Purple Sweet Potato Vine Care

Sweet potato vines can be overwintered indoors from tubers or cuttings.

Purple sweet potato vine care. This is a good way to overwinter sweet potato vines because they will last all winter in the water and be ready to plant in the spring. Sweet potatoes need a loamy soil with a ph between 5 0 6 5. Feed sweet potato vine only if growth appears weak as the plant generally requires no fertilizer. In many cultures all parts of the plant leaves stems and roots were used for animal fodder.

Dust any loose soil off of the tubers. Remove all the leaves on the bottom few inches and submerge the stem in water. Apply a general purpose water soluble fertilizer as directed on the label and water immediately. How do you store sweet potato vine tubers.

Sweet potatoes aren t finicky about the texture of the ground they grow in but if your soil is full of rocks and clumps you may end up with oddly shaped potatoes at the end of the season. You typically don t have to worry about fertilizing sweet potato vine unless you want it to grow faster. Purple sweet potato vine plants also attracts flea beetles and potato wireworms. Store dormant tubers in a cool dry place and replant in spring.

In a few days you should see roots. Water the plant as needed to keep the soil evenly moist but not drenched. Then cut back the vine to just a couple of inches and spread a thick layer of mulch around the container to act as a blanket to protect the roots. The field will serve as their breeding ground and their eggs will fall just beside the plant.

Heeling in sweet potato vines over winter if your region doesn t often receive sustained freezes you can simply bury the container in which the vines grow in mounded soil. If you grow it in containers be sure the pots have drainage to allow excess water to escape. Plants can also be brought indoors and treated as houseplants. The plant grows best in moist well drained soil.

Though prolific growers you may fertilize monthly if desired using a general all purpose water soluble fertilizer. If the ground stays too wet for too long sweet potato vine may rot and die. And finally researchers are beginning to investigate using sweet potato varieties to produce biofuel. Sweet potato vines are easy to grow from existing plants.

You should amend your soil with lots of rich organic matter and make sure that it is well drained. Between early may and june these pests come out of the ground to feed on the foliage. Check the soil daily especially during warm dry summer weather. While tolerant of drought these plants prefer to be kept moist not soggy.

Purple sweet potato juice has long been used for food coloring.