guys, I wanna give a shoutout to those that gave me some very helpful information on growing sweet taters...........ive never grown them before.......I dug 1 row this morning.....just to see what they looked like.................and holy cow.......1 row that was about 16 feet long......has yielded me 10 gallons worth............I have 10 more rows........if the rest produce like the first...........wow!! thanks again guys!! .....................

I have my first good crop growing this year also. I have been browsing the net to find when is the best time to harvest them. It says when leaves start turning yellow, mine are not yet. I planted them the last week of May and it was very, very dry here so it took them some time to get really going. They look great now. Some sites stated waiting until they are about 120 days and then digging and letting dry in a dry warm place for almost two weeks to harden up and sweeten up. For experienced growers any additional info would be appreciated. Today would put them at about 115-120 days.

Bryce

Im not super experienced, but you probably dont want to let them go past that time frame unless you want mega taters. Im in Georgia and lost track of how long mine had been in the ground. We had some softball size and bigger that had split from the rain. You can dig one or two plants to give an idea of the size you have in the ground and go from there. Once youre happy wih the size of them I would go ahead and get to digging if it were me.

Now store them in a warm place for a few weeks to cure. Cannot allow them to freeze.

Thank you I will do a test dig this weekend. I don't need a lot of huge split taters. I had a bumper crop of regular spuds. I got almost double my normal yield from the same number of plants this year. I don't have an organic garden but used an organic approved product on my spuds and my Colorado Potato Beetle issue was the least in years if not decades.

Bryce

Sweet tater tops don't die down like Irish spuds as an indicator so you pretty much time it by growing season. They absolutely can not stand a frost so dig before frost flies.
Once dug, and dig gently as they are easily bruised and bruised sweet taters don't store well, brush the dirt off and cure them in a warm (80° plus) with high humidity for a week or so to allow the cuts and scrapes to scab over. Once cured move them to a cool dry place like a garage, shed or basement. Ideally on racks or shelves in a single layer. But not a cold spot as the do not fare well refrigerated. Check them regularly and eat or discard those not storing well.
Eat the scarred ones first and save the best few for sprouting next spring.

I dig mine by hand.

I read about the careful digging. I don't have really good longer term storage so I was planning to clean a bunch up and cook and freeze them in pint or quart packages. Not all but some, depending upon the yield. My dirt is soft enough so I can dig away from the plants a tad and then work them out by hand. I was not thinking or planning on the those for sprouting for next spring. Do you leave those whole or how do you work with the tubers for the next planting season?

Bryce

Whole

Work up a bed of loose sandy soil as soon as it can be worked. Cover with black plastic to get it warm. Also can be done in a greenhouse or warm room in colder climates. When warm, 70°plus, saturate the bed and lay the taters halfway in the bed lengthwise. Cover with clear plastic or something to hold warmth and moisture. When the sprouts are about six inches and have at least a couple leaves break the slips off the tater. They can be planted directly in wet ground or rooted in a jar of water but definitely keep moist. Put the tater back for another set of slips until it is exhausted.

Like Irish spuds it is important to use virus and disease free taters. As vegetative reproduction passes into the next generation.