How to grow sweet potato

Ipomoea batatas · Convolvulaceae · Vegetable

Sweet Potato is a warm-season vegetable in the Convolvulaceae family, usually started indoors and set out as transplants. It wants full sun (six or more hours of direct light) and steady, even moisture. From sowing to first pick is about 90–120 days. It is killed by frost, so nothing goes outside until the danger has passed and the soil has warmed.

Grower’s note: Grown from rooted slips, not seed, set out 3-4 weeks after the last frost once soil is thoroughly warm. Loves heat and tolerates poor soil. Cure dug roots at ~85 F and high humidity for 1-2 weeks to sweeten and store.

Sowing

Sow about 4″ deep, into soil between 65–95°F — germination is quickest near 80°F. It is slow and often erratic to germinate (7–21 days).

Spacing & layout

Give each plant about 12″ along the row with roughly 36″ between rows. On a square-foot grid that is one plant per 2 square feet. Allow at least 12″ of loose, workable soil for the roots. It grows well in containers at least 16″ deep.

Fitting it to your season

Sweet Potato needs roughly 90–120 frost-free days to crop. Where the season is shorter than that, start it indoors and choose the earliest-maturing varieties, or grow it in a container you can move under cover on cold nights. In long, hot-summer regions it can often be planted twice — once in spring and again in mid-to-late summer for a fall harvest.

Quick facts

When to plant sweet potato

Companions

Common problems

Pests: sweet potato weevil, flea beetle, wireworm.

Diseases & disorders: fusarium wilt, scurf, black rot.

Figures are typical home-garden ranges from Cooperative Extension planting guides, cross-checked against multiple state sources. Your variety and conditions will vary.