How to Grow Sweet Potatoes in a Small Bed

Prepare the garden bed by working the soil with a small garden rake or trowel to loosen the dirt. Break apart any large clumps of dirt and remove rocks that may impede the growth of tubers. Add sand and aged compost to the soil to create a growing medium that drains efficiently without being too rich.

Plant rooted slips or seed tubers in the prepared garden bed approximately four weeks after the final frost in your planting zone, or when air temperatures are constantly between 65 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Arrange dirt into mounds approximately 12 inches wide by 8 inches tall. Place one rooted seedling slip, or seed tuber into each mound about 2 to 4 inches deep and cover with a loosely compacted layer of soil. Plant additional rows of sweet potatoes approximately 3 feet apart, if space in the bed allows. However, be careful not to overcrowd the seedlings.

Stake a small trellis or poles on each end of the planter with strings running between them. As sweet potato vines begin to sprout, they will train to grow upwards and out on the trellis, helping to keep small garden beds more manageable.

Water sweet potatoes at a rate of approximately 1 inch of water per week, keeping the soil evenly moist. Over-soaking tubers will cause the sweet potatoes to rot and potentially ruin your harvest.

Harvest sweet potatoes approximately 100 to 150 days after planting, when the vines have begun to wither and turn yellow in color. Carefully work the soil around the plant, starting about 10 inches away from the vine's center, and lifting upward with a garden fork or small trowel until the tuber lifts through the soil. Take extra caution in small beds where multiple sweet potatoes are planted to avoid damaging other tubers in close proximity.