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How to Grow Sweet Potato Slips

Growing sweet potato slips can be a bit tricky but is very rewarding. Sweet Potatoes are commonly used in the thanksgiving day but for others is a part of a healthy diet.

It also has a very nice taste that most people enjoy. Cultivating them is not very hard and their nutritional value is amazing. Having your own garden with sweet potatoes will not only help you save money but also eat better. If you live in an area where the temperature is fairly warm and there is plenty of sunlight cultivating your own sweet potatoes will not be that hard.

In the moment you decide to cultivate sweet potatoes you must understand they do not grow of seeds like many other vegetables. If you want to grow them you will need sweet potato slips. You can obtain the slips in many ways. You can get them in a gardening store near you, the Internet or from your own sweet potatoes. Getting the slips from your own sweet potatoes is a simple procedure that can be very fun.

- The first thing you will need is some very healthy and mature sweet potatoes.

You will want them to produce as many sprouts as possible. The first thing to do is to wash your sweet potatoes then cut them in half. You will place each section in a jar or similar container. You will fill the jar with water in a way that half of the section is covered by water and the other half will be outside the jar. One common practice is to insert 4 toothpicks to keep the sweet potato in place. The toothpicks should form a (+) shape if you look at it from the top. That way the toothpicks will help the it to maintain the position.

- Place the jars or containers near a window or any other warm area.

After a couple of weeks you will notice the top area to be covered with purple eyes that will sprout leaves while the bottom will have roots. During that period of time is important to check the water level in the jar every day. Once a vine from the eye is 6 to 7 inches long is time to pinch it off at the area where the green starts.

Take each vine and put it in a small bowl with shallow water. The part of the vine with leaves should be outside the water while the bottom part should be submerged.

- Once the bottom part grows roots that are approximately 1 inch long is time to plant them in your garden.

Loose soil that is well drained is perfect for the slips. For each slip make a hole about 4 inches deep and make sure all the leaves of the vine remain over the ground.

Plan the sweet potato slips into the soil of your garden in rows with a couple of inches of space between them.

Remember to plant them during the hottest part of the summer.

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