Post by macmex on Jan 17, 2015 7:01:00 GMT -6
Hi folks,
This morning my time is somewhat limited. But I do want to start a thread on how to start and grow your own sweet potato slips. I am sure we will have some good input from other members. But right now I want to get the basics posted, so anyone who would like to do this, can do so, this growing season.
"Slip" is just a special term for cutting. I don't know why, but that's what sweet potato growers call their cuttings. There are even special terms for cuttings with and cuttings without roots. But what is important right now is that you understand that a slip is just a piece of stem which will be planted to start a new sweet potato plant. Most slips are between 6-8" long. I've received packages of slips with tiny little "extras" thrown in. These were only 2-3" long. I planted them, and they grew. When producing and planting my own slips I've planted them over a foot long.
It is not recommended that the grower plant pieces of root, as is done with Irish potatoes. The reason for this is that it is all too easy to transmit pests or disease via the root. I don't understand why, but I have generally had much better results, when planting my slips in the garden, if they have either no roots or just barely the beginning of roots. If I have held a slip for weeks before planting (by sticking it in some potting soil) I will usually break off most of the roots before I plant it. My reasoning is that the first roots to go down into the hill are probably going to be your main crop of sweet potatoes. You don't want them to be a tangled mess. Plus, the slip seems to take more easily when I do this.
I believe that those, like Sandhill Preservation Center and Duck Hill Farms, who produce and sell the widest selection of sweet potatoes out there, would actually LOVE it if a lot more people produced their own slips. Why? Well, slips are not cheap and people can't afford to buy as many, or as great a variety of them, if they have to purchase every year. But if you know how to produce your own slips, then this frees you to buy a new variety or couple of varieties, every now and then, while maintaining what you have. And, even the best grower will sometimes lose a variety due to conditions. It really helps if you can go to someone and get a new start. Some varieties are really on the edge. It would be easy to lose them altogether. So we need more growers.
Here's how you start: With at least one undamaged sweet potato. You can use a supermarket root. But it will probably take longer to start sprouting. I have done this before, and I have to say that when you grow your own "store bought sweet potatoes," they turn out pretty good; better than store bought, because they have been better handled.
If you grow your own slips, though, eventually you'll probably want to try some of the varieties that aren't in the store. Texture, color and flavor varies so much between varieties that you could probably spend a life time trying them all!
Start your sweet potato(es) sprouting 3 months before you want those slips. You can start them earlier. But 3 months will probably be plenty. My mentor, back in the 70s, used to make a cold frame out of old windows, and start his outside. This was in NJ, so I'm positive he didn't start his before the middle of April. He probably set his slips out in early June.
Sweet potatoes need HEAT to sprout. Don't even try this in a cool place. They need WARMTH! Last year I started a lot on my sun porch, at the beginning of February. I had to improvise with clear plastic tarps and space heaters, to keep them from freezing, let alone get them to sprout. This year I'm going to start the main lot at the beginning of March. I do have one flat started now, because it's a new variety and it only gave me a couple of very small roots last summer. I was afraid they little roots might dry up before March, so I started them this week in my indoor planter. (Okay, so I also have spring fever!) Here's a picture of my flat: (note Photobucket expired, and I lost that picture, at least temporarily. This is a substitute.)
I used potting mix and I only partly covered the roots. They will sprout roots and are already sending up leaves. I do not believe that covering the roots would hurt them. It's just easier for me, when pulling slips, to have the roots partially uncovered.
Here's an old picture of roots forming slips. These are nearly large enough to plant. Yet it was easily a month before planting time.
I'm not going to do much more this morning, as I have much to do today. But this is enough start to get a person going. You don't even need a good light source to start. One could start their slips sprouting and rig up some lighting a week or two afterwards. The only necessities are WARMTH and moisture. Some people start slips by standing a root in water. This seems to work. I just prefer soil, especially since I want a good quantity of slips.
This morning my time is somewhat limited. But I do want to start a thread on how to start and grow your own sweet potato slips. I am sure we will have some good input from other members. But right now I want to get the basics posted, so anyone who would like to do this, can do so, this growing season.
"Slip" is just a special term for cutting. I don't know why, but that's what sweet potato growers call their cuttings. There are even special terms for cuttings with and cuttings without roots. But what is important right now is that you understand that a slip is just a piece of stem which will be planted to start a new sweet potato plant. Most slips are between 6-8" long. I've received packages of slips with tiny little "extras" thrown in. These were only 2-3" long. I planted them, and they grew. When producing and planting my own slips I've planted them over a foot long.
It is not recommended that the grower plant pieces of root, as is done with Irish potatoes. The reason for this is that it is all too easy to transmit pests or disease via the root. I don't understand why, but I have generally had much better results, when planting my slips in the garden, if they have either no roots or just barely the beginning of roots. If I have held a slip for weeks before planting (by sticking it in some potting soil) I will usually break off most of the roots before I plant it. My reasoning is that the first roots to go down into the hill are probably going to be your main crop of sweet potatoes. You don't want them to be a tangled mess. Plus, the slip seems to take more easily when I do this.
I believe that those, like Sandhill Preservation Center and Duck Hill Farms, who produce and sell the widest selection of sweet potatoes out there, would actually LOVE it if a lot more people produced their own slips. Why? Well, slips are not cheap and people can't afford to buy as many, or as great a variety of them, if they have to purchase every year. But if you know how to produce your own slips, then this frees you to buy a new variety or couple of varieties, every now and then, while maintaining what you have. And, even the best grower will sometimes lose a variety due to conditions. It really helps if you can go to someone and get a new start. Some varieties are really on the edge. It would be easy to lose them altogether. So we need more growers.
Here's how you start: With at least one undamaged sweet potato. You can use a supermarket root. But it will probably take longer to start sprouting. I have done this before, and I have to say that when you grow your own "store bought sweet potatoes," they turn out pretty good; better than store bought, because they have been better handled.
If you grow your own slips, though, eventually you'll probably want to try some of the varieties that aren't in the store. Texture, color and flavor varies so much between varieties that you could probably spend a life time trying them all!
Start your sweet potato(es) sprouting 3 months before you want those slips. You can start them earlier. But 3 months will probably be plenty. My mentor, back in the 70s, used to make a cold frame out of old windows, and start his outside. This was in NJ, so I'm positive he didn't start his before the middle of April. He probably set his slips out in early June.
Sweet potatoes need HEAT to sprout. Don't even try this in a cool place. They need WARMTH! Last year I started a lot on my sun porch, at the beginning of February. I had to improvise with clear plastic tarps and space heaters, to keep them from freezing, let alone get them to sprout. This year I'm going to start the main lot at the beginning of March. I do have one flat started now, because it's a new variety and it only gave me a couple of very small roots last summer. I was afraid they little roots might dry up before March, so I started them this week in my indoor planter. (Okay, so I also have spring fever!) Here's a picture of my flat: (note Photobucket expired, and I lost that picture, at least temporarily. This is a substitute.)
I used potting mix and I only partly covered the roots. They will sprout roots and are already sending up leaves. I do not believe that covering the roots would hurt them. It's just easier for me, when pulling slips, to have the roots partially uncovered.
Here's an old picture of roots forming slips. These are nearly large enough to plant. Yet it was easily a month before planting time.
I'm not going to do much more this morning, as I have much to do today. But this is enough start to get a person going. You don't even need a good light source to start. One could start their slips sprouting and rig up some lighting a week or two afterwards. The only necessities are WARMTH and moisture. Some people start slips by standing a root in water. This seems to work. I just prefer soil, especially since I want a good quantity of slips.
