The benefit of the no til is not disturbing the soil life that aids plants health. Your digging the potatoes at the end of the season. Add more compost and cover crop to help restore the microscopic life for next season.
I don't do "no till", BUT I do know that using a broadfork to loosen the soil is common practice in no till growing. Like you said, they have to do something to harvest root crops.
Whoo-eee! I’m thinking Orleans in big grow bags !!!!! Still mulch them over with pine straw- wait till next year! It feels So Good to dig your hands in the soil. GO TIGERS! LSU
Not sure if you broke the no till rule, but I reckon you should try "Ruth Stout" method next season. Just place the slip in a bit of soil and stack thick mulch all around them. I dont think Id use pine straw though. It looks very dry and may absorb moisture from the soil. I grew lots of sweet potatoes this way. I also grow my potatoes this way as well, but when the plants are about 12 inches high, I pile on another thick layer of mulch. When it comes time to harvest, you just peel back the mulch and the taters are sitting there waiting to be picked up. I'm also trying onions and garlic this way as well. So far, the onions are looking good. 👍
@@sislertx Thats the idea of the mulch. Cools the soil and retains moisture underneath. It gets hot and dry here too but sweet potatoes thrived in the thick mulch.
The no dig potatoes are usually planted in hay bails, and I've seen some people in the northern states growing them in hay and having fantastic harvest. They scoop out a whole for the slip and dump in potting soil and organic fertilizer. I don't think that would work in our climate because the heat and humidity would break down the hay in no time.
I believe I have decided to keep mine in buckets and bags. That looked like some back breaking work all by yourself searching for the taters. Thanks for the video.
Great stuff my friend. If you are digging to obtain your produce, then it’s no till in my book. If your tossing soil to “mix it up”, then that’s a tillin. Good luck on those chocaneros! That’s on my spring list to start!
@@LazyDogFarm could be...most of the larger ones were deep. My raised bed is 3'x10' and average 24" deep. I was about to give up until my hubby dug down farther than I had been digging and found several quite large potatoes. I chose Porto Rico because I have raised beds and just don't have room for vines covering the rest of my garden.
Planted 2 50' rows of georgia jets and 1 row of orleans. Going to be digging ours this weekend. I hope there is not to many that rotted. We got about 5 inches of rain a couple of weeks ago. This my first time growing sweet taters.
I have the best success up here in the NEast with Georgia Jet that I harvest in October. I always say I will grow the tiny tubers to keep them over winter. Maybe this year. I think those sauces look really good. As in really really good.
I think the no till was directed more for above ground crops like lettuce, then come back and cut the crops next to the ground and then replant more above ground crops with seed not transplants.
Awesome sweet tator harvest!! Excited to see the hot peppers grow. They say peppers like to hold hands /be planted close to eachother. This year I planted mine with a 1ft. square template. The best my plants have looked yet, lots of peppers to harvest soon.💯🌶🌶🌶🌶
I'm making a note of that "Orleans" variety of sweet taters! I didn't grow any sweet taters this year, and I've regretted it! I'll check Mark out too, always interested in new sauces, especially from a homegrown operation! Yep, Cairo is K-row, just like our Arab is A-Rab in Alabama. Lots of those different name pronunciations around!
No dig taters will rise up from the soil and fly into the basket if you go rub those Ali Baba watermelons like a magic lamp LOL :) They are usually grown in some sort of mulch like hay or straw from what I understand, idk, I do it like you do, use bags, raised beds, and tillage depending on where I want them. That grubbing around with a fork is not the best thing for no-till, but it's better than tilling. Those Orleans spuds are impressive.
I've been growing bonita white (I originally got from Steele Plant co. but started my own slips this year). They taste amazing (nuttier flavor than traditional orange sweet potatoes, like murasaki's but much easier to grow) The only downside is they will get as big as your leg if you let them go too long. One of my very favorite foods.
That white Bonita is my favorite. I got a bushel from a produce stand five or six years ago and have saved seed from them every year since. They are good baked like a sweet potato or boiled like an Irish potato. I am about one third the way digging my taters and I already have over three bushels of #1's.
Speaking/teaching on camera comes very easy to you. Is it a natural ability or is something you learn as you do YT? I really enjoy your channel and content
I taught biology when I was in grad school and taught part-time for a local college a few years after that. But yes, it's also something that you learn the more you do it.
