Replenish the DE once a month, or anytime you see adult white flies on your plants. These tiny flies hide well and are so tiny you may not notice them until there are dozens of them laying their eggs on the leaves of your plants.ĭiatomaceous Earth (DE) sprinkled on the soil surface will take care of the larvae and stop their cycle. White flies rising in a cloud will be the first indication that you have a problem. White flies lay eggs on plants, stunting growth. While pests like flea beetles and aphids are problematic in outdoor sweet potato crops, indoor plants can be plagued by whiteflies. Choose a couple of the longest vines from each plant and be sure to leave several inches remaining so the plant will continue to grow. Harvest by using scissors or snips to cut off lengths of the vine. If you’re growing the plant specifically for the greens, you can harvest more often. If you’re using leaves from a crop intended for root harvest, limit harvesting to a couple times a month. Harvest leaves once the stems are at least a foot long, a month or two after planting. Whether you’re growing sweet potatoes inside for the greens or growing a tuber crop outside, you can harvest the leaves throughout its life cycle. Now you have an edible houseplant! You can eat the leaves cooked or raw. Set the potted sweet potato by a sunny, warm window and it will produce plenty of vines.
This method can be used for a winter crop of greens, but it’s essentially how they should be planted out in your garden for a root crop, too. Once the roots are a few inches long, transplant into a container of good soil in bunches of three. If you choose to root them in water, watch for the emerging roots, just as you did with the potato. If you plant directly into the soil, you’ll need to maintain steady moisture. You can either plant these directly into a pot of soil or allow them to root in water first. Trim leaves from the lower portion of the stem, leaving a couple of leaves at the tip for photosynthesis. Cut 10″ to 12″ lengths of sweet potato vine from your “seed” potato. My preference is to grow from slips, since doing so means that instead of a single plant, I’ll have several. The entire tuber should be buried by about 2″ of soil. Plant the sprouted tuber in a pot of well draining soil, as sweet potatoes are susceptible to root rot if the soil they’re in remains too wet. To grow an edible sweet potato vine in a pot, you can transplant the entire sprouted sweet potato or create a number of potted plants by starting with slips. Bonus? If you have a plant growing for the sweet potato leaves, you’ll have slips at the ready for planting in the garden! They sprout easily indoors and a happy sweet potato plant will produce leaves throughout the winter. This makes them a perfect candidate for growing indoors in the off-season!
They’re drought tolerant, grow in many different climates, and in humid climates like mine, can be less prone to pests and diseases than other conventional greens. Sweet potatoes are an herbaceous perennial vegetable. The sweet potato vine is an unexpected bonus when you’re growing sweet potatoes - sweet potato leaves are edible! And even if you don’t plan to grow them in your garden, sweet potato greens can be grown inside as an edible houseplant.įor another unexpected edible green, get to know purslane!Įven if you don’t plan to grow and harvest sweet potato tubers from your garden, the leaves can be a valuable source of nutrition, especially during the cold months of winter.
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