Harvesting, curing and storing Sweet Potatoes
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2019
- Baker Creek Heirloom seeds offers high-quality sweet potato starts in several colors. Join Shannie McCabe in the garden as she shows us how to dig, cure and store sweet potatoes.
- Фільми й анімація
I'm a zone 8 Northern sweet potato grower and I harvested 5 varieties weighing about 60 lbs. I gave all the not edible harvest to my worm bins and had to come up with a viable and economical way to heat cure the sweet potatoes in high humidity. I also have space constraints so this is what I did. I used an under bed roller tote that is about 6"T x 4'L x 1.5' W and placed that on top of 2 plant grow mats. I opened it up and placed cardboard at the bottom of the tote to create a barrier from the heat and moisture. I placed about 30 lbs of sweet potatoes in the tote closed the lid and inserted a brand new compost thermostat to keep an eye on the temps. It stayed at a constant 85 degrees. After 2 weeks of that I carefully packed them up and placed them in the garage for the next 6 weeks of curing. It has worked like a charm. I'm sure there are many other ways to cure sweet potatoes but this works for me. Hope this helps.
Great idea!!
Certainly helps! Thanks for sharing!
Foliage is what I love the most sautéed in olive oil garlic Bragg’s liquid aminos and adding cayenne gives added punch!
Excellent clear no BS intstruction. Top youtuber
A lot of people asking the question of how to store a sweet potato when you don't have a basement or cool weather and the house is all at 70 degrees etc. You have to be creative for your circumstance. I know that there is a crawl space under my house that I can store my sweet potatoes in a closed tote with tiny air vent holes. If the tote has a handle on it you can tie a small rope around the tote and pull it up so you don't have to go down in the crawl space. If you need more insulation you can use the disposable coolers and add a few tiny holes to it for air flow and you're crop will do fine. There are hundreds of videos on how to make cool places to store your food. You just need to find the one that best fits your circumstances. Occasionally the effort/time, space and money needed to succeed causes me to rethink if I should purchase that item and not grow it. Most of the time I find a way to make it work. I would love to hear all the creative ways that worked or didn't work for everyones sweet potato adventures. PS I'm a Northern grower as well.
We're blessed to be in a nice cool mountain area, and have a 50* basement, but for longer storage ~ I use an old hillside covered foundation, with a ground level entrance, that works great for my 40* root cellar. ( It used to be for the fireplace, now retired & replaced with a very reliable woodstove. It keeps potatoes, carrots, beets right up to spring, even in zero outside temps! I also cover the baskets with
an old blanket to avoid freezing. Squash + some fruit we keep in a small empty unused and unheated bedroom.. I did a lot of 'root cellar' research for my project.
We finally have a decent sweet potato harvest to store & THATS why I'm here ! =)
I'm in southwest Georgia, when I dig them up, I just lay them on the grass on the edge of my garden. Every three days I roll them over one third for nine days. The sun light will do the trick, they will be so sweet 😋
Excellent job explaining in cooler climates on how to cure sweet potatoes. Thanks so much I’m in zone 6a thanks again
Thanks Shannon! Curing my Okinawans right now! What a Gal!
Very good details on harvesting, curing and storage of the sweet potato.
Excellent presentation. Following from Republic of Kenya
This is an excellent video---so much info in a short amount of time!!!! Perfect!
Wow! This is the best video I've seen yet on potatoes! Thanks!
So complete;the most informative info. The only one that I’ve seen covering what to do after harvest, it is so appreciated.
I had a ton of purple sweet potatoes this year! Completely by accident - I put them in a "tower" to see what would happen. The purple was the only one that grew. Enough for 3 purple sweet potato pies! It was crazy!
Purple sweet potatoes do so much better than others for some reason ☺️
Shannon's advice is right on for storage.
Hello I just found your channel I am in Massachusetts I did not know about this I am new to gardening I have learned so much from you today and I’ve been watching sweet potato videos for a while thank you so much
How did I miss this video!!! So excited!!!!!! I’ve been googling everything to learn how to grow them!
Thank you thank you!!
I've been harvesting sweet potato greens this year from root leavings form plant starts I bought from Baker Creek two years ago! Apparently I missed harvesting some! Going to try to dig up the beds once they start to die back and see if I find any tubers this year. Thank you for all that you do. You have great energy!
