When to Bed a Sweet Potato Seedling

Producing Slips By Hotbed

• To produce slips, place potatoes in a hotbed about one month before temperatures stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit overnight. Buy sweet potatoes that are certified seed stock from a garden center -- they'll produce the most slips, have fewer diseases and the produce will be more uniform in size and quality -- or use a variety from the grocery store. Wash grocery store potatoes to remove anti-sprouting chemicals. Sweet potatoes themselves are storage roots, so new shoots will develop along the entire potato. Cover the potatoes with damp sand and keep the hotbeds at 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. When the slips are 4 to 6 inches long, remove them with a twist and a tug. Plant slips in the ground after the last frost or place in a jar of water to delay planting for a few days.

Producing Slips Outdoors

• To produce slips outdoors, bed the potatoes when the soil temperature reaches 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the University of Missouri Extension advises. Dip potatoes in a fungicide to prevent disease and plant in a well-draining site. Place the potatoes in a single layer 2 to 4 feet wide and cover with approximately 2 inches of soil. Add a general-purpose, granular fertilizer to the bed top and place clear or black plastic over it, with small holes punched in the plastic for aeration. When potatoes sprout about 1 inch, remove the plastic. Cut slips 1 inch above the soil line when they reach 12 to 15 inches in height; do not pull out, which might transmit disease from the soil. Plant in the garden after the last frost. The extension recommends destroying the bed after harvesting slips.

Planting Slips

• Slips are rootless when pulled from the mother root and should be kept well-watered to promote root development. But don't keep the soil constantly moist, or disease can develop. Plant slips 3 to 4 inches deep -- it doesn't matter which end is up -- at least one foot apart in rows at least 40 inches apart. Sweet potatoes prefer light, sandy soils but also thrive in soils high in clay. Plant slips in ridges to allow the soil to warm faster, improve drainage and help roots grow. Side dress with 3 tablespoons of 10-10-10 fertilizer equivalent per 10 feet once or twice during growing season, the University of Maryland Extension advises. To side dress, apply fertilizer to the soil around the sides of the plant, at least six to eight inches from the stem. For best yield and quality, provide 1 inch of water weekly.

Harvesting

• Sweet potatoes generally mature in 85 to 120 days. Harvest when they reach eating size and before a frost. Their leaves might also turn slightly yellow when they are ready for harvesting. Cut vines to provide easier access to the potatoes when digging. After digging, cure sweet potatoes to heal skin wounds and increase storage life by storing in a warm place, 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, for four to seven days.