I have grown the O’Henry’s for the last two years they are ab white sweet potato and make awesome fries the taste similar to McDonald’s fries and are very productive with a balanced fertilizer at landing and a little ash before they get too bushy.
I think it’s ok to broad fork no till plots so it should be fine scratching for taters! That big one you should take to Spring Hope NC on Saturday Oct 1st, first place is $500 for the sweet potato!!
LOL now I'm a little scared to check my Porto Ricos 😆 I chose them as a bushier growth type since I have to use grow bags and buckets. And of course I dropped the ball on fertilizing, although I used fresh soil. We shall see .....!
Thanks Travis. Thanks for sharing. You sure did bust your butt digging up all those sweet potatoes without your helpers! Bare handed too! Must be great deep topsoil to do that! Chuck in Jensen Beach Florida.
The folks at Steele recommend cutting the vines a few days before the intended harvest. They say it helps toughen up the skins a little so the sweet potatoes don't get as many bumps and bruises during harvesting. I've done that with the mower in the past, but it's almost impossible to do now that we grow them on tall hills.
Travis you mentioned that you wished you could have hilled the sweet potatoes twice. What is benefits of doing that? This was my first time growing them Thanks
I will definitely be trying the Orleans variety next year. I ordered and grew the Vardaman variety from Steele this year. For being planted in two 4x8 raised beds, they did really well. I had quite a few of the long skinny ones in one of the beds. Any idea why? Too much nitrogen? It was the one bed the bunny kept nibbling on the leaves. 🤣 I can’t wait to try them…first time grower. They’re currently curing for a few weeks.
On the “no dig”, lifting (gently with a fork Or hands and digging something out as minimally as possible when necessary is fine; especially with root vegetables. Moving soil to the side w a spade is also ok. The idea is not to continually break up the soil, messing w friendly bacteria etc..ideally you will amend the soil again as it starts resting before fall planting. My soil is clay, so realistically, you want to disturb the soil until it’s loose and well amended so that you can stop disturbing the soil, or that’s been my experience but high clay soil can not follow that strictly. I’m trying the Bunch Porto Rico’s this year. I hope I have better luck. Will you try them again this year? Do they taste any different than the other orange sweet potatoes?
I grew sweet taters 12 years ago and still get them..thats after records droughts and record freezes that killed many trees...lol..and after.digging up the VOLUNTEERS..lol
@@LazyDogFarm oh some one told me that pine needles increase the acid level in the soil.. So does this mean that sweet potatoes like a higher acid soil?
You did pretty good. I didnt grow sweet potatoes but my regular potatoes did horrible this season. Worm holes in almost every potato. Was expecting between 300-500 lbs and got less then 100 lbs. Will probably have to can most of them because I dont think they will store properly in my basement. Everything else did pretty good. Celery is a bit small but Id expect that in zone 5A. Cheers
@@frankz1125 I think the best way would be to plant a mustard cover crop in the winter where you intend on planting your sweet potatoes. Once tilled into the soil, it acts as a natural biofumigant.
Since you did not use a rototiller its still a no till plot......the no dig people grow them on top of the ground and only cover with thick coat of straw.
Started more slips a few weeks ago. This will be the third time lol. My frost date is late jan i think. Do you think it will work ?? Im down near tampa
Great video. Have seen what happened with your Puerto Rico sweet potatoes with various varieties. Have wondered if perhaps a rodent, rat, gopher, etc. picks on a favorite row or variety and just goes down the row eating most all of them when they are small and tender. Have seen it a number of times as well with various varieties or rows of regular potatoes.
Using a fork is not tilling, even no till gardeners use a broad fork to loosen the soil prior to planting, and a fork to harvest potatoes and such. Your plot is still no till.
I was thinking I waited last year until right before frost to dig my sweet potatoes. Some were above the soil, so I got those yesterday. I noticed some smaller ones but left them attached and buried. Do I need to go get them all, or will they keep growing till frost? (Vines still look great.). South Mississippi, zone 8.
I haven't used any of our homemade compost yet, so tough to tell. I do know the gin trash compost is very fine because they get it so hot. That's great to improve drainage, but it doesn't hold water as well. Our homemade compost will probably be a bit more chunky, but with better moisture retention.
