Planting Again

 I started my own sweet potato slips for the third year in a row.  They are getting so darn expensive to mail order that considering the amount I end up growing it is not cost effective to order new each year.  But growing slips from my own stock is free.  Last year I tried growing them in 7 gallon containers which proved to be just a little too shallow.  I had a few tubers that were blunted off when they reached the bottom.  So I am back to my large, 25 gallon grow bags.

I took one of my nicer remaining tubers and put it in potting soil under a grow light back in March.  A few weeks ago I broke the slips off of the tuber and placed them in a jar of water and put that out in the cold frame where they could get used to some sun.  If you skip the hardening off process you risk losing all your slips when you plant them out.  The roots look amazing.

When I order slips through the mail all I get is unrooted stems with all of the leaves wilted and dead wrapped in soggy newspaper.  It is always an unimpressive, expensive little bundle.  As an example, below is a picture from 2021 with the same grow bag planted with three mail order slips.  Can you see 'em in there?  Me neither...

My own slips are absolutely superior to those.  I have a few backups in case one of them doesn't take.  The original tuber is still under grow lights putting out more little baby slips.  I estimate I could get two dozen slips from a standard sized tuber.  

These 25 gallon grow bags will support four or five plants with enough room to put on some good size.  There is always a chance that one or more will not take.  I amend the soil with regular Garden-tone fertilizer and Bone Meal which helps develop stronger roots.  And a sweet potato is just a root after all.

I put five in each bag and then mulched them in with shredded leaves.  This is to help the soil stay moist and not dry out on top.  While I was in the leaf bin I got out enough to mulch in the cole crops.

Leaf mulch is important in this situation because of the fact that the bed is covered securely and that makes it difficult to pull a weed here and there.  The leaf mulch pretty much eliminates weeding all season and the insect mesh prevents the leaves from blowing out of the bed.

The peas and lettuce bed is growing well.

I planted carrots in containers (not much to see there) and transplanted most of my indeterminate tomato varieties.  I also finished planting my dahlia tubers.  I got the large decorative ones done in the main dahlia beds the other day but I also have some singles that I put along the walkway to the garden.  The sprouts on the large decoratives are already beginning to peak through the soil.  Since they are getting such a great head start I hope I get some earlier blooms this year.  It is so tough to wait until the end of July to see any blooms!