STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO GROW SWEET POTATOES
Another very important crop you don’t need to spend a dime acquiring the seedlings in most parts of Nigeria is sweet potatoes.
In most places, people harvest the tubers and abandon the leaves and stems in the farm.
The stems are actually planted for the next farming season. So you can simply get some from any of those farms where the harvest has been done.
But even before harvest, you can get from someone’s mature farm if it is allowed in your community.
Now, I have always liked sweet potatoes, but since a loaf of bread became N1,700, I knew I needed to start looking for other options, and potatoes might just offer a good alternative for breakfast, alongside pap or tea.
So here is a step-by-step guide on how to plant sweet potatoes:
Step one: Select the variety of your choice.
We have red and white varieties. Just choose anyone you prefer.
Step two: Prepare the soil.
Sweet potatoes are best planted on ridges or beds. Whichever one you choose should be at least 30cm high to give room for deeper penetration and growth of the tubers.
Step 3: Obtain the vines or stems and cut into sizes for planting.
Like I mentioned earlier, you can get the vines from any farm where they just finished harvesting or from a mature farm. You can also buy if you can’t find free ones within your location.
The cuttings should be about 20-30 cm long and contain at least 3 nodes (leaf joints).
Step four: Planting
Timing: The best time to plant sweet potatoes in Nigeria is at the beginning of the rainy season, around April to June (that means you can still plant yours in the next few weeks).
Spacing: Plant the vines on the ridges or beds at a spacing of 30cm apart.
Don’t place the vines straight into the soil. They should slant at an angle of 45 degrees into the soil, burying about two-thirds of the vine.
Step five: Fertilizer application
Apply organic manure or NPK fertilizer three to four weeks after planting.
Step six: Weed Control
To ensure that weeds do not oppress the crop, there is a need for regular weeding, and you should weed 2-3 times during the growing season.
Step seven: Harvesting
This is the most important stage for every farmer.
Sweet potatoes are usually ready for harvest 3-4 months after planting.
Signs of Maturity: The leaves start to turn yellow, and the skin colour intensifies.
Harvesting Method: Uproot the plants carefully using hoes or by hand, avoiding damage to the tubers.
After harvest, the stems removed, just like in cassava stems, form the seedlings for the next planting exercise.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is nothing special or technical about planting potatoes. Almost anyone can do it; and within three months, you start enjoying the fruit of your labour.
I just planted mine last week; you can plant yours today.