A die-hard homesteader named John Moody recently grew dozens of sweet potatoes with nothing more than one sweet potato, one container, and a mixture of homemade compost, coconut fiber, worm castings, fish emulsion, and water.
Moody filled the container with three-quarters of his homemade mixture and watered it every few days. At the end of the season, one sweet potato turned into a container full! See the image below.
He also found 15 more sweet potatoes underneath the container!
Using a Mineral Tub to Grow Sweet Potatoes
Moody collects mineral tubs for all types of farm projects, including container growing, storage, and worm composting. These types of tubs are used most often in rural areas on farms that raise large animals.
To use the tubs for DIY growing projects, it’s most important to make sure there is proper drainage. Do so by adding about 20 holes in the bottom of the tub using a small-diameter bit (one-fourth inch or a little larger). It’s important that the holes aren’t too big, though, because you don’t want the growing medium to fall out of the bottom of the tub.
“It is good to layer the bottom two or so inches of the totes with rotted wood chips or similar compaction-resistant material to ensure that the holes don’t become clogged,” according to Moody.
The roots will air prune or die back in most instances.
You Can Use Any Type of Container
To grow your own sweet potatoes at home, you can use any type of container, not just a mineral tub. If you want to save money, instead of buying new tubs, consider repurposing old containers. Moody recommends that you use a container with a minimum of 2 cubic feet of volume (and even a little more) to allow for any root crop.
“I like the mineral totes because the surface area to depth ratio is about perfect for sweet potatoes (about 18 inches deep). Much deeper and you are spending money filling space that probably won’t improve your yields much. Too shallow and your yields will suffer from insufficient space,” according to Moody.
This setup can be used to grow sweet potatoes on your deck, patio, or other structure. But, keep in mind that the water might drain out of the bottom of the container, which could possibly cause damage to the structure underneath. So, don’t put the container on top of a surface that might be destroyed by water.
However, you can minimize waterflow out of the bottom of the container by creating a self-watering design. Just use “two totes nested together where the bottom serves as a water reservoir for the top tote,” Moody explained.
What You Need to Know About Watering Sweet Potatoes
To effectively grow sweet potatoes in a container, you need to water it properly. Moody usually watered his potatoes two times per day. However, when the temperatures reached into the 90s or higher, he watered them three times every day. But remember not to waterlog the sweet potatoes.
“Ensure the growing mix is moist, but don’t water to the point you are getting leakage from the bottom if possible. But if the mix is always overly moist, rot and other problems will assault your sweets,” said Moody.
You will want to minimize leakage because it washes out nutrients. So, water more often and more lightly rather than watering in heavy amounts.
Add Supplemental Fertility
It’s also very important to add supplemental fertility, according to Moody. He recommends using organic approved fish emulsion.
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Every four weeks, add about a spoonful of the emulsion into a few gallons of water. Then pour it into the container.
“I like fish emulsion, since it comes with a wide range of trace minerals along with a solid NPK profile. The cost was miniscule – probably fifty cents to a dollar per tote is my guess,” said Moody.
Finally, do not overfill your container. Leave about two inches between the growing medium and the lip of the container.
