Ornamental Sweet Potato, Sweet Potato Vine 'Tricolor'
Ipomoea batatas
Tricolor sweet potato vine tubers which I store until the spring so that they do not rot in the soil. Note that the one on the top right has some rot at the base (not dug up soon enough).
I'd love to store my tubers for the next year too but I'm not sure what the best conditions for storage are. How do you do yours & do you use any powder to prevent disease or fungi? I've had good sized tubers form before but never saved them so any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
I wash the tubers off and then permit them to fully dry. Then, I place them in a small paper sack that has been filled with saw dust. Every month are so during the winter, I spritz a fine mist of water (just a little) into the bag with a spray bottle. I have never used any fungicide powder, but it is a good idae to do so. Before I began spritzing the water into the bag, the bulbs would dry out and die. Good luck with your tubers.
Thank you for the info. I had no idea someone replied as I'm not used to using Dave's Garden lots & it wasn't until I went to see about subscribing for the extras (for a fee) that it showed I had a reply to my question.
Spritzing with water makes sense as I've lost bulbs & tubers from drying out too much. I have a simple sulphur powder that I can use as a fungicide & will research on the 'net what else may work well that's organic or as non-toxic as possible. The tubers really get big by the end of summer & I don't feel like buying new each year. Thanks again.
isom, you are quite welcome. I hope that you have subscribed to Dave's Garden. It is well worth the small fee. :o)
I haven't subscribed to the full service yet as I've been busy doing too many other projects & then looking after my elderly mom when she's not well. I do plan on subscribing & will probably get to it this winter. I don't have credit cards & just use debit & cash. Not sure how to subscribe without a credit card but if it's necessary, my son will subscribe in my name for me.
I keep forgetting to check on threads & D-mail since notification doesn't come to my inbox. Do you know if it's possible to get it sent through?
I have been helping take care of my 94 year Mother ... I know how much time it takes. :o) You can send a money order (cash too, but I don't trust the mail) to subscribe. I have been notified at my yahoo email when I have a D-mail. Sometimes I am notified, but most often not. I don't know if you can set it up so your are notified when you have a D-mail by a message reaching your regular email account.
