The sweet potato is cultivated in many parts of the world, it has a root that is tuberous and is edible, which provides a variety of properties for nutrition, since it contains minerals, fiber and vitamins. This plant has its origin in the inotropic and we find it either in bushes or vines. The two types develop very well with the sun in the summer, which is why it is a more common species in Latin American areas.
The procedure for planting sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are not difficult to grow; they are not obtained through seeds like other plant species, but are multiplied by so-called cuttings.
To start the cuttings, you will need several clean sweet potatoes, each of these can produce between thirty and seventy shoots, if your idea is to produce even more shoots, and you can wash the sweet potatoes and then cut them in half.
Once you have cut the sweet potatoes, put them in a container with water, half under the water and the other half above.
Cuttings
The cuttings must have a good amount of sun so that they can grow quickly and adequately. After a few weeks the sweet potatoes will be covered with small leaves on the part that is outside the water and with roots on the part that is in the water.
Separation of cuttings
Once the plants sprout, you must separate the cuttings so that you can plant them. Take the cuttings and put them in a container where the depth is shallow, thus allowing the leaves to be out on the surface and the bottom part of the stem (at least half) to be in the water. As the days go by, the roots will begin to emerge from its stem, thus forming new plants.
Once the roots reach between three and three and a half centimeters, they are ready to be planted. It is important that you always keep the water of your cuttings clean, since dirty water can cause them to rot, you should also discard those cuttings that you see that have not grown roots, damaged and withered.
The soil and the plantation
Once the sweet potato cuttings are ready, you must prepare the soil before proceeding to sow them, you will need soil that is loose so that good-sized tubers can be produced, where the roots can expand through the soil without any problem, one way to achieve this is to plow the land. You should find a place where the plant can receive at least five hours of sun a day.
Clay and sandy soils with plenty of organic matter (manure and compost) with good ventilation and excellent drainage are preferred.
With a beak it breaks the ground and then it rakes three times, thus seeking to eliminate all stones, roots or weeds, among other things that can be found. You should look for soil conditions to be: drained, ventilated and soft.
The best pH will be between 5.5 and 6.8. To improve the potential that hydrogen may have, add compost or manure, this will activate the biological life in your soil, thus improving the chemical type exchanges that may exist, and the result you will obtain is to improve the pH of a natural way and good ground conditions. If the pH is less than 5 and you don’t have enough organic matter, you can add lime.
Once you have the loose soil, it is time to proceed to plant your cuttings, to do this dig a hole that measures approximately twelve centimeters deep and seven centimeters wide.
Put each leaf in each hole, the roots should be down, put the leaf so that the soil covers half of it and then carefully fill the space with soil, when you do this, then carefully press the soil so that the spaces voids are removed.
Irrigation
Then you must proceed to water, all the land around it must be well wet.
The first week water it every day, the second week water it one day yes and one day no, every week that goes by you must reduce your watering.
Do this watering in the morning, pour plenty of water, although water is good for sweet potatoes, there should not be an accumulation of it in their land, so it is important that you have established good drainage before planting.
Harvest
They will be ready to harvest about five months after you have planted them. At this time, you must uproot or cut down the vines, then remove the soil and finally look for the sweet potatoes.
Be careful not to damage the tubes, as the more wounds they have, the faster they will rot.
