Someone wrote about making your own slips from putting sweet potatoes halfway in water. It worked great, I have thin white roots growing in the water. I also have very thick purple ones on top of the dry part of the potato. I'm supposed to pull them off and plant them after the last frost. What I'm wanting to know is, is it the thick top part or the thin roots in water that gets pulled off. The thin ones don't seem sturdy enough to live after replanting. Any help would be appreciated.
You pull the leafy sprouts that will develop from the sweet potato. When you plant this sprout just make a slit in the soil and pour some water in, then stick the sprout in and firm the soil around the roots. You cannot kill the plant, it is a tough suvivor!
Don't you leave (or cut) a thin part of the actual potato? I'm just asking.. I have NO idea.. but thank you so much for bringing this 'age old mystery' (to me!) to a end.. FINALLY!!
I did the same thing putting the potatoe in water then my sprouts started loosing leaves so when they got to 6 inches or so I pulled them off the potatoe and stuck them in another glass of water, then when they rooted I planted in potting soil the are very green and beautifull again.
The slips should be broken off without a piece of potato. They will take root in water even though they don't have any roots when you break them off. We take a half gallon milk or juice carton with one side cut out to start them in. We mix a little good soil with the water to give the plants some nutrients. This needs to be in as bright a window as you have. You can leave them there until time to set them out in the garden. Don't use water that has been through a softener. Put your potato in a window if you haven't already. If you start them too early, they will be 3 feet long at planting time. If the slips grow too long break a bout 8 inches off and stick that in water also.
we always started ours in a soil mix and pulled the slipps when they got large enough they would have roots on the stem .. thesweet potatoes were burried about 3'' deep in sand or soil mix. the best methode is to take cuttings from the vines as the get long enough and place them in a potting mix and let them root then keep cutting as the vines get long enough...
Thank you for the help. The slips you can order are expensive. This way we can have sweet potatoes for very little cost.
