Sweet Potatoes in Washington State

Early this spring, I planted red, yellow, white, purple and fingerling potatoes. I was getting into growing potatoes!

So I was looking for another kind of potatoes to plant. Aha! Sweet potatoes! We love sweet potatoes! I headed to my local nursery. "You can't grow sweet potatoes in Washington! No, we don't carry starts that you'll just kill!"

Challenge accepted!

Apparently sweet potatoes come from Central and South America, and are grown in the US mostly in North Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and California. Washington is too cold to grow sweet potatoes.

Folks that know me, know that the best way to get me to do something is to tell me it can't be done. I grew cantaloupes and watermelons in Bellingham (successfully) for no better reason than that. They were small, but they were also yummy.

So I ordered a dozen starts from George the Tatorman. One of the varieties is called Georgia Jets, and is suitable for growing in more northern climates (apparently, like Georgia). Georgia Jets are known for their "remarkable hardiness. Great for our northern neighbors. Has rose petal skin that truly stands out in the field. Light orange meat. Excellent baker. Matures in 80-90 days with normal rainfall."

Research suggests that the big thing for sweet potatoes is the soil temperature. I've got a couple of very large bins in the greenhouse that I'll be growing them in.

I have seven plants; here are the first four. I planted these in mid-May. These are pretty closely packed, as far as commercial sweet potato growers talk about. As a result, I'll get smaller sweet potatoes, "suitable for baking," rather than the huge ones in the grocery store.

Apparently, I've been contagious: I've got a couple of friends with greenhouses going on them as well.

More news as it breaks.

 

Here's how they're doing on the first of June. It looks to me like they're doing reasonably well. I wonder why some are doing better than others.
 
This weekend I gave them each a spoonful of 8-10-10 fertilizer.

And here we are the tenth of June. They're growing fast.

Me? Excited? What makes you think that?