Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've decided to devote some of my system to growing sweet potato's for their greens as well as their potatoes (of course). I've had some success but I was wondering what everyone thought was the most productive technique/medium for growing these? Here's what I've got so far: That's about 3 months of growth from a tiny clipping to start it. The vine was pretty massive too, but those greens became a few salads, Tilapia food and food for one poorly behaved dog. Thanks for the ideas in advance!

I've seen videos of them grown in AP, then the vine travels off into a compost pile, then they put the potatoes into the compost.

It could be anything loose and easy for them to bury into.

It might be trickier doing that if you have a dog with a taste for them though.

I guess I should have mentioned that this system is in my house, so the vines are confined to a 16 x 24 inch tray with a maximum vertical space of 20inches... Game on!

Columnmn, luckily the trays are elevated, so the only part the dog can reach is if the vines hang down from the system, so hopefully not to much of a problem, if I keep on top of it that is..

Will they tuber in AP? I was under the impression they hate wet feet... I have always planted mine in-ground in well draining sandy soil, and never watered them after they were established. I bet AP would be a great slip generator though for planting out a soil garden. Very interested to see how this works out for you.

J.B.

This site recons you can grow them in aquatic pots
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/vegieguide/


I like the way it says to watch out for rot from poorly drained soils!


Been thinking of trying to grow them in nets in a fish tank (to stop the fish nibbling the roots) as a bit of an experiment.

J.B. the little potato you see is one I grew from a sweet potato vine clipping. Took about 2.5 months to go from a little 3 inch piece of vine to a huge vine with a little potato on it, so it can be done in ap, I was just hoping for a faster rate of tuber development.

Mattyoga thanks for the link, I'll read through it and see if it can help me. Does anyone know if the actual root mass is edible to humans? I was thinking of using it like a spaghetti dish if it is....

That may be the lynch pin in the whole thing. The home garden benchmark is about 2kg per slip planted in a 100-120 day season.

I know your system is inside... is it under grow lights?

The whole of the plant is edible. Cook up some Sweet Potato Spagrooty and let us know...

Check out the root mass at the bottom of this link.
http://fivegallonideas.com/growing-sweet-potatoes/

J.B.

I had a tight root mat much like that around the potato and also a nice thick pad on the bottom of the net cup also. I figured the right apparatus could yield a few potatoes, a ton of greens and a massive root ball, all edible, or easily fish food for the Tilapia. That's a good link by the way thanks!