Crop lessons · Tubers and staples
Growing Sweet potatoes in Florida
Ipomoea batatas · Convolvulaceae (morning glory family)
Sweet potatoes are a warm-season vine that handles Florida's summer, grown from rooted vine cuttings called slips and dug about four months later. The young leaves and shoots are also edible, which makes it a summer green as well. The pest to plan around is the sweet potato weevil, so start with certified pest-free slips and move the planting each year.1, 2
Planting1, 2
| How to start | transplant (slips or vine cuttings) |
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| Spacing in the row (inches) | 10 to 12 |
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| Between rows (inches) | 36 |
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| Days to harvest | 85 to 130 (SP 103 table); Gardening Solutions advises at least 120 days, up to 150 |
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The Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide gives planting windows of mid-March to June in North Florida, February to June in Central Florida and December to September in South Florida. Gardening Solutions says to plant after the last frost through the end of June. Start with certified pest-free slips or cuttings: Gardening Solutions suggests slips about 9 to 12 inches long with at least four nodes, two of them buried. It gives 12 to 14 inches between plants in rows 36 inches apart, close to the guide's 10 to 12 inches. Vine tip cuttings from your own plants can start a second crop and stretch the season. 'Vardaman' is a compact bush type for small gardens.
Varieties UF/IFAS lists for Florida1, 2
- Centennial
- Beauregard
- Vardaman
- Porto Rico
- Boniato
Growing2
| Sun | Full or partial sun |
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| Water | Water steadily for the first four to six weeks while plants establish; after that Florida rain is usually enough. In long dry spells, roots can split while they are sizing up (around 100 to 120 days after planting). |
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| Fertilizer | Go light: Gardening Solutions warns that too much fertilizer can keep roots from forming. |
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Thrives in hardiness zones 9a to 11b, in well-drained loam or sandy soil, and tolerates some wetness. Vines can run about 15 feet. Do not leave plants in the ground indefinitely, even where they could grow all year: old plantings build up pests and the roots get tough. Dig the crop and replant.
Pests and diseases in Florida1, 2
- Sweet potato weevil: A serious problem in Florida. Start with certified pest-free slips and rotate the planting site; Gardening Solutions suggests a two-year rotation.
- Nematodes: Can be a problem in Florida; consider a soil test before planting where you have had trouble before.
Harvest2
Dig at least 120 days after planting; leaving the crop up to 150 days can stretch the harvest if weather allows. Cure the roots somewhere dark and warm for about 10 days (ideally around 95 F and 90 percent humidity) so some starch turns to sugar. Drier, white- or purple-fleshed types can be cured in the ground by cutting the vines at the crown and waiting 10 days before digging. Store cured roots in a cool, dry pantry, not the refrigerator: below 50 F they can develop off flavors or rot.
In an aquaponics system3
suited with care
Neither aquaponics source names sweet potato. The FAO manual says root crops and tubers are grown less often in aquaponics, need special attention, and succeed only in deep media beds or wicking beds (pp. 92 and 151-152). This rating reflects that group statement only.
What this lesson doesn't cover yet
- No UF/IFAS home-garden soil pH or fertilizer rate for sweet potato was found.
- Days to harvest differ: SP 103 table 85 to 130 days; Gardening Solutions at least 120 days.
Your county extension office and its Master Gardener volunteers can fill these in for your garden.