Sweet Potatoes grow very easily here in Hawaii, but I've been just digging them up and eating them. It never occurred to me that they need to be cured. Thank you so much for teaching me how to cure them. I'm sure they'll taste even better from now on! Mahalo!
Glad to be helpful!
First year growing sweet potatoes, here in Colorado zone 5b, under black plastic. Thank you for the great advice - I'll be harvesting in the next week or two!
I have been trying to grow sweet potatoes for many years here in zone 4( plains of Montana.) The Georgia Jet is the earliest. (I tested these for a university before they came out.) They have two varieties out now that are twice as sweet as regular sweet potatoes. (Bonita and Evangeline). The Bonita is white and earlier than the Evangeline. I have never been able to cure sweet potatoes except once by accident. Last year I tried a heat lamp and burned them all up. But many years ago I harvested my sweet potatoes, got an old refrigerator door, turned it over, put black plastic in it and added sweet potatoes and left them out in the sun for a week or so (these were warm days of around 75 degrees.) When I went to bake them, they filled up the house with a delicious sweet perfume from the sweet potatoes. When I ate them, I wanted to continually slosh them around in my mouth they were so delicious. The sweet potatoes I buy from the store are not sweet when baked. Now I am going to use a heat lamp, continually monitor the temperature and wrap the sweets loosely with aluminum foil with the end open and see what happens. I might also try the plastic bag method.
Shannie this is excellent video, I am so impressed with your hands on knowledge, you are so amazing!
Clear explanation of how to. Thanks for taking time to teach av learnt a lot and am looking forward to start working my tubers
That was the most complete video on the topic that I have seen. My first ever crop is in the ground and first frost is at the end of the month. Thanks
I have a mother plant I keep as a house plant, she gave me all my slips this year. I hope she will give me greens this winter.
We do 400-ish pounds a year.
Makeshift Curing Chamber is unused bathroom in the basement. Two stacks of 40 lb crates (5 or 6 high, stacked on wheeled dolly) fit quite nicely in a small bathroom.
A small $25 ceramic room heater set at 90 degrees and twice a day we run the shower for 2-3minutes full-on hot to steam up the room to 100% + humidity (it dissipates throughout the day but we found twice a day is sufficient. )
8 to 10 days and good-to-go.
Ours last in the basement (55-65 degrees most of Winter. Up to about 73 in Summer) ... they last well into next season's harvest. 12, 13+ months.
Thanks! It sure looks like we'll have a sweet potato harvest to store this year! So now I know how! Hope it does well. It's still hot here so they might prep. outside, protected & with high moisture ! 'weather dependant' ! =}
Thank You for posting! I’ll have to try curing them up your way and see if they sweeten up this time 😃
Sergio, failure to cure sweet potatoes is often the culprit when the tubers just don'
t quite sweeten up!
Excellent video!
Amazing, makes me appreciate them even more :)
Great video! Planning my slips from Rare Seeds at the end of May! Ill be harvesting in a week or so and really needed this video! Thanks for the abundance of information. Very insightful!
Her garden is paradise for hens too.
yep the chickens are free range and are not camera shy!
Thanks for the great video. Grew some in a keg bucket this year so probably will not get a lot but still worth the effort.
Very useful, growing in Spain, so get ideal growing conditions, but did not get the humidity right during the cure and had disappointing, starchy, dry and insipid tubers. Still got most of my harvest in the ground so will try again. Thank you so much, hope winter is kind where you are 👌🙏
Thank you Shannie, great info.
Thanks Michelle!
Very good video - I didn't know all that...and the chickens adorable!
Thanks! Yes LOL the chickens loooove to get their 5 seconds of fame!!
Thank you for this information. It was very helpful
One tip ive read is to store roots and things in sand. But another guy said charcoal works because if one root spoils the charcoal absorbs the water and smell.
thank you Shannie :)
Inteligenta ,harnica ,frumoasa ,succes garantat !
Hang bags from rafters in the garage for curing. A humidifier can help.
Store in basement after that.
EXCELLENT video.
