How to grow sweet potatoes: dig holes, plant, cover with film, water, wait for the tubers to grow, and harvest the sweet potatoes.

1. Digging holes

Sweet potatoes require larger land than other garden vegetables. Each hole is 30-60 cm apart. The depth is 3 cm above the base of the plant to the root of the tuber.

2. Planting

Place the sweet potato seedlings one by one in the holes dug in advance, and cover the stems with about 1.5 cm of soil. The leaf part of the sweet potato will grow vines outwards, while the roots will grow tubers 15-30 cm deep in the soil.

3. Cover with film

Protect your sweet potatoes from cold weather by covering them with film. This will also help discourage weed growth and prevent the sweet potato vines from overgrowing, robbing the tubers of nutrients.

4. Watering

When sweet potatoes are first planted, they need a lot of water. Over time, you should water them less often, until only watering them once a week or so. Start watering daily and then reduce the frequency of watering each week.

5. Wait for the tubers to grow

Sweet potatoes require a relatively long growth period and cannot be harvested until early autumn (which happens to coincide with Thanksgiving). Continue to water and weed every week to keep your plants growing healthy.

6. Harvest sweet potatoes

About 120 days after planting, sweet potatoes should have reached full maturity. If possible, harvest sweet potatoes as late as possible (before frost) as they will produce larger and more delicious tubers.