Sweet potatoes are more popular now than ever before. Not only do they have a lot of vitamins and fiber, but they also have less sugar than regular white potatoes.
And as they’ve become more popular, people have become more interested in growing them in their own backyard gardens.
And why not? Besides being good for your health, sweet potatoes are easy to plant, grow, and pick. Even better, because they are roots, they can be stored and used well into winter.
Here’s how to grow your own sweet potatoes, including how to make sweet potato slips, which can be used as “seeds.”
Under the water, the sweet potato will first grow a few stringy roots. Then, in a few weeks, stems and leaves will start to grow from the top.
Let the stems grow until they reach a length of about 4 inches. Then, carefully twist the base of the sweet potato to remove the stems. Be careful, but don’t worry if some of it breaks off.
Next, put the bottom of the stems into a second jar of water. The stems will float a little, which is okay. Just make sure that the slips aren’t completely submerged.
In a few days, the tips will start to grow roots, and your slips will start to get taller. Let them keep growing and getting bigger until it’s time to plant.
The best part is that your original sweet potato will keep growing new slips in the same place where your old slips are growing. Using this method, you can make several rounds of slips before it’s time to plant.
