About this episode
Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite things to eat and, subsequently, to grow. I can eat sweet potatoes baked, fried, mashed, chipped, like tater tots, as a pie, you name it, I’ll eat them. And it only takes a few plants to give you a really good harvest, so they’re perfectly suited for smaller garden spaces. Despite the name, they actually aren’t potatoes and what we eat isn’t a tuber, it’s a root. They are a tropical crop that needs at least four months of warm weather and warm soil, but there are many short-season varieties of sweet potato available today and they will grow in cooler-climate areas given the right circumstances. And, bonus, they are drought- and heat-tolerant and they don’t have a ton of pests or diseases, so they’re great for beginning gardeners, too. We’re getting the beds ready right now for planting our sweet potatoes, so I thought it’d be a good time to drop a little knowledge on you and get you into the sweet potato game, too. Let’s dig in. Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon Follow me on Instagram JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com This podcast is a proud member of the Positively Farming Media Podcast Network Merchandise | Just Grow Something (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com) Positively Farming Media Podcast Playlist on Spotify Resources: Identifying Nutrient Deficiencies in Your Garden Plants | Just Grow Something (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com) Indicators of Nutrient Toxicity in Garden Plants | Just Grow Something (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com) Ep. 18 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Plant Nutrients and Why You Need to Know Them | Just Grow Something (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com) Ep. 22 - Garden Talk Tuesday: Plant Nutrient Deficiencies and Toxicity | Just Grow Something (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com) Ep. 91 -Transitioning Your Plants into Your Garden | Just Grow Something (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com) Ep. 55 - Identifying Insects in the Garden | Just Grow Something (justgrowsomethingpodcast.com) Common Names of Plant Diseases (apsnet.org) Pest Database | IRAC (irac-online.org) Sweet potato - Wikipedia Plant Sweet Potatoes | How to Grow Sweet Potatoes – Bonnie Plants Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams: What’s the Difference? | Mississippi State University Extension Service (msstate.edu)