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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Nov 6, 2015 1:37:09 GMT -5
hmm. yeah i hadn't thought about that. But i do like the suggestion of using some acetic acid prep. I doubt that would hurt. I'd be more inclined to use pure lemon juice than watered down stuff. I read another idea about brushing on rooting hormone and wrapping a moist paper towel around it and leaving it in a warm place. I think time / heat is the biggest factor. This could be an interesting opportunity to use my modified bread machine "germination chamber" that i made this summer. It is currently set to maintain temperature at 37 degrees C. I tested it when i was sprouting my squash seeds. a seed i had planted two days before, but had not emerged yet emerged in less than a day after using my temperature controlled bread machine! So, sweet potato sprouting might work well too... |
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Post by reed on Nov 7, 2015 7:24:22 GMT -5
Here is another article on the topic. It claims sweet potatoes are not treated but regular potatoes are. I have definitely noticed that regular potatoes won't sprout anymore. appliedmythology.blogspot.com/2014/02/school-science-project-gone-bad.html Haven't tried store bought ones but haven't had any problems getting sweet potatoes to sprout. Now I'm concerned with getting seeds to sprout. What is every ones experience with that? What stratification methods work? |
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Post by philagardener on Nov 7, 2015 8:05:48 GMT -5
Sprouting sweets from stores has been hit or miss for me. Most do seem to sit and sit until they finally rot. I've had better luck with material sourced from organic and farmer's markets, but even the organic products don't always sprout.
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Post by imgrimmer on Nov 7, 2015 11:02:14 GMT -5
I checked my seedlings in the greenhouse today. Half of them is dying probably due to the low temperatures. The other half is still looking alive. I found a very small tuber only 3 cm in length. I hope it will survive the winter.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Nov 8, 2015 1:14:11 GMT -5
I've been reading up on sweet potato storage and inhibiting practices. It seems that sweet potatoes are not treated with sprout inhibitor chemicals like regular potatoes, but commonly are required to be irradiated if from out of country. And in some cases just the curing process itself combined with temp control to keep them from sprouting. The irradiated ones are probably the ones that have trouble sprouting the most. an idea i had was to lightly scrape some skin off around the sweet potato eyes to stimulate them to sprout in addition to applying water and heat. i also found this: www.bae.ncsu.edu/people/faculty/boyette/pubs/sweetpotatoes_postharvest.pdf |
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Post by philagardener on Nov 8, 2015 13:07:07 GMT -5
Thanks - that's an interesting and informative pdf - great images of packing crate labels on the cover. "We be yammin"!
I guess there is no irradiation labeling requirement on produce once it is uncrated for the consumer. It would be interesting to know how much of that is going on. I have had a number of store bought sweet potatoes that simply would never sprout for me.
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Post by ottawagardener on Nov 20, 2015 9:04:40 GMT -5
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Post by ottawagardener on Nov 20, 2015 9:06:51 GMT -5
I also had the luck of visiting a large, Canadian research station that has been producing seed grown sweet potato. He said their original cultivars were produced by Covington x Beauregard. Covington is a standard around these parts though my luck with Beauregard has been iffy at best. So information for more southerly growers. I have been very active on fb by the way but missed you folks and wondered what you were up to. If you want to be totally inundated with plant photos, seek me out there. I am trying to get together a group of sweet potato growers willing to push the limits on this crop.
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Post by reed on Nov 20, 2015 11:48:14 GMT -5
I'm gonna give it my best shot next season. I have some seed from a friend, don't now what kind they are and some from a small intensely purple leaved ornamental. All the literature and advice indicates "Sweet potatoes are obligate out crossers meaning they require at least two genetically distinct individuals to produce seeds."
However, I don't think that is always true. there was only that one little ornamental in a pot last year (2014) and it made seeds. It's roots were very small and nothing to speak of taste wise but I'm overlooking that because of the fact it can make seeds. I plan to try to make crosses both ways but will most likely focus on it as the mother. [add] the other things I liked about it was it so compact and matured the seeds well before any danger of frost.
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Post by darrenabbey on Nov 21, 2015 1:16:05 GMT -5
I'd somehow missed the high self-incompatibility of sweet potatoes. This contributes to why none of my plants' flowers have ever produced seed. Next time, some more diverse germplasm.
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Post by flowerweaver on Dec 2, 2015 18:02:05 GMT -5
Well, after complaining I couldn't get store bought organic sweet potatoes to sprout, some that I had intended to eat got a bit soft in the fridge so I put them in the window sill a couple weeks ago...and they are sprouting! I would not call the sprouts robust but we'll see how they progress.
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Post by ilex on Dec 3, 2015 1:26:47 GMT -5
Well, after complaining I couldn't get store bought organic sweet potatoes to sprout, some that I had intended to eat got a bit soft in the fridge so I put them in the window sill a couple weeks ago...and they are sprouting! I would not call the sprouts robust but we'll see how they progress. They shouldn't be in the fridge, store them warm, hot if you want sprouts. |
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Post by philagardener on Dec 3, 2015 7:00:12 GMT -5
Well, after complaining I couldn't get store bought organic sweet potatoes to sprout, some that I had intended to eat got a bit soft in the fridge so I put them in the window sill a couple weeks ago...and they are sprouting! I would not call the sprouts robust but we'll see how they progress. They shouldn't be in the fridge, store them warm, hot if you want sprouts. Sweets are chilling sensitive and suffer cold injury at refrigerator temperatures, so they will actually go bad more quickly in there. |
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Post by flowerweaver on Dec 3, 2015 14:28:12 GMT -5
ilex and philagardener I have had absolutely no success in starting organic, store-bought sweet potatoes that weren't refrigerated (at least by me) in the window sill. I have only been able to start sweet potatoes that other gardeners gave me that way. Contrary to what you are both saying, these that I had intended to eat spent too long in the fridge and were going bad. They were slimy. Yet I rinsed them off and put them in the window sill and they are now sprouting!!! So my experience has been the opposite. I'm thinking that some sort of inhibitor came off with the slime? I would hope organic sweet potatoes don't have this treatment though. They are a purple skinned, white flesh kind.
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Post by philagardener on Dec 3, 2015 18:15:21 GMT -5
Maybe that's the secret to getting the recalcitrant ones to sprout, flowerweaver !  I'll have to give it a try! |
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I'll have to give it a try!