Plant sweetpotato slips after frost, once the soil is warm. Set them a few inches deep on a loose ridge or a raised bed.
Plant slips after the soil is warm
| Factor | Recommended | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| When | After frost, soil about 65°F | Cold ground that stalls or kills a tender slip |
| Start | Rooted slips from a storage root | Morning-glory seed, nicked and soaked |
| Set | 3 to 4 inches deep, up to the leaves | A shallow drop that leaves roots in the air |
| Spacing | 8 to 12 inches in the row, about 3 feet between rows | A tight row with no room for vines to run |
Crop sweetpotato is a warm-season vegetable. Wait until nights stay mild and the soil has warmed, then set slips, not morning-glory seed. [1] [2] Foliage cultivars in a pot stay on How to Grow Sweetpotato Vine. Nick-and-soak seed stays on Planting Morning Glory.
When do I plant sweetpotato slips?
After the last frost, when the soil is about 65°F. Cold nights kill tender slips.
How to plant sweetpotato slips
Set each slip deep enough to cover the roots and the stem up to the leaves, then water to settle.
- Buy slips, or twist sprouts off a stored root once they are about 6 inches long and root them in water for about ten days. [3]
- Loosen a ridge or a raised bed so storage roots have air. Heavy clay makes small, odd-shaped roots.
- Set slips 3 to 4 inches deep, 8 to 12 inches apart, in rows about 3 feet apart. Cover the stem up to the lowest leaves. [4]
- Water in with a high-phosphorus starter, then keep the bed moist for a week or so until the slips take.
- After they take, sun and a draining bed are enough. Dig and cure are on Harvesting Sweetpotato.
How deep do I plant slips?
Three to four inches, covering roots and stem up to the leaves. Storage roots form on buried nodes.
What fails at planting slips
A slip set into cold, wet soil never takes. Seed from a morning-glory packet is the wrong start. Grocery roots that were treated not to sprout often sit dead in a jar.
- Do not set slips before the soil is about 65°F.
- Do not sow climbing morning-glory seed for a food crop.
- Do not plant a foliage cultivar and expect a crate of kitchen roots.
- Do not leave roots sitting on the surface to dry.
If the slips wilted and never rooted, the soil was still cold — wait for warmth and set a fresh row.
FAQ
Can I start slips from a grocery root?
Sometimes, if the root was not treated to stop sprouts. Organic or last year's stored roots sprout more reliably. Twist 6-inch sprouts free and root them in water.
Is this a yam?
No. Crop sweetpotato is Ipomoea batatas. True yams are a different tropical crop. Garden white tubers are Solanum.
Related guides
Recommended plants
References
- [1] Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC -
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/sweet-potato/ - [2] Old Farmer's Almanac -
https://www.almanac.com/plant/sweet-potatoes - [3] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ipomoea-batatas/ - [4] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ipomoea/
This note is part of Ipomoea Guides.
More planting notes by plant are gathered in Planting Guides.
Updated: Reviewed by Bosquelle Editors