Unfortunately, I don't know any seller able to ship tubers or slips to Europe. Do you think I can distinguish that variety in the store? All of them looks similar. Tubers to eat are widely available in all local stores (mostly imported from US), but variety is never mentioned
@@LazyDogFarm Do you know any global sellers able to ship worldwide? I need shortest from plant to harvest variety, that one seems to be one of most suitable. I've been succeded with purple or white varieties - tubers were large enough, but any orange one I tried produces only small tubers in my climate zone.
I would like to buy some Puerto Rico sweet potatoes do you have some for sale or do you know where I can purchase some the slips all the potatoes will be great 2:29
It was leftover from our garlic crop earlier this year. Instead of removing it completely, we just raked it towards the middles so we could plant our sweet taters in the dirt.
I found chocolate habaneros at a farmer's market years ago, never heard of them but they were unique. My husband and all his friends love trying different hot peppers. So I thought I would make appetizers for them. I toasted Triscuit crackers, minced habaneros and shredded mozzarella. After they ate they left pretty fast did not get a visit the rest of the weekend. Those peppers were lethal. Some of the hottest they've tried over the years. Can't wait to see how yours do.
Sometimes I can pull up the vines and scratch them out by hand as you started out but I always wind up with the digging fork just as you did. LOL I harvest almost 200 lbs. from a 40 foot row but I let my taters go a full 120 days before digging. I had very few small taters and some that probably weigh 5 lbs or more. Orleans yielded the most #1 sized taters that are the best baking size. Burgundy and Evangeline had more jumbo sized potatoes that I feed to my pigs. The pigs eat more taters than I do. While I like to eat Porto Rico, it has never yielded good here. That goes for both the bunch Porto Rico and the vining type Porto Rico. Very inconsistent yields. I laughed when I saw those Georgia Jets. I quit growing them because of splitting, growth cracks, and premature sprouts. Plus, they don't keep well for me. Another tater I avoid is Hernandez. It grows to good size and has acceptable yields but it has never been sweet enough.
I am wondering, if you limit the nitrogen to phosphorous fertilizer to a 1:2 ratio with phosphorous as the higher amount similar to a n-p-k of 2-5-4 for instance on your initial feeding and then concentrate the remaining feedings using bone meal (high in phosphorous) and green sand (high in potassium) and no more nitrogen fertilizer, maybe you will have better yields. Have you had your soil analyzed recently? You may find out that you have too much nitrogen for sweet potatoes in your garden - great for growing lots of leaves if that is your goal but not for growing larger tubers - just guessing at this point.
I planted Beauregard sweet taters in a raised bed. Planted them in pure black leaf compost soil. I don't know what happened but the taters are running 3 to 5 pounds each. MONSTERS!!! I pulled an 8 pounder out. While it's gargantuan taters, I am disappointed. Not any real good baking sizes...
There is nothing wrong with big potatoes. We just cut them into chunks and put in the oven or microwave. For a lunch, I cut the big potatoes into 1/4 inch thick "rounds", and put in microwave for 5 1/2 minutes. Add some butter, salt and pepper.
I think for no dig you only dig as much as needed for harvest then and more compost never grown any kind of potatoes but with all other root crops that's what I do might try sweet potatoes next year need to do some research on what grows best in my area
As I understand no till the constant over turning of soil is the death of the microbiology in the soil. So idea is to minimize that. I think what you are doing in your no till plots is definitely easier on that biology than using your power tiller a few times a year.
I grow our sweet potatoes in large pots. The digging is too labor intensive for this older lady. I find dumping the pot over and looking through the soil is easier physically.
I've grown probably 20 or more varieties of sweet potatoes and two of my least productive that I no longer grow is Porto Rico and Georgia Jet. I've also not had good success with All Purple and Hayman. My most productive and best tasting are Hernandez, Covington, Ginseng and O'Henry. Murasaki is popular, so I grow it, but I don't think it is a good tasting sweet potato.
I think variety performance varies a good bit with soil type. I was talking to the folks at Steele Plant Company a while back and it seems that Georgia Jet does much better for me than it does them. Also, they're not huge fans of the Orleans variety that did so well for us. But they carry it because it does well in some areas.
You may have disturbed your harvest area but hopefully if your getting any mycelium in the rest of your bed it will repopulate. The aeration where you dug yes will stimulate the bacteria and they will eat up some nitrogen. Natural processes are resilient you can't beat yourself up about using your beds. Just my two cents.
Roll tide. I dug my Beauregards today.... I had a disappointing harvest. I don't think my soil was loose enough. I'm saving cuttings from them to overwinter for next year's slips.
