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Sweet potato side shoots

Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
in Fruit & veg
What should we do with the sweet potato shoots that are growing taller and taller by the day?

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    I think the general advice is to not prune them but nip out the tips of any going off in a direction where they'll cause trouble.  Don't let the vines root where they touch the ground though.  I grew them in 2014 in a cheap green polytunnel but didn't get a significant crop - light was quite poor and maybe they didn't like my clay soil.  Might try again next now that I've replaced the poly tunnel with a glass greenhouse.  Old photo:

    Others on here have done well with them though.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    Thanks for your helpful advice Bob, it is always good to learn from other growers experiences.  I will keep twisting them around the bamboo and strings and nip the ends if they become too wild.
  • Fif2Fif2 Posts: 69
    I don't nip out the tips, but I let them ramble on the ground. I don't normally have a problem with them rooting but I do check them now and then.  I've have some good and some not so good years, but I keep trying.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    It's all a question of learning as we go along.  Everyone's growing conditions are slightly different, but it is good to hear what others have experienced.
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