Sweet Potato
Ipomoea batatas
About it
- Kind
- Vegetables · Annual
- Family
- Convolvulaceae
- Hardiness zones
- Zones 5–11
- Sun
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 12 in apart, rows 36 in
- Soil depth in a pot
- At least 16 in
- Soil pH
- 5.5–6.5
- Water
- About every 7 days
When to plant
- Plant out
- Plant out 1 week after the last frost
- Window
- Open for about 2 weeks
- Ready
- About 110 days from planting out
Based on your last frost date. Outside the US, check local advice.
Varieties people grow
- Beauregard— the orange-fleshed standard; widely available slips
- Centennial— older orange variety; stores well
- Covington— uniform orange roots; the main commercial variety now
- Georgia Jet— the usual pick for short northern seasons
Planting partners
No cited companion planting notes for Sweet Potato yet.
Safety for pets and children
- Cats Listed as non-toxic to cats (NC State Extension)
- Dogs Listed as non-toxic to dogs (NC State Extension)
- Horses Listed as non-toxic to horses (NC State Extension)
- Children No information in our sources
Read from NC State Extension ↗.
"No information" means our sources do not say, not that the plant is harmless. A non-toxic listing is not a reason to let anyone eat a plant.
Pests and diseases
No pest or disease notes for Sweet Potato yet.
Check the label and your local extension service before using any product.
Where this comes from
- family npgsweb.ars-grin.gov ↗ GRIN page: Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.
- maturity counted from NC State Extension ↗ Row's 110 days (Almanac, 0024) is inside NC State (North Carolina) Table 16-4's Potatoes, sweet T=95-125, from transplanted slips
- Most facts The Old Farmer's Almanac ↗ Backfilled by 0041. Pre-0041 rows recorded one source for the whole row; per-field attribution was never captured and is not invented here.
- sow window weeks extension.unh.edu ↗ UNH (New Hampshire) 1-2 weeks after last frost: weeks 1 to 2
- toxicity NC State Extension ↗ non_toxic for cat, dog, horse from its "non-toxic for" tags. Page matched to this row by its recorded species; not cited by the row before this batch.
- transplant weeks rel last frost extension.unh.edu ↗ UNH (New Hampshire) table: sweetpotato slips 1-2 weeks after last frost
- water frequency days NC State Extension ↗ NC State Gardener Handbook ch. 16, "Watering": "On average, vegetable gardens need 1 inch of water per week; provide only what is not supplied by rain." This is the handbook's general guidance for a vegetable garden, not a figure published for this crop.