You lay a ton of hay over the dirt and the potatoes are all inbetween layers of hay! You don't really dig any dirt except a few inches to plant the potato at the beginning. I think it only works with indeterminate taters.
Your question is not the most intelligent about no dig and taters and sweet taters. If you did your homework, you would find out that you can plant them in layers of hay, as a no till garden, and, do quite well. Sometimes, my friend, you have to think outside of the box. I value your advice, but not your sarcasm. From a no till grower.
I've tried the straw thing with potatoes. We actually did a test on it last year and our potatoes hilled with soil did much better. Think about the nutrients in soil vs straw ... makes sense.
My goal is to be half the gardener you are sir!! I really enjoy your channel. Thanks for all the knowledge and tips and tricks!!
Thanks for joining us!
The benefit of the no til is not disturbing the soil life that aids plants health. Your digging the potatoes at the end of the season. Add more compost and cover crop to help restore the microscopic life for next season.
We grow Georgia Jet variety in raised beds with grass clippings and composted leaves with a little soil we get 5 lb monsters almost every year 👍
I used oak leafs to cover mine and I got monster sized ones
The Orleans wasn't just a winner, it totally crushed the other 2. What a harvest on those.
Yep. Quite the contrast in production.
checked ours, pulled one plant, three hugggge taters!! love it. thanks for the education Trav! ITS TATER TIME!!!!
Sounds like it's time for you to start digging!
I don't do "no till", BUT I do know that using a broadfork to loosen the soil is common practice in no till growing. Like you said, they have to do something to harvest root crops.
I just dug my garnet, japanese and jewel all mixed in one raised bed and got 51 lbs, lots of #1's.
Whoo-eee! I’m thinking Orleans in big grow bags !!!!! Still mulch them over with pine straw- wait till next year! It feels So Good to dig your hands in the soil.
GO TIGERS! LSU
They should do great in grow bags. Go Dawgs!
Not sure if you broke the no till rule, but I reckon you should try "Ruth Stout" method next season. Just place the slip in a bit of soil and stack thick mulch all around them. I dont think Id use pine straw though. It looks very dry and may absorb moisture from the soil. I grew lots of sweet potatoes this way. I also grow my potatoes this way as well, but when the plants are about 12 inches high, I pile on another thick layer of mulch. When it comes time to harvest, you just peel back the mulch and the taters are sitting there waiting to be picked up. I'm also trying onions and garlic this way as well. So far, the onions are looking good. 👍
Potatoea might work in texas if your lucky in spring but sweet potatoes wouldnt..gets too hot and dry way too hot and dry.
@@sislertx Thats the idea of the mulch. Cools the soil and retains moisture underneath. It gets hot and dry here too but sweet potatoes thrived in the thick mulch.
He tried the Ruth stout in his spring planting
@@Daddyo_farms I dont recommend pine mulch.
@@snowfuller7599 I think he did it under straw
Bippity boppity boo 🧚♀️😂
The no dig potatoes are usually planted in hay bails, and I've seen some people in the northern states growing them in hay and having fantastic harvest. They scoop out a whole for the slip and dump in potting soil and organic fertilizer. I don't think that would work in our climate because the heat and humidity would break down the hay in no time.
I believe I have decided to keep mine in buckets and bags. That looked like some back breaking work all by yourself searching for the taters. Thanks for the video.
Love the help you are giving Mark. Us gardeners love to grow!!!🎉
I grew 91 pounds of sweet potatoes in 4 raised beds this year.
That's incredible! Congrats!
Great stuff my friend. If you are digging to
obtain your produce, then it’s no till in my book. If your tossing soil to “mix it up”, then that’s a tillin.
Good luck on those chocaneros! That’s on my spring list to start!
Glad to see a great harvest of sweet potatoes, hope the peppers grow well too.
I will have to try sweet potatoes sometime as they are fantastic and I love eating them
Need to talk to Danny over in South Mississippi. He uses a middle buster to dig his potatoes.
My Porto Ricos were deeeeep in the soil. Some of them were a foot deep!
Maybe I didn't dig deep enough?
@@LazyDogFarm could be...most of the larger ones were deep. My raised bed is 3'x10' and average 24" deep. I was about to give up until my hubby dug down farther than I had been digging and found several quite large potatoes. I chose Porto Rico because I have raised beds and just don't have room for vines covering the rest of my garden.
