SWEET POTATO FARMING

 How to plant

1. Make a hole 6 inches deep and 12 inches apart

2. Bury slips(vines cuttings from sprouted sweet potatoes) up to the top leaves

3. Press the soil down gently but firmly

4. Water well




Sweet potatoes mature in 85 to 120 days and they are extremely frost sensitive

Plant them in full sun 3 to 4 weeks after the last frost when the soil has warmed

Loamy soil with a pH of 5.8 to 6.3 is preferable for sweet potato growth

Sweet potatoes are ready to harvest just as the ends of the vines begin to turn yellow. To avoid injuring the tubers, find the primary crown of the plant you want to dig and then use a digging fork to loosen an 18inche wide circle around the plant


In most parts of Malawi, farmers store the harvested sweet potatoes in a pit, covering them layer by layer with ash or dry sand in order to keep them for the dry season when food is scarce. Cooked sweet potatoes can be stored in a refrigerator,frozen,dried or canned .


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