{"id":2625,"date":"2014-09-22T16:14:49","date_gmt":"2014-09-22T16:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/?p=2625"},"modified":"2025-10-10T15:15:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T19:15:01","slug":"how-to-harvest-sweet-potatoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homegardenjoy.com\/site\/2014\/09\/how-to-harvest-sweet-potatoes.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Harvest Sweet Potatoes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you grew sweet potatoes, it’s important to learn how to harvest sweet potatoes<\/a> properly. The right time and method can help you keep them fresh during the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, we\u2019re celebrating fall by celebrating one of my favorite vegetables: sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes<\/a> are an excellent source of vitamin A, with each potato providing over 700% of your daily RDA for this important vitamin. They\u2019re also a great source of vitamin C, providing 65% of your daily requirements for vitamin C, too. And they taste great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that sweet potatoes<\/a> have been cultivated for approximately 10,000 years? That\u2019s not a typo. Remains of cultivated sweet potatoes have been found by archaeologists and tentatively dated to 8,000 B.C.  South Americans grew sweet potatoes around this time, with evidence suggesting that Central Americans grew them as early as 5,000 B.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweet potatoes need long, hot summers to grow to maturity. There are newer varieties that can be grown in more northern climates. North Carolina is the sweet potato capital here in America, with Georgia and Virginia also producing an abundant crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"sweet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sweet Potatoes in My Home Garden<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can personally vouch for the abundant crop in Virginia. The first year that I grew sweet potatoes, I didn\u2019t realize that the vines do tend to wilt after planting the slips, or starter plants. I panicked and planted double the amount I needed. The result was a whopping 63 pounds of sweet potatoes from about 20 plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year is my fifth year growing sweet potatoes, and I did not panic. I planned my garden carefully. I purchased a package of 8 starter slips of \u201cBeauregard,\u201d a good variety for my zone 6b garden, and planted just 8 plants in early May.\u00a0 This weekend, I harvested the sweet potatoes, set them in the garage to cure, and canned 6 quarters for the winter. \u00a0 Canning sweet potatoes is also my blog topic for the Celebrate the Flavor of Fall blogger event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Harvest Sweet Potatoes<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other varieties of potatoes, sweet potatoes do not die back when they\u2019re ready to be harvested. Instead, they give you very subtle clues that the delicious sweet potatoes are ready to be harvest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signs That Sweet Potatoes Are Ready for Harvest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n