WOWWWW- Zone 6 that's impressive. I am 5b- 1st year- but did not black plastic- will do that next yr
Thank you for mentioning what to do with the broken ones!
great vid of harvesting sweet potatoes - thx
love your chickens
Thanks! They certainly love hopping into the shot!
Thank you very informative 👍
YAY!I GOT MOLOKAI coming cant wait to make Deep purple Sweet potato pie! I'm in 5b in Chicago, but i know they grow here! So excited!!! Great tips ty!
No problem! Yes they should grow well in your area! Enjoy the purple pie!
@@RareSeedsBC ty., it's grndma& mom's recipe should be good!@lol
@@seedaholicgardens9085 yummmm
That was a Foxfire worthy discussion on sweet potatoes. Thank you for sharing, and re-enlivening this wisdom!
Skot thanks for your feedback! We'll keep sharing the wisdom :D
🤩.. so much info.. 🗣.. THANK YOU
Very nice 👌
Good. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this info. You know, it's easy to grow, but knowing what to do once you've harvested is the important info. I live in Texas, so I know I can grow them, I'm hoping to be able to store them in cool enough conditions. No cellars/basements here. Thank you for the info!!
Not sure the greenhouse will be warm enough by the time we get our first frost/harvest here in Southern Ontario Zone 6.. Usually our first frost is late October/early November, from what I remember the greenhouse was around 55-80F then. Might try the oven method or maybe putting the plastic bags over a heating vent instead... (with a towel or something in between so the metal doesn't melt the plastic)
After that, the garage might be warm enough for the first few weeks but it's unheated and can drop as low as 10F during cold snaps. Greenhouse should be 50-60F. Basement and crawlspace should be right around 60F.
Those are nice. Congratulations and well done!!! I like it! :) “Outdoors and Country Living”.
Did i hear you say you are in RI? I farm in Cranston. Thanks for all the useful info🍠🍠🍠
Hi Shannie McCabe,
I’m in Los Angeles in Zone 10b. I bought Molokai Purples, Pumpkin Yams, and the White sweet potato slips from Rare Seeds. I’m glad that you held up the white variety because mine look like yours so I know that it’s a characteristic of that variety.
I planted in late May or Early June and harvested on October 27th because the previous night’s temperature was 55 degrees and the leaves at the bottom of the trellis we’re turning yellow. Most of all, I wanted to cure them in time for Thanksgiving. Now you’re telling me that I should wait 2 weeks to cure And 6 weeks storage for the sweetest taste? Please say it isn’t so🥺.....
The curing process makes all of the difference in the world... But maybe cure them and let them store as long as possible before testing one out for the flavor. And if they're sweet enough to use for your Thanksgiving meal, go for it!!
It is so, unfortunately.
Here's the deal with black plastic. Back in the 80's they did studies on plastic mulches. Black plastic is great for suppressing weeds but only heats up about the first quarter inch of soil. Clear plastic is the best at heating, but does nothing to combat the weeds. There's a mulch on the market now that's called IRT mulch, it suppresses weeds helps conserve water and heats the soil 10 degrees higher than uncovered soil.
Excellent! Thank you.
Thank you ver much. Just had my first sweet potato harvest, small but happy. Will the sun damage them or do i need to cover them in the plastic bag. Much blessings
oh how I wish I had seen this before I harvested mine. I left them in a sack for a week and now they are mostly rotten. there were cut edges on some and that spread the rot. i had no idea this process to store - individually wrapped? I knew of curing but had just left them in the sun on a blanket to cure. I wonder how the ones you find in the supermarket are cured and stored - they seem to keep for weeks in my sack not spoiling. Are they sprayed with something?
Pania...yes they are sprayed with some seriously not good stuff.
I found you just in time! I just harvested my first ever crop of sweet potatoes and was looking for information on how to cure them. I am in the southernmost part of Virginia. Can I leave them outdoors in the sun for the two weeks? Temps are in the mid 70s to mid 80s right now and dipping to the mid 50s at night. Should I bring them indoors or perhaps try using a cold frame?
No you dont want to leave them in the sun, you do need warm temps, but also, humidity
This lady could store her tubers in my cellar all winter...
Mine too but thete wouldn't be any left come spring !
