Murasaki Sweet Potato

slips

Ipomoea batatas
Purple skin, white flesh. (120 days) Japanese-type sweet potato requires a longer season to mature; it may pose a challenge to northern growers, but the eating quality is unbeatable. Rich nutty flavor and high sugar content. A shoo-in for our southern customers. If you’re one of those Yankee gardeners who can’t back down from a dare (who says you can’t grow figs and artichokes in Maine?), this is the sweet for you. Well worth the extra effort.

Supplier Transparency:
? Family-owned companies or cooperatives, domestic and foreign

ships in spring

7178 Murasaki

Shipping

This item will drop-ship via USPS directly from our supplier according to your region (please see below). If you would like to request a different shipping week than the one recommended for your region, you can do that at checkout (within reason—slips cannot be safely shipped when the weather is too cold).

Additional Information

Sweet Potato Slips Ipomoea batatas

Sweet potatoes are no fussier than winter squash—if you can grow butternut, you can grow sweet potatoes! See below for more information.

Shipping

Sweet potato slips are shipped by region, not by USDA zone (see map below). In the Northeast they ship in mid to late May. If you live in a colder microclimate than your surrounding region, you may request a shipping week when placing your order.

Estimated sweet potato slip ship dates

Shipping schedule may change due to weather conditions or other variables. You will be notified via email when your order has shipped.

region	timing
■ 1	April 15-25
■ 2	April 22-May 5
■ 3	May 3-13
■ 4	May 10-20
■ 5	May 15-25
■ 6	May 20-30

Growing Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are tropical drama queens and need lots of heat and pampering to perform in the North. They prefer rich, slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5 to 6.5).

Upon Arrival Slips that can’t be planted right away should be put in a vase of water in a warm sunny location. Slips that arrive with few leaves or roots are still likely to perform well; if the slips arrive slimy and rotten, please email us with pictures.
Planting Out Sweet potatoes like a loose soil bed with plenty of organic matter and micro-nutrients—think Kelp Meal and Azomite. Plant slips 18" apart in rows 36" apart. We recommend planting after all danger of frost into hills or raised beds covered with IRT plastic mulch. Protect the plants with slitted plastic row cover over wire hoops and drench the plants regularly with Fish Hydrolysate with Kelp.
Harvest and Curing Harvest just before frost. Before storing, spread in a single layer in a greenhouse or room above 70° for 10-14 days. After curing, store above 55°, and enjoy!