Sweet potatoes are versatile tubers that have fewer calories than traditional potatoes and are a perfect stand in for that starchy vegetable. The sweet potato is … Sweet potato leaves are known as camote tops (or kamote tops) in Spanish-speaking countries. I did this with my hands after loosening it up with a garden fork all around the side of the drum. When potato plants are fully grown they produce white flowers, but the tubers will not be ready for harvesting at this stage. When to harvest sweet potatoes will depend on the cultivar that you purchased. 07 May 09, Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate) Hi Claudie in Australia cool/mountain, I assume you have already planted by now. Pumpkin and sweet potato both take a … When receiving your slips, it is important to read the packing. Sweet potato plant s will keep growing as long as the weather stays warm. 09 Mar 20, Garden Gnome (Australia - temperate climate) I have had for over one year a half 200 litre plastic drum with a sweet potatoes growing in it. We enjoy growing sweet potatoes in our household. The leaves are most tender in late summer. If you have a long growing season, you just have to keep checking the hills and harvest the roots at the best cooking stage. In New Zealand sweet potato is known as kumara and both the pre-European Maori types and those introduced by Europeans are grown. Lettuce is good this time of year, and so too are broccoli, bok choy, sugarsnap peas and broad beans. Potatoes usually take 17 to 21 weeks from planting to harvesting time. Fortunately, you can also eat the leaves, either steamed or in salads. Delicious tubers that grow easily and reward us with a plentiful harvest year after year. We look at how to grow sweet potatoes and when to plant them. You can start digging the tubers when the lower leaves on the plants … You can have homegrown tubers for months past the growing season if you know how to store sweet potatoes after harvest. However, the yield isn’t that great considering the space the vines take up. Sweet Potatoes Australia is 100% Australian owned and operated. Located in Bundaberg, a region fast becoming known as Australia’s food bowl – the even climate and abundance of irrigation water is proving to be the ideal location to grow sweet potatoes all year round. Just this past weekend I have dug around in the totally dry soil looking to see what was there. The vines don't die and signal harvesttime the way white potato vines do. Sweet potato vines also produce well when trellised, because vines scaling the ground will try to put roots in everywhere, which produces a gazillion teensy little potatoes as opposed to several big ones per vine.. Sweet potato storage requires careful curing to prevent mildew and to trigger the formation of sugar producing enzymes. The thing they dislike is frosts. This is a very undemanding crop to grow; sweet potatoes are drought- and heat-tolerant and have few pests or diseases. I love this versatile, healthy, easy to grow food that adds such great flavour to so many dishes . In subtropical and tropical areas sweet potato can be planted all year round. Sweet potato prefers a rich, fertile, well-drained soil in full sun; space plants 35 cm apart. The growing information is specifically relevant to growing food in Margaret River Western Australia. Sweet potatoes are an easy crop to grow, and you can grow them in many areas of Australia. (Regular potatoes belong to the nightshade family). Sweet Potato Plant. Sweet potatoes can be harvested any time tubers have formed (start checking late summer). Sweet potatoes share nothing with … Harvesting Sweet Potatoes. The sweet potato is a large, sweet-tasting root of the morning glory family. Homegrown: Sweet Potato This delicious tuber is one of the least-demanding vegetables in the patch. The secret to growing sweet potatoes is a long frost free growing season. All it wants is sun and space.