How to grow sweet potatoes

I put some slips in last year and was surprised they did so well. This year I've purchased more slips and will put them in this weekend. Can anyone share tips from their own experience? I have Vardeman and Puerto Rico types.

Also, how does one produce slips? I tried and failed! :(

Thanks for any info

I grow mine in a jar of water.

Here are the slips planted out.

Is it as easy as it looks? Do you just snap-off the slips from the mother, or do you have to take a little of the "mother" with it? Thanks for your assistance.

Either way works. The smaller one is a slip that broke off. The larger one has a bit of mother with it.

It is as easy as it looks. Sweet potato vines root very easy, You can even cut off pieces of vine, stick them in the ground, and they will go. No need to include a piece of the potato or even root the plant altho many folks do.

Thanks for the help. The slips I set over the weekend are picking-up already - probably due to all the rain we've had. I set them in a raised bed with a mixture of potting soil, compost and leaf-mulch with some clay soil thrown in. Hope all this rain doesn't make the slips rot.

An article you may be interested in on growing slips:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/1985-05-01/Slipping-Sweet-Potatoes.aspx

I was successful at growing several this year from last year's crop leftovers. I think the soil temperature is the key.

kev_etx - what a charming article. I don't think I'll ever find the time to do anything other than set a sweet potato in a jar of water.