Very informative video thanks I was just hoping you could say tubers a few more times
OK So after 2 weeks at 85F do you put the potatoes in the 50-60F cooler immediately then give them an additional 6-8 weeks at 50-60F to reach peak sweetness or do you go from the 2 weeks at 85F then another 6-8 weeks at room temperature ( 65-75F) then store at 50-60F ?
If we took a shot every time you said tuber, we'd all die. Good info tho 👌
Should I cure yellow gold potatoes the same way and can they be stored in the same root cellar?
no, regular potatoes are cured at cool temperatures, 50-60F and in darkness, then stored in the root cellar
is this storage and curing method applicable for yam. Also should be cardboard box be opened or closed. Thank you ma. I await response.
Help! Zone 10b San Diego. How am I going to cure my potatoes? If I put in plastic bags can I put the bags on a table on my covered porch?
yes that should work!
Where ddid you get your Purple Okinawan??? MAN!! that's a tropical variety and you grew it in zone 6a ??? Wow!!! Cool !!
We offer it as a live plant in spring from our website rareseeds.com
@@RareSeedsBC I emailed them to email me when the plants become available . In the video you say you growing them in are in RI and the website says you have 2 stores . One in Mansfeild Mo the other in Petaluma Ca .
Are they scuessfully growing Purple Okinawan in Mo as well? What date did you plant and harvest yours in RI?
VERY helpful video, Tks 😃
It’s the first time I tried the plastic bag method for curing and they sprouted like crazy. I’m in a warm climate, so I think it was too moist and warm. Any advice on how to keep them from sprouting?Thanks!
Did you poke ventilation holes in the bag? and only pack the in a single layer in each bag?
Did you poke ventilation holes in the bag? and only pack the in a single layer in each bag?
What if I don't have a greenhouse to cure. Don't really have a sunny spot besides outside. I have a shed but then that is not sunny
a porch that gets some direct sunlight works well! :)
No matter how much we grow, it never lasts until spring.
---Mike and Shari.
haha! just have to keep growing more!!
@@RareSeedsBC OR stop eating so much ! =D
love it where did you get your purple ones from
we sell them as a live plant in spring!
In case it might matter = I did a 'taste test' before planting AND the results
were = I preferred the common orange sweet potato + my son loved the purple.
I rejected the purple ones (I had purchased several kinds ~ the common well-
known was my very favorite.) It's harvest time for them... so l'll soon find out how it all grew. We're in upstate NY zone 5. We always have a big garden but
this is my first at having a decent sweet potato harvest = i hope.
I bought a bunch of sweet potatoes thinking I could put them in our root cellar. Since they are store bought I guess I better cook and freeze them right?
you can still use the method shannie provided quite successfully, as store bought sweet potatoes, should have already been cured!
I always bought 10kilos and consume it for two weeks..some potatoes does not last longer ...
I spotted a Turkin chicken in the background. I love that breed. Ugly but yet beautiful. :-)
yes, we named her naked neck and she is sooo friendly! I love that breed!
If the amount of time between my first light frost and first hard freeze is 2-3 weeks can the tubers be left in a cardboard box outside but not in a greenhouse? I am thinking about placing them in a dry covered location in shade, you mention in the sun, does it have to be a sunny location?
The sun helps to cure the plants this is why I use plastic bags! Keep in mind that a bit of indirect sunlight can be enough to cure them!
@@RareSeedsBC Thanks!
Is there an earlier video that explains the black plastic?
I don't believe there's another video that goes into great detail, but the black plastic helps to absorb the sunlight and heat up the soil to create ideal growing conditions for the sweet potatoes.
@@RareSeedsBC thank you!
In a regular household where the temp is the same on all parts,I find no way to store at 50-55 degrees. The house is 70 year round, we have no garage and don’t live where it’s 55 degrees in the winter. No cold basement either. What do I do?
kitchen cupboards that are out of direct sunlight should have cooler temps than the rest of your house, this might be difficult in a closed cupboard, but also strong airflow should lower the temp some, and the high airflow will help make up for warmer temps as well
Can I cute them in a open crate that has no light. Example like the plastic tray your using in video
yes, but you want some air exchange
I've been trying to grow sweet potatoes for a very long time now, but I can never grow them. I tried the slips and stems but no results. I planted them for 4 - 5 months, but still nothing. What am I doing wrong. Please help. I live in zone 10
If they aren't forming tubers, keep an eye on the moisture. If the plants are too stressed, they won't put energy into former tubers.
