Sweet Potato Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Varieties | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Curing | Storage | Michigan Tips | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Sweet Potatoes:

• Start slips 10-12 weeks before transplanting (February).
• Transplant late May when soil reaches 65°F.
• Space slips 12-18 inches apart in rows 3-4 feet apart – they need room to sprawl!
• Sunlight: Full sun (8+ hours) essential for good yields.
• Soil Type: Well-drained, loose sandy loam with pH 5.8-6.2.
• Soil Amendment: Add compost but avoid high nitrogen which produces leaves over roots

Growing sweet potatoes in Michigan is challenging but rewarding – success requires every warm day we can give them!

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Minimum 65°F soil, optimal 70-75°F.

• Transplanting: Wait until soil is consistently 65°F+ (late May/early June).
• Growing: Need 70-95°F air temperatures for best growth.
• Growth stops below 60°F – every warm day counts!
• Frost sensitive – harvest before soil drops to 55°F.

Black plastic mulch can raise soil temperature 5-10°F !

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: Critical during root development (mid-season).
• Watering: 1 inch weekly until final month, then reduce to sweeten.
• Black Plastic Mulch: Install before planting – warms soil and conserves moisture.
• Fertilizer: Low nitrogen (5-10-10) at planting, side-dress once.
• Vine Management: Lift and move vines periodically to prevent rooting at nodes.

🍠 Varieties:

‘Georgia Jet’ (90 days), ‘Beauregard’ (90-100 days), ‘Centennial’ (90-100 days).

• ‘Georgia Jet’ (90 days): Best for Michigan – earliest maturing, good yields.
• ‘Beauregard’ (90-100 days): Disease resistant, stores well, most popular.
• ‘Centennial’ (90-100 days): Good for clay soils, uniform roots.
• ‘Covington’ (110 days): Only for southern Michigan with season extension.

📏 Harvest Signs:

90-120 days from planting. Harvest before soil drops to 55°F (early October).

• Check maturity by digging one test hill at 90 days.
• Leaves yellowing slightly indicates maturity.
• Must harvest before first frost or when soil reaches 55°F.
• Sweet potatoes don’t show obvious above-ground signs like regular potatoes.

In Michigan, calendar watching is crucial – mark 90-100 days from planting!

🧺 Harvesting:

Dig carefully on dry day. Handle gently. Brush off soil.

• Always dig from the side – sweet potatoes bruise very easily.
• Use hands to feel for roots after loosening with fork.
• Avoid skinning – damaged sweet potatoes don’t cure properly.
• Don’t wash before curing – just brush off soil.
• Handle like eggs – bruises lead to rot in storage.

🌡️ Curing:

Michigan challenge – need 85-90°F, 85% humidity. Use plastic bags in sunny window or furnace room.

• Curing is essential – converts starch to sugar and heals wounds.
• Standard method: 85-90°F with 85% humidity for 7-10 days.
• Michigan workaround: Place in ventilated plastic bags near furnace or water heater.
• Alternative: Sunny enclosed porch or greenhouse in early October.
• After curing: Gradually reduce temperature to storage conditions.

📦 Storage:

After curing, store at 55-60°F for 6-12 months.

• Ideal conditions: 55-60°F with 75-80% humidity.
• Never refrigerate – cold damage ruins flavor and texture.
• Basement storage often perfect in Michigan homes.
• Wrap individually in newspaper for longest storage.
• Check regularly – remove any showing soft spots.
• Properly cured sweet potatoes can last 12+ months!

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• Raised beds essential.
• Black plastic mulch.
• Row covers.
• Container option.
• Start slips indoors by February 15 – don’t delay!
• Pre-warm soil with plastic 2 weeks before transplanting.
• South-facing slopes or near heat-reflecting walls help.
• Consider high tunnels for serious production.
• Growing in large containers allows moving to warmest spots.

🧠 Fun Facts:

• Morning glories, not potatoes.
• More nutrients than spinach!
• Sweet potatoes are not related to regular potatoes at all – they’re in the morning glory family.
• Native to Central and South America, cultivated for 5,000+ years.
• Orange varieties high in beta-carotene were developed in the 1930s.
• One cup provides 400% of daily vitamin A needs.
• North Carolina produces 60% of U.S. sweet potatoes.
• George Washington Carver developed 118 products from sweet potatoes!