Very good yield from unknown sweetpotato variety

Sweet Tatorman's picture

For the third year I have been growing an unknown variety of sweetpotato that I propagated from two potatoes given to me in the Spring three years ago. The backstory is that this is a type that is reported to be diabetic friendly and I am growing it as a favor for a woman whose husband is diabetic. I have made considerable effort to ID the variety and the only thing I could come up with is "O'Henry" but I have low confidence in that ID. The O'Henry was a chance mutation of the Beauregard variety which is a commonly grown commercial variety which I grew a few times many years ago but did not much care for it. The growth habit of this mystery variety is very much like what I remember of the Beauregard which is to say *extremely* viny; 6 ft or more.
I dug this one today and had a very good yield of 236 lbs from 40 ft of row at 40" row spacing with 8" plant spacing within the row which is 60 plants. The yield of 3.93 lbs/plant I think is the best I've ever had though at 0.66 lbs/ft^2 is no where near the best I've had by that metric.

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That looks wonderful. Our best year here in the Salt Lake area was close to 100lbs. That harvest came from a patch about 15'x4' and I don't remember how many plants. If sweet potatoes will grow for you, they GROW!

ClareBroommaker's picture

Oh, excellent. But I think your house in the background needs a little attention. ;-)

David Trammel's picture

It had spray painted on it "Well, At Least I Got That Spider".

The yield on that potato looks amazing. I wonder how it would do as just a couple of plants in a small garden bed?

Sweet Tatorman's picture

In a small garden bed you would likely get a high yield/plant provided the vines are allowed to sprawl at will beyond the bed. As a general rule, the more area covered by vines per plant the higher the yield per plant and the larger the average size but with lower yield per square foot covered. In the photo above some of the end of row plants that had unlimited room to sprawl without competition yielded 7-8 lbs/plant with some very large potatoes. Comment above contingent upon adequate sunlight.

Sweet Tatorman's picture

It went all in on the "collapse now" thing.

kma's picture

That is a thing of beauty! What zone are you in??

I tried upping my 'calorie' garden this year with squashes but the squirrels got my butternuts. Maybe sweet potatoes are a better focus for me next year.

David Trammel's picture

I'm a big fan of tubers and plants which don't look like food. Won't necessarily help with the non-human pests but if we ever saw a crisis, not being known for your bountiful and huge garden in your yard, though you have plenty of flowers, might be a good thing.

One observation, I've read that many times the damage squirrels do to your veggies is because they are seeking water and not food. I know they tend to take a single bite out of my big tomatoes, then move on. Try putting out some sources of water among your plants next year. A low bird bath that a squirrel can get to as well as birds.

kma's picture

I will try that next year b/c they also took out my precious one (!) watermelon that I was able to grow. Yes, they do few bites.

Thanks!

Sweet Tatorman's picture

I am pretty similar to your area. Per the most recent USDA Hardiness zone map I am in zone 7 near the 7/8 boundary. I believe you at in zone 8 near the 7/8 boundary. Our latitudes are nearly identical.

kma's picture

Ah, I am colder - 5b but in a warm spot so I can do a little more. I've planted an extra I got from a friend and grown some small ones with zero work before but seeing your yield makes me want to add this to the top of my garden to do list (the list must be 100+ plants by now!)

Sweet Tatorman's picture

My mistake. I was confusing you with another new forum member, Corrach-the-blue.

ClareBroommaker's picture

Agricultural zones are based on minimum winter temperatures. What matters for sweet potato growth is summer heat and length. I bet you could grow sweet potatoes anywhere in Iowa. I like them, too for their hands-off, no fuss nature. I do cage them against rabbits early until they grow to about 5-6 times their cutting size, then weed between them until the vines mesh. I have little space, therefore let the vines run all together and plant kind of close together in a squarish bed (not raised) rather than in rows....I encourage you to grow them again.

Sweet Tatorman's picture

FWIW, the guy that maintains what is likely the largest collection of sweetpotato varieties in this country is in Iowa which is almost entirely zone 5. Of those that I am currently growing I believe I originally sourced 3 from him. In the past I have grown at least a dozen that were sourced from him.

Do you think I could grow sweet potatoes on Vancouver Island? The growing season is long, but the summer doesn't get hot (the heat dome excluded, that was downright bizarre). Are there varieties that can take a cool summer?

Sweet Tatorman's picture

There is a long answer and a short answer to your question. The short answer is no. If you want the long answer, do a search on the topic of growing degree days [GDD] if you are not familiar with the concept. If your climate has fewer than 1200 GDD using a base temperature of 60F [operating in F not C here] then you would be wasting your time trying even the very short season varieties.

I do know one person who grows them on the coast of the mainland about 100k north of me, but I think they're a specific variety, he didn't get much, and I've never heard of anyone else here growing them, or been able to obtain any locally. So it can be done, but people generally don't bother, and I'm probably better off sticking to regular potatoes until climate change has gone a bit further. Thanks.

My wife bought a couple of sweet potatoes from the grocery store this spring (not supposed to do that...you don't know what they are) and we grew slips in the windowsill. Planted them in an old 150 gal cow drinker tank and a couple of 55 gal plastic barrels filled with well composted horse poop, dressed with a few handfulls of ground litter from the chicken pen for nitrogen. Watered them with the hose every couple of days. Last week we harvested a bumper crop! Admittedly this summer was warmer than normal.

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