@@RareSeedsBC NO guarantee here BUT this is the FIRST time that I have
seen any real results from our sweet potato planting. Never had much success with the 'slips' SO threw in several cut up chunks AND the foliage is amazing = looks quite promising this time ! Won't know until harvest! BUT expecting a decent amount ~ so doing storage research now with high hopes! We usually harvest more than needed from our other plantings, and have ample supplies in root cellar and canned vegs.
I have mine in plastic bags as suggested but today I noticed there is moisture in the bags. Is this ok? Should I put them in different bags or maybe add more holes? Thanks.
adding more holes should help, if its a lot of moisture, changing bags would be worth it as well
RareSeeds do you place the plastic bags in direct sunshine or do they get green like other potatoes?
@@luellaklassen6439 Sweet potatoes are not the same botanically as potatoes. Not an issue.
no you keep them out of direct sunlight!
RareSeeds well most say you put them in direct sunlight. What happens if you have them in direct sunlight? They don’t get green like regular potatoes.
Better to use burlap or mulch not plastic in ground. Go organic and let thy food be thy medicine.
Not trying to be an arse, but aren't sweet potatoes a true root instead of a tuber?
First time growing sweet potato... Have a couple hundred pounds... I oooofed I think... 😖
Awesome
Can we buy sweet potato seeds from your company?!🤠🤔 please!
We sell sweet potato slips as live plants in Spring, but we cant ship them outside the USA
so we're supposed to store them at 85 degrees to cure after harvesting them after a light frost. Where is that supposed to be when most homeowners don't have a green house? my house is never at 85, even during the summer.
You may need to get creative, but some people install a 40 watt bulb in their oven, place a tray of water on the bottom to add humidity, and leave the light on. If it gets too warm with the bulb on, you can prop the oven door open just a bit.
@@RareSeedsBC THAT is a fantastic idea! VERY ingenious!
If you're in the south and have a PORCH or YARD that stays H O T ~ That's
what I expect to do as soon as we get a first frost OR we'll have to heat the
basement =( hope not. good luck!
Here is a great idea !!! Instead of chewing and spitting tobacco .Chew raw sweet potato .swallow the juice , spit the pulp
There is actually a divise called a " jawzrcise jaw exerciser" you chew it and it makes your face very handsome liek a movie star. Chewing sweet potato would do the same
One (low priority ) breeding trait would be to breed for the juiciest sweet potatoe becasue that is actually what I am doing (swallowing the juice and spitting out the puip) Try It when you have a long drive or are going on a long walk or hike
Its not only another marketing angle it makes for a heathier USA
What if live in Hawaii? We rarely get in the 50s… ugh
Basements and garages work well!
So you can’t just grow sweet potatoes and then eat them? Curing them must be done at 85° and in a moist environment? Well I guess I’m not growing sweet potatos then. I thought growing them to eat was like growing regular potatoes but I don’t have an incubator so.... I can’t imagine the growers doing this whole process of 85° in a moist environment etc. Also to store them you wrap each one in newspaper? Who has newspapers anymore? I’m going to another site to find someone who has a different method. This sounds to Looney Tunes
There are multiple ways to cure a sweet potato. But you'll definitely want to cure them before eating.
From my experience, no cure required. Mine are sweet even when fresh. I doubt tubers you can buy are "cured" this way. However, it also may be related to variety, maybe some of them really need to be "cured", but I've never seen it. Or, maybe.they are not sweet when too old and too large.
You sound like you spend a lot of your life complaining and insulting! 👎
OMG. Watch your fingers. Lol. Don’t stab them with that knife.
if i put down black plastic it would be full of fire ant nests underneath
Cure? Really? It does not make any sense in my opinion, sorry. Mine are sweet and tasty when fresh. Without any weird treatment. Waste of time, or your variety is much different and it requires to be "cured". I have purple, orange and white flesh ones. Also, I always keep them together in cool place and nothing bad happens