Japanese Sweet Potato (Satsumaimo)

Still getting a handful of Japanese sweet potatoes (Satsumaimo) every other month. I left these outside to cure for about a month and they were quite sweet. I have some white Satsumaimo outside curing and believe it just about time to bring them in. They should be tasty. 

Japanese Sweet Potato (Purple Satsumaimo)

I planted these Satsumaimo slips on 6 October of last year, which makes them about nine months old.

Someone on my blog asked if 6 inches was deep enough to grow sweet potatoes and I said yes, but the more soil you have the better the container can retain moister and the tubers will not crack. Also, a deeper container will allow the tubers to grow larger, but this container has about 8 inches of soil and my tubers were fine, but had some cracks. 

The first thing I do is remove the vines and set them aside to make new slips for planting.

Clean container ready to flip.

Press down the soil and pick out the tubers. When complete, place the soil back in the container and mix in some fertilizer and mineral pellets.

Using the vines set aside earlier, make some slips and plant them as deep as possible. Water well for the first 10 days. You will see many of the leaves dry up, but that is fine. As long as the slips survive they will grow new roots, leaves and produce tubers.

I always weight my bounty. I got 3kg (6.6 lbs) of tubers, which is a pretty decent amount for a small container.

Lastly, I place the tubers outside in a cool dry spot to cure for 10-14 days. These are the Japanese sweet potatoes that turn yellow when cooked and are usually super sweet. I can't wait to try them.

(08/20) Seven days later the slips are growing well. They just need a lot of watering the first 10-14 days to take root. I have some blank spots where the slip did not make it, so will fill them in later.

Japanese Sweet Potato (White Satsumaimo)

These Sweet Potato slips were planted on 17 March (2-weeks ago) and are starting to grow. Sweet Potato clippings grow roots extremely fast. A cutting placed in water will start producing roots in a matter of days. It has been raining nearly everyday which is a great time to plant slips. 

Japanese Sweet Potato (White Satsumaimo)

These Japanese Sweet Potato slips were planted on 30 July 2021 making them seven and a half months old.

Step 1: Remove the vines and set aside for new slips.

Step 2: Flip over the container. Some Potatoes visible. 

Step 3: Press through the soil and remove all the Potatoes.

Step 4: Add fertilizer and nutrients to the soil and place back in the container.

Step 5: Using the vines set aside, clip the ends and plant in the soil as deep as possible. Water well and add an updated label in the soil.

This container produced 2.7 Kg (6.8 lbs) of Potatoes, which is average.

Japanese Sweet Potato (Purple Satsumaimo)

I harvested Japanese Sweet Potatoes from a container I planted on 2 February, which was a little over 8 months ago. I got 2.1kg (4.7 lbs) of tubers, which is average; however, I thought they were going to be larger. Perhaps I did not have enough nutrients in the soil, plus the soil was quite dry due to the lack of rain. I added fertilizer, nutrients and some fresh soil. I will try and water them more and see if that makes a difference.

Japanese Sweet Potato (White Satsumaimo)

I planted these white Satsumaimo (Japanese Sweet Potato) slips on 26 November or roughly 8-months ago. I used to harvest them after 6-months, but the tubers where not as large as I wanted, so now waiting 8-months.

Step 1 - cut all the vines and set them aside. The tips will be used to make new slips.

Step 2 - Move the container to an area where the container can be flipped over and the dirt pressed down. It is best to do this while the soil is dry. Less messy that way. 

Step 3 - Press down the soil and sift through the soil to find the tubers.

Step 4 - I always weight my bounty to track how productive the container was. For this container I got 2.3 kg (5.1 lbs) of tubers.

Step 5 - Re-energize the soil for the next planting. I added a new bag of cheap garden soil (10kg/22lbs) for some organic content and minerals, two hands full of nutrients specific for potatoes (Potassium, Nitrogen, Phosphorus) and 4-5 hands full of fertilizer (more organic content).  The same soil can be used for several years, as long as the soil has not been infested by some sort of pest or fungus.

Step 6 - Make and plant slips using the vines set aside earlier. I cut the tip of a vine about 8-9 inches long. Remove all the leaves except the top 3-4. Plant the slip as deep as possible. Try and not allow the leaves to touch the soil. I plant the slips about 5 cm (2 in) apart. In my case, I was about the plant 17 slips in this container. 

Step 7 - Water well and water everyday for the next week. Japanese Sweet Potato slips will begin to root in 2-3 days and by 7-10 days they will have a pretty good root system.

Step 8 - Place the tubers outside in a dry cool locations for 10-14 days to cure.

(08/07) I cooked one of these tubers today. It was sweeter than expected. I usually use white Satsumaimo in lew of yellow potatoes, but not sure if I can use these since they are too sweet.

Japanese Sweet Potato (Purple Satsumaimo)

I planted these Purple Satsumaimo slips on 28 September 2020 and decided to harvest them on 25 March 2021, but was shocked that there were no tubers of significant size. Anyway, I enriched the soil and planted new slips. I will wait eight months this time and plan to harvest them the end of November.

Japanese Sweet Potato (Purple Satsumaimo)

I planted these Japanese Sweet Potato slips on 8 August, so they were almost six months old.

I placed the planter on a blue tarp and cut all the vines off at soil level and set them aside to make slips from for replanting.

I flipped over the planter and sifted through the soil to find the tubers.

I added three handsful of fertilizer, a handful of nutrients and 5kg (11lbs) of fresh soil to the soil on the tarp and placed it all back in the planter.

I made about 20 slips from the vines I set aside, planted them and watered them well.

I got 1.3kg (3lbs) of decent sized tubers from this planter, which seems to be average. I will leave these in the soil for seven months this time and see if I can get larger tubers. 

I placed them in a cool dry place to cure for 10-14 days.

Here are all the Japanese Sweet Potatoes I got in the past month. I believe it amounts to roughly 3.5kg (7.7lbs) of potatoes.

 

Japanese Sweet Potato (White Satsumaimo))

(12/30) I harvested Japanese Sweet Potatoes (White Satsumaimo and Beni Imo) from this container on 25 November and replanted White Satsumaimo slips immediately. They are growing well. As I mention often, the same soil can be used for years if there are no pests or disease present. Just add some fertilizer and nutrients to the soil before planting the new slips.

Japanese Sweet Potato (White Satsumaimo)

I planted these Japanese Sweet Potato slips on 26 May making them six months old. 

I can see a tuber coming out of the soil, which makes it apparent it is time to harvest.

I cut the vines at soil level and set them aside. I would cut the ends off to use as slips for replanting.

I spread out a tarp and place the container on its side.

I flip the container over and spread out the soil to find the tubers.

Large Beni Imo

Average size White Satsumaimo

This Beni Imo was rotten. The soil was too damp. I lost a few tubers, but drilled more holes in the container for better drainage.

I added some new clay soil for minerals, fertilizer and some plant food. 

I cut some slips from the vines I set aside and planted them.

I watered well.

Got 884g (1.9lbs) of Beni Imo.

Got 1,346g (2.9lbs) of white Satsumaimo.

Layed them out in a cool dry place to cure for 10-14 days.