When to harvest sweet potatoes for best yield

Sweet potato (Ipomoea Potato) are typically harvested about 100 to 110 days after planting or when the leaves begin to turn yellow. However, sweet potatoes can continue to grow after the leaves begin to turn yellow, and harvesting sweet potatoes too early can reduce the size of your crop,

If you want to harvest sweet potatoes at the perfect time, these harvesting tips will help you determine exactly when to harvest sweet potatoes for big, delicious, long-lasting potatoes.

When to harvest sweet potatoes

Some fast-growing sweet potato varieties can be harvested in just 85 days, while others take about 160 days to reach mature size.

In most areas, sweet potato harvest season runs from September to early October, but cold temperatures, drought, and other factors can cause sweet potato growth to slow down a bit.

Just remember that sweet potatoes are very sensitive to cold and they should always be harvested before frost kills.

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4 Signs Your Sweet Potatoes Are Ready to Harvest

Watching for certain signs of ripeness will help you determine the perfect time to pick sweet potatoes and help you avoid buying overripe or underripe potatoes.

Some key indicators that the time to harvest has come include:

1. Date on your calendar. Research the harvest dates for the varieties of sweet potatoes you are growing and mark those harvest dates on your calendar. This will help you keep track of the approximate time when your plants will be ready.
2. Yellow and withered leaves. Sweet potatoes often have a growth spurt at the end of the season, and the tubers may continue to grow larger even after the leaves begin to turn yellow. While you typically don’t want to pull sweet potatoes at the first signs of yellowing leaves, yellowing leaves indicate that harvest time is approaching.
3. Frost is forecast. While sweet potatoes can withstand cold weather, they will not survive a severe, killing frost. If frost is in the forecast, it’s time to dig up your sweet potatoes.
4. Big tuber. No one wants to harvest small, unripe sweet potatoes, but you can pull out a test potato or two to get a better idea of ​​how your plant is maturing. If the test potato is about 2 inches in diameter by 5 inches long, then there’s a good chance the remaining roots are ready to harvest.

7 Tips for Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

If you are growing sweet potatoes in pots or grow bags, dump the growing container onto a tarp and collect the buried sweet potatoes.

However, if you grow sweet potatoes in a raised bed or underground garden, these quick harvesting tips will help you harvest undamaged sweet potatoes with minimal effort.

• Remove leaves. Sweet potato plants produce lush, leafy vines that can make it difficult to find buried sweet potatoes. To make digging easier, cut back some of the sweet potato leaves before harvesting.
• Reduce watering. Allowing the soil to dry out for a few days before harvesting will help toughen the skin of the sweet potatoes and help them keep a little longer.
• Work carefully. Use a shovel or hand shovel to gently loosen the soil around the base of the sweet potato plant and lift the sweet potato out of the soil. Be careful not to cut into the sweet potato roots, as damaged sweet potatoes will not last long in storage.
• Harvest on a cloudy day. The soft skin of sweet potatoes can be damaged by the sun, so always harvest sweet potatoes on a cloudy day or cover them with a tarp immediately after harvest!
• Handle gently. Remember to handle sweet potatoes carefully and avoid throwing them in bins when harvesting or stacking them in heavy piles as their soft skins bruise easily.
• Don’t miss the hidden potatoes. Sweet potatoes produce most of their tubers just below the canopy, although they may develop clusters of smaller tubers along their vines. Feel underneath any rooted parts of the sweet potato vine to dig up additional tubers.
• Use leaves. Don’t throw away sweet potato leaves – they are edible and can be cooked just like kale or spinach.

How to preserve sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes can be eaten immediately after harvest, or you can preserve them and store them in a cool, dark cellar for up to 10 months. Preserving sweet potatoes makes them sweeter, but it also extends their shelf life by thickening the skin and causing the small bruises to harden.

To cure sweet potato:

• Do not wash potatoes after harvesting.
• Spread undamaged bulbs in a warm, dark, moist place.
• Let them dry and freeze for 1 to 2 weeks.
• Brush the skin to remove excess dirt and place the tubers loosely in a ventilated container or basket until you are ready to use them.