Looking for a Sweet Fall Harvest? Here’s How to Get Started Growing Sweet Potatoes in the Summer

Grown throughout the summer, sweet potatoes are perfect vegetables to add to your garden for a delicious addition to your fall produce
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By Alexandra Cusson, UNH Extension Intern

  • Red sweet potatoes

Starting materials to grow sweet poatoes 

To start your sweet potato garden, you will need slips rather than pieces of root. Slips are the rooted sprouts that grow out of the sweet potatoes and can be purchased from many seed or plant suppliers. 

You can start your own slips, but roots from a grocery store are often not identified by variety (i.e. you won’t know what you are starting with).  

How to produce your own slips

 

  1. Place sweet potato roots on their sides in trays of soil for 6-8 weeks before you want to transplant them outside. 
  2. Cover the roots in 2 inches of moist sand and keep the trays between 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. 
  3. When the roots are 4-6 inches long, remove them by twisting and tugging. 
  4. The roots will continue to produce more sprouts that can be planted into well-prepared ground or placed in a jar of water for a few days to produce a rooted slip or to delay planting. 

Note: If you purchase slips, you will have to specify the ship date.  

What are sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes are an underground tuber rich in antioxidant beta-carotene and vitamin A. Sweet potatoes are nutritious, delicious and high in fiber. 

How to serve

There are many ways to serve and eat sweet potatoes, including but not limited to making your own French fries — all you need is a sheet pan, your sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and any other favorite herbs or seasoning! Cook at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes in your oven while you prepare the rest of your meal.  

Oven Fries Recipe 

Suggested Related Articles and Resources

Person holding up sweet potato slip
Growing Sweet Potatoes in New Hampshire [fact sheet]


Becky Sideman's fact sheet provides a detailed overview of growing, harvesting and storing sweet potatoes, with information about pests and varieties. 

street market
Potatoes Fresh from Farmers Markets

Potatoes come in many different colors like white, yellow, red and even purple, as well as many different shapes and sizes. Learn about the kinds of potatoes you might find at a farmers market and how to prepare them with chicken and other veggies.

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Call toll free at 1-877-398-4769, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or e-mail us at answers@unh.edu.

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