This morning I thought I'd check on the progress of my sweet potato (SP) experiments. On May 1st, I placed
one in water, and one May 8th I placed a second SP directly in the soil.
On May 15th, I noticed my submerged SP sprouting leaves on the end that was submerged, so I flipped it.
The pictures below were taken today.
Flipping my SP meant I had to move my googly eyes, and one didn't make it. LOL. The slips are growing nicely but I'm having an issue with the submerged portion beginning to rot. Hopefully I'll be able to detach them from the SP soon, root for a few days, then plant.
The SP I direct sowed is also doing well. There are 4 slips growing on the side shown, but the biggest is on the opposite side. There are also a few roots at the bottom.
When I replaced the SP in the soil, I didn't put it as deep as before. I'm hoping this will get the slips into the sun, and growing foliage a little faster.
In conclusion, it looks like the bases of the slips coming out of the directly sown SP are thicker than the submerged SP, there are fewer slips, and there isn't any foliage yet. There doesn't appear to be any rotting on this one.
A quick fact about
sweet potatoes:
"These tuberous roots are among the most nutritious foods in the vegetable kingdom. They are packed with calcium, potassium, and vitamins A and C."
The pictures below were taken today.
Flipping my SP meant I had to move my googly eyes, and one didn't make it. LOL. The slips are growing nicely but I'm having an issue with the submerged portion beginning to rot. Hopefully I'll be able to detach them from the SP soon, root for a few days, then plant.
The SP I direct sowed is also doing well. There are 4 slips growing on the side shown, but the biggest is on the opposite side. There are also a few roots at the bottom.
When I replaced the SP in the soil, I didn't put it as deep as before. I'm hoping this will get the slips into the sun, and growing foliage a little faster.
In conclusion, it looks like the bases of the slips coming out of the directly sown SP are thicker than the submerged SP, there are fewer slips, and there isn't any foliage yet. There doesn't appear to be any rotting on this one.
A quick fact about sweet potatoes:
"These tuberous roots are among the most nutritious foods in the vegetable kingdom. They are packed with calcium, potassium, and vitamins A and C."
I started two SP for slips. One started growing roots immediately while the other didn't do much. I finally decided to replace the water in the other one I was having trouble, and it went nuts. It almost surpassed the good one. It did take a WHILE to get them able to plant though. It was fun to watch them! I read that it didnt matter whether you put them in water or soil but it was really cool to see the roots grow out. :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm in zone 7 BTW
JenGC from Gardenweb.com