Sweet Potatoes, this vegetable plant cultivated for its tubers, are increasingly popular in our vegetable gardens. They also feature in cooking and lend themselves willingly to many recipes, whether stir-fried, baked or in desserts. Why not try growing them in your vegetable garden? Although exotic, their cultivation is entirely possible in France, provided their water and heat requirements are respected. They are grown almost like potatoes and prefer loose, slightly sandy and well-drained soils. Discover our step-by-step tutorial for planting sweet potato plug plants in the vegetable garden.

The 'Murasaki 29' sweet potato, a new variety with fine-textured flesh and a chestnut flavour, to cook and grow like potatoes in all regions!

When to plant sweet potato plug plants?

Sweet potatoes are plants of exotic origin that are particularly sensitive to late frosts. Plant your plug plants of sweet potatoes from mid-May to June in open ground. It is also possible to plant the plug plants in pots from April, provided they are kept in a greenhouse or in a bright, ventilated room protected from the cold.

→ find all our sweet potato plug plant varieties here.

Step 1: Choose the location

Sweet potatoes need sun and warmth to thrive and produce their tubers. Choose therefore a location bathed in light during the hottest part of the day. They also like rich, loose and well-draining soil.

Step 2: Prepare the soil

  • Using a garden fork or a spade, loosen your soil. You can also add well-rotted compost to enrich your soil.
  • With a rake, refine the soil and form a mound, much like for potatoes. The mound allows the soil to warm up more easily, but also provides loose soil that facilitates tuber development.

Step 3: Plant your sweet potatoes

  • Remove the plug plants from their recycled plastic sleeves. Check that they are moist, otherwise soak the plug in water at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  • With a planting tool, such as a trowel, make holes 5 cm deep at the top of the mound, spaced 30 cm apart.
  • Place your sweet potato plug plant in the hole, then backfill by lightly firming the soil to increase root contact with the soil, but without crushing the mound.

Step 4: Mulching and sweet potato care

  • Apply mulch around the base of your sweet potatoes. Indeed, this plant needs a lot of heat and water to develop, and mulch helps retain soil warmth while keeping the soil moist for longer.
  • Water thoroughly after planting. In the absence of rain, water once or twice a week to keep the soil consistently moist. Increase watering during heatwaves.
  • The stems of sweet potatoes are trailing; they can be left to run along the ground or staked as needed.

Note: Some gardeners rebuild the mound around sweet potatoes at mid-growth, as with potatoes. Personally, I leave this plant undisturbed to avoid breaking its long trailing stems and damaging the future harvest.

Mulching the sweet potato mound: Paradise Manihi and Paradise Kaukura. In the background: Japanese knotweed and courgette plants.

Step 5: Harvesting sweet potatoes

  • Sweet potatoes produce their tubers at the end of the growing season. Harvest takes place from September to November, depending on your region, when the foliage turns yellow.
  • Harvest with a garden fork or a digging fork, taking care not to damage the tubers.

Ingrid's tip: If, like me, you live in a cold region, don't hesitate to place a cloche over your sweet potatoes from early September to encourage tuber development.

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