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How to grow Sweet potatoes in the UK

Grown from 'slips' (little rooted cuttings) that arrive by post in May. They love heat - find your sunniest spot.

• DifficultyA bit more care
• WhereBeds or Pots
• Grows to30cm
• Spacing30cm
• Time to first pickabout 16 weeks

When to sow, plant and harvest sweet potatoes

Dates are for central England. Sow about two weeks later in the north and Scotland, and up to two weeks earlier in the south and south west. Get the dates for your postcode.

Planting it

1. When your slips arrive, stand them in a jar of water for a day to perk up
2. Plant them deep - bury the stem right up to the top few leaves
3. Space the slips 30cm apart in the row, with rows 75cm apart
4. Water well, and cover with fleece for the first couple of weeks to keep them warm

Top tips for growing sweet potatoes

• Buy slips of a variety bred for the UK, like 'Beauregard' or 'Murasaki'.
• They need warmth: a greenhouse, a big pot on a sunny patio, or a bed covered in black plastic works best.

Looking after sweet potatoes

• Week 1: Water every few days in dry weather - but they don't need feeding
• Week 8: Lift the long trailing stems now and then, so they don't root into the ground and make lots of tiny potatoes

Soil and feeding

Light, warm, sandy soil. They like light soil that warms up fast. No manure - it makes lots of leaves and few potatoes.

Pests and problems

• Slugs & snails: munch seedlings overnight, worst in wet weather
• Mice: dig up and eat big seeds like peas, beans and sweetcorn

• Cover with fleece for the first 2 weeks to keep them warm
• Go on a slug hunt at dusk with a torch and move them far away
• Sink a jam jar into the soil with a little beer in it - slugs fall in

Harvesting and eating sweet potatoes

Dig them up before the first frost, when the leaves start to yellow. Dig gently - the skin bruises easily.

How to eat them: Bake whole like a jacket potato, or cut into wedges and roast.

Storing sweet potatoes

Keeps 2-3 months once dried.

• Dry them somewhere warm first (see the 'Dry your sweet potatoes' job)
• Keep in a cool cupboard - NOT the fridge, the cold spoils them

Cook first - bake or mash - then freeze in portions.

Good varieties of sweet potatoes

• Beauregard: The most reliable in UK summers.
• Murasaki: Purple skin, white flesh.

Saving your own sweet potatoes seed

Grow them from a stored sweet potato in spring.

1. Keep one sweet potato somewhere cool over winter
2. In March, half-bury it in damp compost somewhere warm
3. Shoots (slips) grow from it - snap them off at 15cm and stand them in water until they root

Things to build for sweet potatoes

• Bottle cloches:

Where to buy sweet potatoes plants

Thompson & Morgan · Suttons · Amazon

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Sweet potatoes questions

When do I plant out sweet potatoes?

Plant sweet potatoes out from early June to mid June, once the last frost has passed.

When can I pick sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes is ready from mid September to mid October. Dig them up before the first frost, when the leaves start to yellow. Dig gently - the skin bruises easily.

How long do sweet potatoes take to grow?

Roughly 16 weeks from sowing or planting until the first harvest.

Are sweet potatoes easy to grow?

Sweet potatoes are rated 'a bit more care' for beginners, and can be grown in the ground or a raised bed or in pots and containers.