How to Grow Sweet Potato
Sweet Potato At a Glance
Difficulty
Moderate
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to 10°C
Plant Family
Convolvulaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
About 6 to 8 weeks before planting time, stand half a sweet potato in a jar of water, held up by toothpicks, in a warm, sunny window. When the shoots are about 15 cm long, twist them off and stand them in water until they grow roots. Plant them about 3 weeks after your last frost, once the soil is warm, about 18°C (64°F), 35 cm apart, burying the stem up to the top leaves.
Sweet potatoes are grown from slips, the leafy shoots that sprout from a sweet potato, not from seed. They need about 110 warm days, so choose a short-season variety and your warmest spot. Grow bags or big pots warm up faster than the ground and make digging easy.
When To Start
Sweet Potato needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Sweet Potato?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Sweet Potato Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Sweet Potato Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Plant sweet potato slips deep, once the soil is warm
3 weeks after your last frost
Dig sweet potatoes before the first frost
About 110 days after you plant it
Water your new sweet potato plants well while they settle in. Deep and slow is best.
About 1 days after you plant it
How are your sweet potato slips? Keep the soil warm and evenly moist while they take root.
About 37 days after you plant it
Your sweet potatoes are growing under the soil. Keep watering evenly so the roots fill out.
About 73 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your sweet potato.
About 110 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Sweet Potato's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Give sweet potatoes your hottest, sunniest spot, with at least 8 hours of sun a day.
- 2Plant them in loose, sandy soil with some compost mixed in, so the roots can swell.
- 3Water deeply once a week, then water less in the last 3 to 4 weeks before harvest so the roots do not crack.
- 4Go easy on feeding, since too much food gives big leaves and small roots.
- 5Cover young plants with row cover on cool nights early in summer, because cold slows them down for weeks.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~110
Days to Maturity
30 cm
Mature Height
150 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
14 days
When to Pick
Dig before the first frost, ~100 to 120 days after planting
How to Harvest
- 1Dig sweet potatoes about 110 days after planting, or as soon as frost is forecast, because cold damages the roots.
- 2Loosen the soil gently with a fork, starting well away from the plant, since the skins are thin and bruise easily.
- 3Leave them in a warm, humid spot, about 27 to 30°C, for 7 to 10 days to toughen the skins and turn starch into sugar.
- 4Wait 2 to 3 more weeks before eating for the sweetest flavour.
- 5Store them in a dry spot at room temperature or a little cooler, never in the fridge.
- 6The young leaves and shoot tips are good to eat too, cooked like spinach.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Sweet potatoes are not grown from seed, so save a few roots instead. Pick healthy, unbruised ones from your harvest, toughen their skins as usual, and store them over winter in a dry place at about 13 to 16°C. About 6 to 8 weeks before planting time, stand one in water to grow next year's slips.
Seed Production
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