Sweet Potato Propagation

 At the end of last Autumn, before the first frosts I dug up my Beauregard Sweet Potatoes.  They had been growing in a black plastic dustbin all Summer and had really enjoyed the heat.

 To my surprise I dug up some enormous tubers which were growing deep under the compost.  Sweet potatoes are very frost tender and will not survive any degree of cold.  So I decided to take some cuttings to try to propagate some new plants for next year.

 I cut off some tips of the growing vines and just put them in a glass of water on a windowsill.  Sweet potatoes are related to the bindweed family.. I don't seem to have any problem at all propagating THAT! so they have been on a warm, sunny windowsill indoors since then.

 And here they are in mid January!  Rooted well and still green and healthy. Just in a glass of water on the windowsill!  If you look in the seed catalogues for Sweet Potatoes, the variety Beauregard is one of the varieties that do best in our British climate.  Rooted slips just like these are posted out to you in about May to be planted out when the soil is warming up.

I suppose I should pot them up into compost some time, but they are doing so well I don't want to disturb them.  Looks like I will have some growing slips to plant next Spring. Fingers crossed.