Everyone needs that many 🌶️🌶️🌶️🫑🫑🫑🌶️🌶️
Planted 2 50' rows of georgia jets and 1 row of orleans. Going to be digging ours this weekend. I hope there is not to many that rotted. We got about 5 inches of rain a couple of weeks ago. This my first time growing sweet taters.
Let me know how the yields compare on the two varieties for you one you dig them.
Georgia jet look beautiful! Nice & plump!
They do make a pretty sweet tater.
I have the best success up here in the NEast with Georgia Jet that I harvest in October. I always say I will grow the tiny tubers to keep them over winter. Maybe this year. I think those sauces look really good. As in really really good.
@11:37😂❤️keeping it real.
Have you ever watched Charles Dowding? He is Mr. No Dig, and a compost master.
I have. He's got quite the beautiful garden.
I think the no till was directed more for above ground crops like lettuce, then come back and cut the crops next to the ground and then replant more above ground crops with seed not transplants.
Awesome sweet tator harvest!! Excited to see the hot peppers grow. They say peppers like to hold hands /be planted close to eachother. This year I planted mine with a 1ft. square template. The best my plants have looked yet, lots of peppers to harvest soon.💯🌶🌶🌶🌶
Planting them close certainly helps them lean on each other.
I'm making a note of that "Orleans" variety of sweet taters! I didn't grow any sweet taters this year, and I've regretted it! I'll check Mark out too, always interested in new sauces, especially from a homegrown operation! Yep, Cairo is K-row, just like our Arab is A-Rab in Alabama. Lots of those different name pronunciations around!
I think you'll be quite happy with Orleans!
@@LazyDogFarm Have you grown O'Henry sweet potatoes? Its actually planting season out here in california this month for sweet potatoes.
No dig taters will rise up from the soil and fly into the basket if you go rub those Ali Baba watermelons like a magic lamp LOL :) They are usually grown in some sort of mulch like hay or straw from what I understand, idk, I do it like you do, use bags, raised beds, and tillage depending on where I want them. That grubbing around with a fork is not the best thing for no-till, but it's better than tilling. Those Orleans spuds are impressive.
Hahaha!
I've been growing bonita white (I originally got from Steele Plant co. but started my own slips this year). They taste amazing (nuttier flavor than traditional orange sweet potatoes, like murasaki's but much easier to grow) The only downside is they will get as big as your leg if you let them go too long. One of my very favorite foods.
That white Bonita is my favorite. I got a bushel from a produce stand five or six years ago and have saved seed from them every year since. They are good baked like a sweet potato or boiled like an Irish potato. I am about one third the way digging my taters and I already have over three bushels of #1's.
Looks like Steel co is out of stock on this variety.
Wow Travis that looks like so much fun! Great harvest.
May i suggest a storage video...including tour of that shed and hardware cloth thingy.
Sure 😊
Speaking/teaching on camera comes very easy to you. Is it a natural ability or is something you learn as you do YT? I really enjoy your channel and content
I taught biology when I was in grad school and taught part-time for a local college a few years after that. But yes, it's also something that you learn the more you do it.
I’ve been eating the purple oriental sweet potatoes. They’re awesome. Better than orange ones to me. More flavor and less sweetness.
Those purple ones are quite tasty. I've never been able to get them to be that productive for me though.
I have grown the O’Henry’s for the last two years they are ab white sweet potato and make awesome fries the taste similar to McDonald’s fries and are very productive with a balanced fertilizer at landing and a little ash before they get too bushy.
Your no till sarcasm was not lost on me. Thanks for the laugh!
Glad you caught that.
@@LazyDogFarm Totally agree with your analysis of "NO TILL".
I think it’s ok to broad fork no till plots so it should be fine scratching for taters! That big one you should take to Spring Hope NC on Saturday Oct 1st, first place is $500 for the sweet potato!!
Cairo...Arab....I remember having to learn how to say things when I went to ABAC. 😂
Haha!
Well looks like ill be ordering some orleans slips next year. Tho i love the bakers more.
I tried the Puerto Rico’s this year and they were a bust. I think I will try the orleans next year
LOL now I'm a little scared to check my Porto Ricos 😆 I chose them as a bushier growth type since I have to use grow bags and buckets. And of course I dropped the ball on fertilizing, although I used fresh soil. We shall see .....!
