Sweet Potato Slips Keep Showing Up

Sweet potatoes are not difficult to grow where I live. In fact, once planted, they may be around forever.

I’ve dug my sweet potatoes, but little shoots keep on sprouting. I’m finding them in the garden, and in the walkways. Any parts of the original plant, that have been hidden underground (roots) continue to grow.

Later…

Sweet potato vines are popping up in my walkways. The roots are left from the sweet potatoes I grew in that box last year.

Some of the vines have been added to fabric bags and one went into a pot (above).

I don’t think sweet potatoes are meant to grow over the winter. Pre-orders for slips take place during winter and the slips are shipped in Spring. They are a Spring-Summer crop. I will let these grow and see what happens. The leaves are edible and I will use them while I wait for the potatoes to grow.

The sweet potatoes I dug this year were small but I still have a few left to eat. Most were funny looking and not anything like what you buy in the store. But they taste delicious. One day I hope to have a raised bed just for sweet potatoes.

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