Anyone Growing Sweet Potatoes?

[Jonathan Dyer]

Hi all anyone growing sweet potatoes in there garden or have any experience with them?

My produce distributor keeps telling me that I should grow sweet potatoes but am a bit reluctant in trying them as they have I am told a high water demand similar to potatoes and I live in a very, very hot area which could have adverse affects on the plants, as well as not having the equipment needed to harvest them easily, I don’t think I would be too happy harvesting 10,000sm with a shovel. Expected yields are 20t/Ha (8t/ac) but net profits would be almost nil considering the work load and establishment costs.

Any info would be appreciated.

[djs-sa]

Hi JD
I've got some in with my spuds i just placed my sweet and normal potatoes on the ground placed old tyre down with plastic liner and filled with coco coir and some clay balls and water once a day and 1 potatoe has just sprouted


On a large scale it would be hard as, without correct harvester.

A long narrow raised bed with removabe sides could be worth looking into and adapt ur tractor somehow to rake the soil after u remove the grow bed sides???

[Outbackozzie]

grew them in ap, went well, offcut just starting to root again now.

[Jason Palenske]

Large scale you really do need a special harvester, just like potatoes. In the ground you can do them small scale but it is a lot of hard digging.

[Hamish]

grew them in ap, went well, offcut just starting to root again now.

Hi OBO - what media did you grow them in? Full sun? Flood and drain? Have you tried regular potatoes?

[Outbackozzie]

Hydroton, flood and drain, no proper potatoes yet, thats for after the IBC expansion.

[Jonathan Dyer]

Hi Guys thanks for the replies.

Even a second hand harvester would cost over 10 grand so it is probably not cost effective to consider growing them at all I would also need a potato washer as well which would cost a similar amount; perhaps I may try a very small trial plot 10mx10m if I can find the time and a suitable location. I don’t mind the manual labor if I had too but if I was to employ a few casual workers profits wouldn’t exist; as well as getting (exploited) if I was to sell them to Woolworth’s as some of us saw in that report, but I go through a independent produce broker so not so bad.

How many tubers are people getting off a plant? And what type do people like orange or purple?

[Murray]

JD, Ypur comment on the cost to set up to grow sweet potato....20 thousand.......Then to achieve very suspect income levels.
Much better proposition to spend 20 thousand on a small AP system and get a much better return.

[djs-sa]

JD,
An old cement mixer is a great potatoe washer (i mean the big 1's off of a truck) I saw it on that doco about coles and woolies and exploiting the farmers

[Outbackozzie]

How many tubers are people getting off a plant? And what type do people like orange or purple?

In the AP plant, which was not looked after, and nothing was expexcted of, I got this:





Yes, thats one plant

We have become converted sweet potato eaters