One person mentioned that their Porto Ricos were very deep in the soil. So make sure to check way down there when digging.
My man got jokes. Lol. How you dig with out digging.
Wouldn’t hurt to put that cover on the peppers now
Turning fork is fine.
Nice harvest Travis
Thanks 👍
Bummer about the low yield on the P.R. sweet tater, but the Orleans certainly made up for it.
I love sweet potato..👍
As always great video 👍 Blessings ❤️
Thank you! You too!
Think I need to plant sweet potatoes this year
I think so too!
Thanks Travis. Thanks for sharing. You sure did bust your butt digging up all those sweet potatoes without your helpers! Bare handed too! Must be great deep topsoil to do that!
Chuck in Jensen Beach Florida.
My helpers were in school, so had to go solo this time. Soft dirt made it a little easier though.
VeryGood questions! How do you dig your taters without digging!
i think the no dig method they are talking about is the Ruth Stroud method
Has anyone ever taken cuttings from the vines and overwintered them for next year?
I planted the Orleans variety 97 days ago. Do you find cutting the vines a few days before harvest helps to speed the curing process?
The folks at Steele recommend cutting the vines a few days before the intended harvest. They say it helps toughen up the skins a little so the sweet potatoes don't get as many bumps and bruises during harvesting. I've done that with the mower in the past, but it's almost impossible to do now that we grow them on tall hills.
Travis you mentioned that you wished you could have hilled the sweet potatoes twice. What is benefits of doing that? This was my first time growing them
Thanks
Weed control, plus it makes them easier to harvest.
@@edwardpearce1138 thanks
What Edward said.
My parents had the same problem with their Porto Ricans this year
Sorry to hear that.
I will definitely be trying the Orleans variety next year. I ordered and grew the Vardaman variety from Steele this year. For being planted in two 4x8 raised beds, they did really well. I had quite a few of the long skinny ones in one of the beds. Any idea why? Too much nitrogen? It was the one bed the bunny kept nibbling on the leaves. 🤣 I can’t wait to try them…first time grower. They’re currently curing for a few weeks.
I don't know what causes those long skinny ones. Some years we get more of them than others.
Had deer eat the greens off twice. They grew back well. Should I expect any taters?
I would think you would still get something.
The leaves grow back very fast. I don't remember any difference in yield.
I got skunked with the porto Ricos
Sorry to hear that.
Root crops, you gotta dig. It dont matter what method is being used.
On the “no dig”, lifting (gently with a fork Or hands and digging something out as minimally as possible when necessary is fine; especially with root vegetables. Moving soil to the side w a spade is also ok. The idea is not to continually break up the soil, messing w friendly bacteria etc..ideally you will amend the soil again as it starts resting before fall planting. My soil is clay, so realistically, you want to disturb the soil until it’s loose and well amended so that you can stop disturbing the soil, or that’s been my experience but high clay soil can not follow that strictly. I’m trying the Bunch Porto Rico’s this year. I hope I have better luck. Will you try them again this year? Do they taste any different than the other orange sweet potatoes?
I grew sweet taters 12 years ago and still get them..thats after records droughts and record freezes that killed many trees...lol..and after.digging up the VOLUNTEERS..lol
They do volunteer like crazy.
Also when you say pine straw, do you mean pine tree needles?
Yes.
@@LazyDogFarm oh some one told me that pine needles increase the acid level in the soil.. So does this mean that sweet potatoes like a higher acid soil?
@@sunshinedayz2172 Someone told you a story. They don't make the soil more acidic.
You did pretty good. I didnt grow sweet potatoes but my regular potatoes did horrible this season. Worm holes in almost every potato. Was expecting between 300-500 lbs and got less then 100 lbs. Will probably have to can most of them because I dont think they will store properly in my basement. Everything else did pretty good. Celery is a bit small but Id expect that in zone 5A. Cheers
I've had that happen before where the worms get the best of me.
@@LazyDogFarm how do you fight them?
@@frankz1125 I think the best way would be to plant a mustard cover crop in the winter where you intend on planting your sweet potatoes. Once tilled into the soil, it acts as a natural biofumigant.
@@LazyDogFarm nice. I will look into it. Thank you
Since you did not use a rototiller its still a no till plot......the no dig people grow them on top of the ground and only cover with thick coat of straw.
Started more slips a few weeks ago. This will be the third time lol. My frost date is late jan i think. Do you think it will work ?? Im down near tampa
Yeah that should work.
