If you want to grow a sweet potato vine plant, all you need to do is to follow the next steps. Is easy and inexpensive to grow, and is a very sweet decorative plant for any home. This solution can pe perfect for a kitchen windowsill.
How to make:
- Take a sweet potato that has several eyes.
- Stick four or more toothpicks or shortened skewers into the middle of the potato. Suspend the potato in a wide-mouth glass jar resting the toothpicks on the glass rim to support the potato. Fill the jar with water until it covers some of the eyes on the bottom of the potato.
- Place the jar in an area with filtered light and watch the roots grow and the eyes sprout.
- When the plant has developed a good root system and has grown at least three leaves on each sprout, move it to a pot and cover the roots and the potato with soil.
- Clip the ends of the vines when they reach eight to 10 inches long to encourage a bushier plant. Fertilize the plant on a regular basis and enjoy the beautiful results.
Looks just like one of my favorite hanging plants on the patio. I purchased it from an estate sale and just love it. I’m sure that is what it is. I am going to plant some more.
How long will it take to grow eyes
I bought a couple of sweet potatoes to try this out, after about a week and a half, I didn’t see any eyes, so I baked one of the potatoes with cinnamon. another week later and the second one finally developed eyes. teeny tiny little burgundy ones.
Could you use an ordinary potato for this project too?
no they do not grow the same way
it’s not true at all that you can’t grow ordinary potatoes this way as Tamira says. I have just grown some beautiful vines exactly this way without toothpicks and can do it again…super easy
This is a very good idea, I will try and see, what happen in the winter? will it survive in the winter out side,?
can i use ordinary potato insted of sweet one?
Yes, sweet or brown potato….will work fine…….they will have different foliage.
How many sweet potatoes does this concept yield when you plant one do you end up with one sweet potato in the end?
You can also put sweet potatoes that have eyes in a flower pot outside along with your flowers at the end of summer, dump out the dirt and you will have new sweet potatoes to eat.
A potato doesn’t grow eyes. It has to have them prior to attempting to sprout it. The eyes grow either roots or shoots according to where they are positioned – in the water, or out.
Look for a potato that has several round spots on it. Those are the eyes.
Regular potatoes get eyes too, lots of off white “roots” looking eyes. Easy to grow
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How long will the plant last. Does it go away at the end of the season.? Is this a year around plant?
The first picture shows sprouted (ordinary) potato. Is it possible to use them, instead of sweet potatoes?
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I tried this with very successful results!
I let the root system grow to full length
Of mason jar then planted it in potting
soil. Beautiful plant!
I’ve tried doing this several times and the sweet potatoes always rot before growing roots or shoots… with potatoes it makes more sense. I’ll try with regular ones, hope it looks as beautiful as the one in the picture
How do I get those beautiful, bright, vibrant green leaves to grow? I started some in 2 medium sized pots but they are a dull green. I was hoping for that other bright green. Is there a particular sweet potato brand? Thanks in advance.
Try adding some epsom salts to your soil when planting and/or watering with epsom salt disolved in the water.
Epsom salt has magniesium which helps the plant pick up nutrients from the soil and that the leaves need to photsynthesize properly.
Epsom salt is beificial for any plant that has dull weak leaves. Is also vry good for any plants that have a low leaf to fruit ratio such as tomatos and peppers etc. It helps make the leaves more productive and thereby the overall plant health better.
If your having trouble getting a sweet potato to start growing or it doesn’t look that great, try using an ‘organic’ sweet potato, it can make a BIG difference.
One nice thing about this plant is that the leaves are editable. I sauté them with a little butter, salt and pepper. Has a lot of nutrition.
I have a question regarding the sweet potatoes used. We tried this last year and never got a single root. left it nearly all summer long and only ended up with a small little leaf at the top. Do you need to use organic sweet potatoes? heard that regular ones are treated so they don’t sprout as readily….. thanks
The leaves and such are NOT safe to eat OMG … Don’t do this
Sweet potato leaves are edible, you can sauté or blanch in hot water for a delicious ensalada with lemon, salt and pepper. Also a good source of protein, calcium, iron, Vit A & C, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Magnesium , Potassium and more.
In the Philippines, leaves are eaten fresh in salads. They can also be a good substitute for spinach in dishes. Sweet potato leaves are best when cooked quickly, like in stir frying or steaming, so to not lose essential nutrients. Boiling the greens also works, but you may lose extra vitamins in the water.
Sweet potato leaves are totally safe to eat!
I have done this the last two years. Last year I had a hard time getting them started and I do believe that they are treated prevent sprouting so organic should work better. Also I like to use the red sweet potatoes (often called yams, which they are NOT) to get the burgundy leaves.
Sweet potatoe leaves are edible are delicious. However regular potatoes vines and leaves are poisonous as they are part of the nightshade family, maybe that is where you are confused.
Ordinary sweet potatoes from the produce department are generally sprayed to make them last longer. This does something to the flesh that prevents the eyes from rooting or shooting (produce slips). You need to get organic ones or from a Farmer’s Market likely. I did the same thing with the same result, then tried again with organic sweet potatoes and within 60 hours I had roots. This is the time of year to try and, with luck you will have a crop in late Fall. There are a lot of great YouTube videos if you would like to see more step-by-step instructions and know what to expect.
Thanks I learned alot. Epsom salt is a favorite with a friend of mine.great results.look forward to experimenting with lots more than awesome tomatoes
I started mine without eyes and its going crazy.
Sometimes if you buy the sweet potatoes on the grocery store they have been treated with something to make the eyes not grow. So they won’t sprout in the bag when sold.
How much watering do the plants need? The leaves are yellowing and fall off. Not sure if to much or not enough water
Can epsom salt be used in the water?
How long did it take to for sprouts do grow to the length you describe? The Almanac suggests planting in a garden/flower bed April 18th through 24th and I need to know when to start sprouting or even buy the potatoes
Thanks
Trying to recolor my thumb.
My sweet potatoes were bought from the produce department at Walmart Super Center and grew just fine. They do not need to come from a farm market you can use sweet potatoes from the stores
Trim the vines and the new growth will be bright green. Trim in different places and the plant will bush out. Put the leftover vines in water, plant in soil after they grow roots.
Great idea! Question : will the plant produce more sweet potatoes?
My mom brought me one with a dozen leaves and roots in February 2019.
We planted it in an indoor pot. It started to vine so we tied a string to a hook on the ceiling. It’s now 5 feet tall and still going. Its may 2019. Just wondering if this will need it’s own private room soon, lol.