When to Harvest Sweet Potatoes for the Most interesting Yield

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are sometimes harvested about 100 to 110 days after planting or when the plant’s leaves start to yellow. Though, sweet potatoes can proceed to develop after their leaves start to yellow, and harvesting spuds too early can in the reduction of the size of your crop,

In the event you want to harvest sweet potatoes on the wonderful time, these harvesting solutions will present you the right way to resolve exactly when to reap sweet potatoes for big and interesting spuds that ultimate.

When to Harvest Sweet Potatoes

Some fast-growing sweet potatoes is likely to be harvested in merely 85 days, whereas others take about 160 days to attain their mature dimension.  

In most areas, sweet potato harvest season lasts from September to early October, nevertheless chilly temperatures, drought, and totally different elements might trigger sweet potatoes to develop a bit slower.

Merely perceive that sweet potatoes are delicate to chilly and they should always be harvested sooner than a killing frost.

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4 Indicators Your Sweet Potatoes Are In a position to Harvest

Awaiting positive indicators of ripeness will present you the right way to pinpoint the right time to pick sweet potatoes and present you the right way to stay away from overripe and underripe spuds.

Some key indicators that harvest time has arrived embody:

1. The date in your calendar. Evaluation the harvesting dates for the forms of sweet potatoes you’re rising and mark these harvesting dates in your calendar. It would present you the right way to keep observe of the approximate time when your vegetation is likely to be ready.
2. Yellow and wilted leaves. Sweet potatoes sometimes experience a progress spurt on the end of the season and spuds can get bigger even after the plant leaves start to yellow. While you sometimes don’t want to pull sweet potatoes up on the primary indicators of yellowed leaves, yellowing leaves do level out that harvest time is approaching.
3. Frost on the forecast. Although sweet potatoes can take care of some cool local weather, vegetation gained’t survive a troublesome, killing frost. If frost is on the forecast, it’s time to dig up your sweet potatoes.
4. Large tubers. No person needs to reap small, underripe sweet potatoes, nevertheless you could pull up a examine tuber or two to get a higher considered how your crop is maturing. If the examine sweet potato is a usable dimension, or about 2 inches in diameter by 5 inches prolonged, there’s an excellent chance the rest of the roots are ready to reap.

7 Solutions for Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

Must you’re rising sweet potatoes in pots or develop baggage, dump the rising containers on a tarp and purchase the buried spuds.

Nonetheless, in case you occur to’re rising sweet potatoes in inground gardens or raised beds, these quick harvesting solutions will present you the right way to accumulate damage-free sweet potatoes with out quite a bit work.

• Take away the leaves. Sweet potato vegetation produce lush and leafy vines that will make it powerful to search out buried spuds. For easier digging, reduce away a number of of those sweet potato leaves sooner than harvesting.
• Reduce watering. Allowing the soil to dry out for numerous days sooner than harvesting lets sweet potato skins toughen up and might also assist spuds ultimate just a bit longer in storage.
• Work rigorously. Use a spading fork or hand shovel to softly loosen the soil spherical sweet potato plant crowns after which elevate the tubers from the soil. Take care to not reduce by sweet potato roots as damaged tubers don’t ultimate prolonged in storage.
• Harvest on an overcast day. Tender sweet potato skins is likely to be damaged by scorching photo voltaic, so always harvest sweet potatoes on a cloudy day or cowl up the spuds with a tarp immediately after harvesting!
• Cope with gently. Have in mind to take care of sweet potatoes rigorously and stay away from tossing them into harvest buckets or stacking them in heavy piles—their tender skins bruise merely.
• Don’t miss hidden spuds. Sweet potatoes produce most of their tubers immediately beneath the plant crown, although they could develop smaller clusters of tubers alongside their vines. Actually really feel beneath any rooted sections of sweet potato vines to unearth extra spuds.
• Use the leaves. Don’t throw out these sweet potato leaves—they’re edible and is likely to be cooked up just like kale or spinach.

One of the best ways to Retailer Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes is likely to be eaten immediately after harvesting, or you could therapy sweet potatoes and retailer them in a cool, darkish root cellar for as a lot as 10 months. Curing makes sweet potatoes even sweeter, nonetheless it moreover extends their shelf life by thickening their skins and inflicting small blemishes to callous over.

To therapy sweet potatoes:

• Don’t wash your potatoes after harvesting.
• Unfold damage-free tubers in a warmth, darkish, and humid spot.
• Allow them to dry and therapy for 1 to 2 weeks.
• Brush the skins to remove additional mud, and loosely pack the tubers in ventilated packing containers or baskets until you’re capable of dig in.