frost that dries out quickly "might" not damage the growing sweet potatoes. But a frost will make the tubers "rot". Depending on how heavy a frost depends on how quickly this happens. So, always dig before frost or you have wasted your time.
Contrary to what was mentioned above, the vine should not die until frost. It should still be healthy, green and growing well when you dig. If you want sweet potatoes that are not rotten, you should dig before frost. If the vines die before frost, it is not because the plant has done it's dues, they did not have enough moisture. That is one of the reasons I water good and mulch very heavily when I plant.
Any questions, you can e-mail me. chrmann@hotmail.com

Well, far be it from me to argue with a expert,lol' However,here in Kansas,growing is of course much different' We put gardens in as soon as the soil warms and holds after danger of frost,(late frost). We used to have the rule to have all potatoes planted on or by St.Patty's Day' Threw that old date out about 5 yrs. ago,temps are changing,not to mention rains or lack of them now' We leave our potatoes in the ground until the vine dies off from frost(fall) if they die before from lack of rain,tough break,that's gardening. We are mulching more and that helps alot in most cases,not always though'
Still put mine in jars with toothpicks and grow inside(for winter fun),no problems'
Whatever works for some may not work for others,I can only comment on our farming here'Happy gardening,Sis'