An Ultimate Guide To Growing Sweet Potatoes In Grow Bags

Author: Saiqa Najeeb
Last Updated On: July 20, 2023

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Are you eager to indulge in the luscious sweetness and velvety texture of homegrown sweet potatoes? With their exceptional nutritional value and unparalleled taste, growing sweet potatoes in grow bags in your own garden can be a truly rewarding experience.

And what’s more, you don’t need a sprawling plot of land to make it happen! In this ultimate guide, we will unravel the art of growing sweet potatoes in grow bags, allowing you to harness their full potential in 2023.

From selecting the right variety to preparing the perfect growing medium, planting, and caring for your sweet potato plants, we’ll provide you with all the knowledge you need to enjoy a bountiful harvest.

About sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a delicious crop with lots of vitamins. It is a warm-season crop, and long, hot growing seasons are ideal for its growth. There are numerous different types, some of which have a shorter lifespan and are better suited to colder climes. Members of the morning glory family, sweet potatoes can be stored for a very long time after harvest and are generally pest-free.

Native to Mexico, sweet potato is a vigorously growing annual ground cover or vine in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. The name of this plant is frequently spelled “Sweet Potato.” The potato (Solanum tuberosum), a member of the Nightshade family (Solanaceae), is only distantly related to it. Warm-to-hot conditions are ideal for growing sweet potatoes in grow bags. Lower than 50°F temperatures can harm plants. In 4 to 5 months, the roots become developed.

Recommended varieties

Firm fleshed or soft fleshed sweet potatoes can be distinguished. The sweet, orange-fleshed cultivars with soft flesh are frequently referred to as yams. Firm-fleshed types, which contain flesh that can be preserved for extended durations, have a light orange, yellow, or even white color.

Although sweet potatoes can have lengthy vines, there are now many compact bush cultivars available. On non-bush types, the vines can be pruned. By matching the maturation period to local growing circumstances, try any of the cultivars for growing sweet potatoes in grow bags from the list below.

Beauregard: Dark orange flesh, light purple skin
Bush Porto Rico: Orange flesh, copper skin
Carolina Bunch: Deep orange flesh, copper skin
Georgia Jet: Orange flesh, red or purple skin
Jewel: Orange flesh, copper skin
Sumor: Light yellow flesh, tan skin
Vardaman Bush: Orange flesh, gold skin
Centennial: Orange flesh, orange skin

Growing Conditions

Light: Full sun (direct sunlight of 6 or more hours a day), Partial Shade (Direct sunlight for only 2-6 hours)

Soil Texture: High Organic Matter, Loam (Silt)

Soil Drainage: Moist, well-drained soil

Required Planting Space: 6 feet to 12 feet

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 9a, 10a, 11a, 11b, 9b, 10b, 11a, 11b

Growing Sweet Potatoes in Grow Bags: Step-by-Step Guide

You may not realize how simple it is growing sweet potatoes in grow bags. By using such a container, the gardener has additional control over an already easy-to-grow plant. Grow bags are a win-win that makes this crop suitable for individuals with little space and make it perfect for beginners!

1 Soil Preparation

2 Planting and Spacing

Slips, which are plant shoots from the root, are used to cultivate sweet potatoes. They can be expanded from vine cuttings as well. Grow your own slips from a root suspended in a water container if you only need a few plants. Place numerous sweet potato roots in the grow bags spaced approximately 1 inch apart, then cover with 2 inches of sand or light soil to grow more plants. When the shoots start to show, add another 1 to 2 inches of sand. Throughout the sprouting stage, never let the soil become soggy. Keep the soil between 70 and 80 °F. When the slips are rooted and 6 to 8 inches tall, they are ready to be pulled in approximately 6 weeks.

3 Mulches

Mulching will help keep the soil moist and lessen weed growth. Plant early sweet potatoes in uncovered soil up to 10 days before to planting through a black plastic mulch. Use floating row coverings to further protect against frost.

3 Watering and fertilization

Sweet potatoes can withstand droughts fairly well. After planting and while they are established, give them plenty of water. However, as the plants get older, they should only be watered sparingly. Root cracking may result from late irrigation.

For the best vine growth and tuber size, sweet potatoes should be side dressed with a supplemental nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of 1/2 lb (21-0-0) per 100 square feet in early July.

4 Managing Pests and diseases

Flea Beetles: Tiny white maggots that burrow into the growing root and feast on it. Use pesticides put to the soil at planting time or cover young seedlings with cloth row covers to keep adult birds away.

Cutworms: These are little (2-inch) green, reddish, or black caterpillars. Cutworms consume vegetation close to the soil’s surface and consume the stem, causing plants to topple over and perish. Eliminate weeds and plant detritus that serve as worms’ hiding places. If populations are large, use the necessary pesticides.

Scurf: Black fungus patches known as scurf on diseased roots. Plant hardy kinds, switch up where you plant, and don’t overwater.

Black Rot: A fungus that causes the root to rot and deteriorate. causes lesions on adult roots and new slips that are sunken. Plant hardy kinds; switch up where you plant; and avoid overwatering.

5 Harvest And Storage

When the roots are between 112 and 2 inches thick, sweet potatoes can be harvested. Starting in late summer, some roots may be “harvested” by digging into the side of the bed and pulling off some growing roots while keeping the plant in place. The majority of gardeners hold off on planting until the leaves begin to turn yellow or the first frost has damaged them, but before the earth has frozen.

Carefully dig up the swollen roots with a spading fork or shovel while being mindful not to cut, bruise, or otherwise harm them. It is advisable to cure the roots for 1-2 weeks at 80°F before keeping them cool and dry (50–55°F) for storage. Sweet potatoes can be kept for three to four months after being properly cured.

Let’s get growing!

With all the valuable insights and techniques you’ve acquired, it’s time to put your knowledge into action and start growing sweet potatoes in grow bags. The joy of watching these delectable tubers thrive and develop is truly fulfilling.

As you begin this sweet potato-growing adventure, remember that every step, from choosing the right variety to caring for your plants, will contribute to a bountiful harvest. So roll up your sleeves, get your grow bags ready, and revel in the delight of homegrown sweet potatoes. Happy planting!