OK, I have been through a lot of articles on the internet and here are my questions:
How many tubers will one sweet potato plant yield on average?
What are the advantages to growing the 'bush' type sweet potato? What are the disadvantages?
WHEN do I plant sweet potatoes here in Zone 8?
Questions about growing sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are roots not tubers, so the answer to your first question is none. You will get on average about a half dozen baking size roots from each plant. If the conditions are favoable you can get upwards of a dozen.
Bush types have short stubby vines (not really a bush form) and take up less space. These will run 3-4 ft in all directions, while some of the older vining cultivars like Poplar Root will run 10-12 feet. The major disadvantage to "bush" forms is lack of choice of cultivars. Some cultivars like Carver are semi vining running only about 6 ft.
I like to set mine a week or more after the last frost date, which translates to late April, first of May for me.
How do you know when the root is "ripe" for harvesting?
When its big enough for your purposes. Most of us in temperate zones dig them just before the first frost altho if we are hungry we may carefull remove a few with out disturbing the vines too much in mid summer. They are perennials in frost free zones. They do have more flavor if allowed to cure (dry) for a couple of weeks before eating.
OK. Sorry for the newbie questions...So you can see the potato without diggin it out? I thought they would be completely buried so that's why I wondered how you would know...
No. they extend downward from the plant at about a 45 degree angle. I f you want a few in August, you carefullly scratch away the dirt. We plant sweet potatoes on a list (ridge of soil) so if is not excessivley difficult. When a large root is exposed break it from the vine and pull it like you would a carrot.
Thanks!
My ignorance is astounding, isn't it? LOL!
I spent the first 43 years of my life in Oregon and the only sweet potato growing experience I had was growing a vine from one in grade school. I have lived here in Texas for 13 years and usually buy sweet potatoes at roadside stands in the fall, but figured what the heck? So I will try it.
Thank you for the information. Because I garden in raised beds I thought perhaps the Porto Rico (sp?) would do for us, just a dozen slips. I found them here:
http://www.sweetpotatoplant.com/
It is a good potato, and one of the few available in both vine and "bush" forms
I've heard good things about http://www.sweetpotatoplant.com/
I ordered my slips from http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/sweet_potatoes.html this year because someone here on Dave's garden mentioned them. I ordered 6 different early and mid season varieties just for fun. Shipment expected sometime May or June.
It's been a lot of years since I've garden and grown sweet potatoes. As I recall I got good yields. However there were vines all over the place and the vines tended to root at a lot of places where leaf nodes touched the ground. I think I remember there were good potatoes only at the base of the main potato plant though.
Good luck on growing your sweet potatoes.
Jerry