Growing Slips

• 1). Obtain a few clean sweet potatoes. The best place to get the sweet potatoes is from a local farmers' market. Doing this will ensure you have a sweet potato variety that is compatible with your region. Each sweet potato can produce up to 50 slips.
  
  
• 2). Cut the potatoes in half.
  
  
• 3). Fill one mason jar with water for each half of potato you cut.
  
  
• 4). Place the toothpicks horizontally about 3/4 toward the rounded end of the sweet potato. Place one half potato in each mason jar, positioned so it is half in and half out with the cut end in the water. The toothpicks hold the potato up so it stays in position.
  
  
• 5). Place the jars in a warm, sunny place. Wait a few weeks until there are sprouts on top and roots on the bottom.
  
  
• 6). Separate each individual sprout from the sweet potato by carefully twisting it off. Place each sprout in a shallow bowl of water with the bottom of the sprout in the water and the leaves hanging over the edge of the bowl.
  
  
• 7). Wait a few days for the roots to sprout in the water. To keep the slips healthy, refresh the water often. When the roots measure about one inch long it's time to plant the slip. Throw out any sprouts that don't produce roots or look wilted.
  
  

Planting Slips

• 1). Prepare the soil for planting the slips by loosening it thoroughly. Sweet potatoes need soil that drains well in order to form large potatoes.You may need to add some sand to your soil to assure proper drainage.
  
  Sweet potatoes are a warm-weather plant. The ideal time to plant sweet potatoes is well after the last winter frost when the soil has reached at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
  
• 2). Arrange the soil in rows of built-up ridges 6 to 12 inches in height and about 3 feet apart. Doing this will ensure the sweet potatoes have good drainage throughout the growing season.
  
  
• 3). Dig a hole for each slip in the high part of the ridge. Each hole should be 4 or 5 inches deep and 3 inches wide. Position the holes about 12 to 15 inches apart.
  
  
• 4). Place the slips in the holes carefully. Sweet potatoes are sensitive and can damage easily. Roots go below the soil line and the leaves stay above-ground.
  
  
• 5). Fill in the holes with dirt. Press the soil gently but firmly enough to remove any air pockets. Don't cover up any of the sprouting leaves.
  
  
• 6). Water the slips each day for the first week, then every other day for the second week. Taper watering off until you reach the point of watering the sweet potatoes once a week. Water thoroughly but gently--too strong a stream of water will cause runoff and erode the ridges.