I put out 500 slips of sweet potatoes this year and had a very poor yield unlike last year where I got a massive yield
Sorry to hear that. I have good years and bad years on sweet taters too.
Great video. Have seen what happened with your Puerto Rico sweet potatoes with various varieties. Have wondered if perhaps a rodent, rat, gopher, etc. picks on a favorite row or variety and just goes down the row eating most all of them when they are small and tender. Have seen it a number of times as well with various varieties or rows of regular potatoes.
Our barn cats keep the critters away, so I'm not sure we can blame this on the critters.
Looks like you forgot to put the fertilizer in the pepper rows
I didn't put it along the entire furrow. I just put a handful down with each pepper plant.
Using a fork is not tilling, even no till gardeners use a broad fork to loosen the soil prior to planting, and a fork to harvest potatoes and such. Your plot is still no till.
I was thinking I waited last year until right before frost to dig my sweet potatoes. Some were above the soil, so I got those yesterday. I noticed some smaller ones but left them attached and buried. Do I need to go get them all, or will they keep growing till frost? (Vines still look great.). South Mississippi, zone 8.
I've never not dug all mine at once. But it's worth a try to see if those smaller ones will get bigger. They should.
They will continue to grow.
Steele sweet potatoes is out of stock on everything...wondering when they ship again?
They'll start shipping again early next year.
Can you tell any difference between the gin trash and the regular compost
I haven't used any of our homemade compost yet, so tough to tell. I do know the gin trash compost is very fine because they get it so hot. That's great to improve drainage, but it doesn't hold water as well. Our homemade compost will probably be a bit more chunky, but with better moisture retention.
@@LazyDogFarm I knew you haven’t used yours but I thought you got regular compost the first time you did your No till bed or was that gun trash also
That quote joke about “no dig” sweet potatoes cracked me up. You made my day 😂😂😂
Unfortunately, I don't know any seller able to ship tubers or slips to Europe. Do you think I can distinguish that variety in the store? All of them looks similar. Tubers to eat are widely available in all local stores (mostly imported from US), but variety is never mentioned
It would be pretty tough to distinguish a particular variety on a grocery store shelf.
@@LazyDogFarm Do you know any global sellers able to ship worldwide? I need shortest from plant to harvest variety, that one seems to be one of most suitable. I've been succeded with purple or white varieties - tubers were large enough, but any orange one I tried produces only small tubers in my climate zone.
Do you think the heat caused smaller crop on the others? Many folks complaining about smaller SP this year 2022.
Not sure. I've never known one particular sweet potato variety to be more "heat-loving" than the next, but it's possible.
I would like to buy some Puerto Rico sweet potatoes do you have some for sale or do you know where I can purchase some the slips all the potatoes will be great 2:29
Here's where we get our slips: www.sweetpotatoplant.com/?ref=2c1LrVP9UKW8CB
Why did you leave pine straw down what was the purpose of that thank you
It was leftover from our garlic crop earlier this year. Instead of removing it completely, we just raked it towards the middles so we could plant our sweet taters in the dirt.
I found chocolate habaneros at a farmer's market years ago, never heard of them but they were unique. My husband and all his friends love trying different hot peppers. So I thought I would make appetizers for them. I toasted Triscuit crackers, minced habaneros and shredded mozzarella. After they ate they left pretty fast did not get a visit the rest of the weekend. Those peppers were lethal. Some of the hottest they've tried over the years. Can't wait to see how yours do.
They can be quite toasty if you don't remove that membrane. Good flavor though.
Love me some sweet taters !! I grew a couple different ones including the Orleans !!! They are sweet and put on some taters too !!
Sometimes I can pull up the vines and scratch them out by hand as you started out but I always wind up with the digging fork just as you did. LOL I harvest almost 200 lbs. from a 40 foot row but I let my taters go a full 120 days before digging. I had very few small taters and some that probably weigh 5 lbs or more. Orleans yielded the most #1 sized taters that are the best baking size. Burgundy and Evangeline had more jumbo sized potatoes that I feed to my pigs. The pigs eat more taters than I do.
While I like to eat Porto Rico, it has never yielded good here. That goes for both the bunch Porto Rico and the vining type Porto Rico. Very inconsistent yields.
I laughed when I saw those Georgia Jets. I quit growing them because of splitting, growth cracks, and premature sprouts. Plus, they don't keep well for me.
