How-to: Sweet potatoes

01 Quick spec

Long summer window

12–18"

Slip spacing

90–120d

Slip to harvest

North-TX planting window: set slips after the last frost and once soil is warm (~late Apr–May). Sweet potatoes love the heat and sandy soil, sizing roots through the long summer, then dig before the first frost (~mid-Nov) — about 90–120 days.

02 Growing it here

Built for a Texas summer

Sweet potatoes want one long hot season and our sandy North Texas soil is close to ideal — loose ground lets the roots size up cleanly. They thrive in heat that stresses other crops, need little fuss once established, and are drought-tough. This is a "plant it and walk away until fall" crop, which is exactly why it earns a bed in a two-person market garden.

Plant slips, not seed

You plant slips (rooted shoots), not seed or whole roots. Set them after frost into warm soil (~May), ideally on raised ridges/hills for drainage and easy digging, spaced 12–18" in rows ~3' apart. The vines run and cover the ground as a living mulch. Keep weeds down early; after that they out-compete most everything.

03 The year

Month	What
Mar–Apr	Start or order slips; build raised ridges.
Late Apr–May (after frost, soil warm)	Plant slips on hills/ridges.
Jun	Weed early; vines begin to run and cover ground.
Jul–Sep	Roots bulk up through the heat — minimal care.
Oct (before ~mid-Nov frost)	Harvest at 90–120 days; dig carefully.
Oct–Nov	Cure warm/humid ~10 days, then store cool.

04 Problems & what to watch

Pests & disease

Sweet potato weevil is the headline pest — plant clean slips and rotate beds. Wireworms and root-knot nematodes chew and scar roots in sandy soil; rotation and organic matter help. Voles/deer browse vines and roots — fence if pressure is high.

Heat

Heat is welcome — sweet potatoes keep growing in temperatures that stall other crops. The real risk is frost: a freeze kills vines and can damage the roots below, so dig before the ~mid-Nov first frost. In drought, an occasional deep soak keeps roots sizing.

05 Harvest & beginner mistakes

Stage	Do this
Digging	Loosen with a fork well away from the crown; sweet potatoes bruise and cut easily.
Curing	Cure ~10 days at 80–85°F and high humidity — this sweetens them and heals the skin.
Storage	Then store cool (~55–60°F) and dry; cured roots keep for months. Never refrigerate.

Beginner mistakes to skip: planting slips into cold soil; skipping the cure (uncured roots are bland and rot fast); storing in the fridge (cold damages them); and waiting past frost to dig, which ruins the crop you waited all summer for.