I'm really confused about why my sweet potatoes didn't produce any tubers this year. I planted them around September in Australia, and I even tried two different spots – one in my garden beds and the other in sandy soil that I barely water or fertilize. The vines grew really well, and I did harvest some leaves, but when I checked on the tubers today, there was nothing! Just one tiny inch-long one. I've done my research, and I keep seeing that too much nitrogen might be the cause, but my soil tests didn't show high nitrogen levels, and I'm pretty sure the sandy spot had very low nutrients too. I'd love to know what other issues could be causing this complete failure to produce!
2 Answers
Sweet potatoes love warm weather, so make sure your soil temperature is good. I plant mine in mounds to keep them warm. Also, where did your slips come from? Grocery store sweet potatoes can sometimes be genetically sterile due to pests or chemicals, which might explain the lack of growth. Just a thought!
There are a few reasons why you might not have gotten any tubers.
1) You could have planted too early since sweet potatoes don't like the cold, and soil temps should be above 13°C.
2) The soil may be too poor. While too much nitrogen isn't great, sweet potatoes need proper nutrients like phosphorus and potassium.
3) Watering and sunlight are crucial too. If the plants didn’t get enough water or were lacking sunlight, that could definitely affect tuber production.
The ones in my garden were in a wicking bed that got watered daily, and the night temps were always above 10°C. It's just baffling because I had them growing for six months through a really hot summer!
I actually got slips from a few different places, including an organic store, and even from a friend's successful garden. All of them sprouted but still no tubers, even though we had a really hot summer.