Another tater I avoid is Hernandez. It grows to good size and has acceptable yields but it has never been sweet enough.
Thanks for sharing your results!
that mutant sweet tater if you painted it yellow it would look like pac man was going after your crop lol
Sure would!
I am wondering, if you limit the nitrogen to phosphorous fertilizer to a 1:2 ratio with phosphorous as the higher amount similar to a n-p-k of 2-5-4 for instance on your initial feeding and then concentrate the remaining feedings using bone meal (high in phosphorous) and green sand (high in potassium) and no more nitrogen fertilizer, maybe you will have better yields. Have you had your soil analyzed recently? You may find out that you have too much nitrogen for sweet potatoes in your garden - great for growing lots of leaves if that is your goal but not for growing larger tubers - just guessing at this point.
We did do a soil test this past year, but soil tests don't really tell you much about nitrogen because it's mobile in the soil.
I planted Beauregard sweet taters in a raised bed. Planted them in pure black leaf compost soil. I don't know what happened but the taters are running 3 to 5 pounds each. MONSTERS!!! I pulled an 8 pounder out. While it's gargantuan taters, I am disappointed. Not any real good baking sizes...
Impressive!
There is nothing wrong with big potatoes. We just cut them into chunks and put in the oven or microwave. For a lunch, I cut the big potatoes into 1/4 inch thick "rounds", and put in microwave for 5 1/2 minutes. Add some butter, salt and pepper.
Well now I am worried, because my Porto Rico sweet potatoes were the only ones that the deer and rabbits didn't eat.
Hopefully yours will do much better than ours!
Envying the taters!!
Potatoes need phosphorous to produce roots. Not just potash.
I think for no dig you only dig as much as needed for harvest then and more compost never grown any kind of potatoes but with all other root crops that's what I do might try sweet potatoes next year need to do some research on what grows best in my area
As I understand no till the constant over turning of soil is the death of the microbiology in the soil. So idea is to minimize that. I think what you are doing in your no till plots is definitely easier on that biology than using your power tiller a few times a year.
fork is ok, I just dig with my hands .
I grow our sweet potatoes in large pots. The digging is too labor intensive for this older lady. I find dumping the pot over and looking through the soil is easier physically.
That does sound pretty easy!
Hahahaha You ain't in Puerto, hello!
I've grown probably 20 or more varieties of sweet potatoes and two of my least productive that I no longer grow is Porto Rico and Georgia Jet. I've also not had good success with All Purple and Hayman. My most productive and best tasting are Hernandez, Covington, Ginseng and O'Henry. Murasaki is popular, so I grow it, but I don't think it is a good tasting sweet potato.
I think variety performance varies a good bit with soil type. I was talking to the folks at Steele Plant Company a while back and it seems that Georgia Jet does much better for me than it does them. Also, they're not huge fans of the Orleans variety that did so well for us. But they carry it because it does well in some areas.
You may have disturbed your harvest area but hopefully if your getting any mycelium in the rest of your bed it will repopulate. The aeration where you dug yes will stimulate the bacteria and they will eat up some nitrogen. Natural processes are resilient you can't beat yourself up about using your beds. Just my two cents.
Just dug my Georgia Jetts today in Northwest Alabama "ROLL TIDE". Fifty slips produced 93 lbs.
Great harvest! Go Dawgs!
Roll tide. I dug my Beauregards today.... I had a disappointing harvest. I don't think my soil was loose enough. I'm saving cuttings from them to overwinter for next year's slips.
😅😂
You lay a ton of hay over the dirt and the potatoes are all inbetween layers of hay! You don't really dig any dirt except a few inches to plant the potato at the beginning. I think it only works with indeterminate taters.
No till is hogwash. I always use a tiller and grow tons of stuff. Let the soil breath for Taylor Swift sakes!
Truthfully, I get annoyed hearing you say "taters" over and over and over.
Truthfully, I'm sorry.
Your question is not the most intelligent about no dig and taters and sweet taters. If you did your homework, you would find out that you can plant them in layers of hay, as a no till garden, and, do quite well. Sometimes, my friend, you have to think outside of the box. I value your advice, but not your sarcasm. From a no till grower.
I've tried the straw thing with potatoes. We actually did a test on it last year and our potatoes hilled with soil did much better. Think about the nutrients in soil vs straw ... makes sense.