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Friday, July 18, 2008

Garbage Can Sweet Potatoes

2008_0716image0035 Who says you can't grow sweet potatoes using the garbage can method? 

I planted one trash can of sweet potatoes on the same day that I did the white potatoes.  These were plain organic sweet potatoes I bought from Whole Foods.  I cut them into pieces and covered them with dirt. 

When I posted this the first time I had a commenter say that, unfortunately, you can't grow sweet potatoes using this method.  I was ready to throw the dirt out of this can when I spotted this. 

Now I suppose it could be some freak weed growing but I'm thinkin that's a sweet potato plant!  YAHOO!

There's only one in there, but still, I'm growing sweet potatoes in a garbage can!

6 comments:

  1. Don't you love it when stuff works! Keep us posted as to whether any sweet potatoes come from this method...

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  2. Definitely looks like my sweet potato vine (purely decorative, though I understand at the end of the growing season you have a sweet potato). When you wrote that someone left a comment that you couldn't grow sweet potatoes that way I had to Google and see why. Turns out that it's just unlucky that you'll get sweet potato starts with that method, not that it "can't be done."

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  3. Great idea! I can't wait to see how it turns out. We have grown regular potatoes in garbage cans. We didn't get a lot, but it was easy and fun.

    Keep us posted!

    Robin
    Gardening Examiner

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  4. I can not tell you how excited I am to try this next year!!!! I wish I had found out about this earlier! I am so excited for you!

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  5. congrats! that's a sweet potato all right! I thew mine in a heap of dirt last year and it grew and grew into a beautiful trailing vine, it has cute pink flowers too! Over all it's a lovely plant. btw, harvest before the frosts or you will lose the tuber! That was my mistake. I left it in the soil too long and next thing you know, it was rotted, and I live in Southern California where it's warm too!

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  6. I'm going to start sweet potato slices in water today for my method of propagation and I'm wondering how yours turned out that you did in the garbage can. If they take advantage of the space like white potatoes, I want to do the same. If they didn't I'll plant in shallow containers.

    Thanks!

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