Sweet potatoes are becoming increasingly more familiar in Ontario’s diets, and consumption has increased, in part due to the popularity of sweet potato fries. They are a vegetable that can be cooked and baked in many ways. Not only are they delicious, but they are also rich in both Vitamin A and Vitamin C. They have long been considered a southern crop because of the long growing season required, but they are being grown in Ontario as well. They love sandy soil, and need a fairly long growing season, about 100 days. They are typically grown from slips and planted in early June. The last number of weeks is when the fruit is bulking up in size, so the longer the growing season, the better. 2020 had an early frost in September, which cut down on the growing season. The plants are very susceptible to frost, so once there is a frost, the vines will die and the potatoes will need to be harvested. They also have few enemies (insects or blight), so they are fairly maintenance free other than keeping ahead of the weeds.
