Sweet potato - we grow sweet potatoes in the country
Content:
The correct name is sweet potato, but popularly simply sweet potato. Do you want to grow in your country house? No problem! But it is worth adhering to certain rules in order to get a harvest.
First of all, you need to find and order cuttings, since it is impossible to germinate sweet potato tubers from the store, they are still processed and are intended for use as food, and not for further breeding. Please be patient, because shoots appear after a long time.
For the correct planting of sweet potatoes, it is better to choose March or April. And the harvest takes place from July to September.
Planting sweet potatoes
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As in any gardening process, difficulties can arise. In the conditions of cultivation of sweet potatoes, such conditions should be created in which it will grow without prejudice to itself, and then difficulties will bypass the side.
When the first sweet potato cuttings appear, plant them in separate pots with a diameter of up to 8 cm, and place them in a propagator that is not heated.
The next step we need to provide care for the sweet potato: when it reaches 25 cm? need to be transplanted into larger pots or you can already use a special seedling bag. The most favorable temperature is + 22- + 28 degrees, although it can cope with a lower temperature.
Stock up on very fertile soil in advance, because in conditions of a lack of nutrients, it simply will not grow.
How to grow sweet potatoes?
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Once every two weeks, you should pamper your plant with the liquid fertilizer you use for your tomatoes.
When it comes to harvesting, the leaves can be used for food like spinach, but cut them off a little so that the tubers still grow. And they can already be collected in 4-5 months or when the leaves completely wither. At the same time, the harvest can be stored for 6 months, if you observe dryness and coolness in the room.
Pay special attention to pests. The most dangerous for sweet potatoes are the red fruit mite, as well as the whitefly.
Speaking about the soil and air in greenhouses, it is worth noting that in dry and hot weather, they dry out quickly enough. Accordingly, in order to avoid such situations, it is necessary to constantly moisten: walls, floors, shelves. This procedure is carried out every day from the end of May or the beginning of the summer month, depending on weather conditions. Due to the evaporation of water, surfaces are cooled, and accordingly the loss of moisture is replenished. You prevent the appearance of such pests as red fruit mites in advance. Closer to July, the temperature can rise even higher and the frequency of humidification can reach up to three times a day.
And remember! A sweet potato needs a lot of space.
Sweet potato varieties
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The most recommended varieties of sweet potatoes:
- Georgia Jet. The tubers inside this variety have a dark orange tint.
- Grade T65 will give you a creamy yellow tint.
- Beauregard Impruvd has orange-pink tubers inside.
- The variety O.Henry the tubers are white-cream inside.
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Batat: photo