Sweet Potato Growing Guide
Sweet Potato At a Glance
Difficulty
Moderate
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to 10°C
Plant Family
Convolvulaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Suspend a sweet potato half in water; in a few weeks it sends up leafy shoots. Twist off 15 cm slips, root them in water, then plant out once soil is warm (18°C+), burying most of the stem. Space 35 cm apart.
Sweet potatoes are grown from slips, not seed and not by planting the whole tuber. Make your own by half-submerging a sweet potato in water until it sprouts shoots, then snap those off and root them. They need a long, warm, frost-free season.
When To Start
Sweet Potato needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Sweet Potato?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Sweet Potato Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Sweet Potato Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Plant sweet potato slips (warm soil only)
3 weeks after your last frost
Dig sweet potatoes (before first frost)
About 110 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Sweet Potato's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Sweet potatoes love heat — warm soil, full sun, and a long season.
- 2The sprawling vines smother weeds.
- 3Don't over-feed with nitrogen or you'll get lush leaves and small tubers.
- 4Black plastic mulch helps in cool climates.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~110
Days to Maturity
30 cm
Mature Height
150 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
14 days
When to Pick
Dig before the first frost, ~100–120 days after planting
How to Harvest
- 1Lift carefully with a fork before frost (frost ruins the tubers) — the skins are tender, so don't bruise them.
- 2Cure in a warm, humid spot for a week or two to sweeten and toughen the skins before storing.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
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This page is free and stays free. An account adds the one thing a guide cannot do on its own: your own frost dates, so it tells you the weeks to sow sweet potato where you live.
