Sweet potatoes refuse to sprout

[imgrimmer]

I have several bulbs I purchased over the last months. Most of them refuse to sprout. Some might treated others definately not.
I put them in a light place inside with some water on the bottom. Especially a bulb from a nearby gardener start to rot, what a disaster!

Is there a better way?

[philagardener]

I too have had store bought, even organic, sweet potatoes that would not sprout for any amount of effort.

Regular sweet potatoes are treated with all sorts of things to prevent sprouting (many are herbicides); even organic growers have options, including ethylene apparently, to prevent sprouting.  All I can say is they seem remarkably effective and virtually impossible to reverse. 

[prairiegardens]

I read somewhere that if the storage area was too cold at some point they wouldn't sprout, no idea if true. I also had some super slow but getting some named varieties that should be here next month so probably just as well. I wanted three varieties and they only came in bundles of ten or bigger so that's already more biig pots than I've got and then there's the glads and dahlias and Irish potatoes.......

[reed]

I don't have a large amount of experience with them but I think for one thing they like it warm, always. Next it seems like they are more likely to sprout slips if they have already sprouted some roots, so I put them in wet sand in the dark till I see some little roots along where they meet the sand. At that point the times I have removed one from the sand to look it had more roots below. When I see some roots I put them in full sun in a south window and soon have slips.

I pitch any that start getting soft and rotted but a small amount of mold doesn't seem to hurt too much. As long as no rot and only a little mold just be patient a while longer, you may be surprised.

[paquebot]

Sweet potatoes aren't treated with anything to prevent them from sprouting since sprouting is not a problem. Once they are properly cured and stored, they will eventually rot or dry up before sprouting. Hence no need to treat them.

What they need to sprout is both moisture and heat. Around 85ºF is best temperature. Jar method is best. That is, suspend a tuber about an inch off the bottom of a jar. That's done by using toothpicks or skewers around the rim. The jar is then placed over a heat source which can maintain that 85ºF temperature. It's a slow process. Roots will appear first after about 2 weeks. Then sprouts will begin forming a week or so later. I start mine about the middle of February on top of an aquarium hood. Heat from the 40w light supplies the heat.

Martin

[steev]

Besides which, that jar in the window with a sweet potato hung up on toothpicks looks cool.

Granted, it's not an avocado pit, but potentially more useful.

[prairiegardens]

They are handy to grab some leaves for an omelet that way. An energetic sweet potato can make a serious attempt to take over the whole room though give them water and ignore them for two days and a vine on its way to the dining room will be visiting with the canisters 6 feet away.

[SteveB]

I had a few stubborn tubers this year. I almost gave up on them but then moved them into the greenhouse. I have them in cups buried in moist soil about a quarter of the way. After a week out there they are going nuts. I may have overdid it..

[imgrimmer]

Thanks! I think they need a little bit more heat then. I`ll try.

[SteveB]

Wish you luck! Hoping for a sweet harvest...

[imgrimmer]

I just put them in a cup of water in a closed plastic box in the sun. At night they stay inside the house.
For the most of them it works fine.