Reply #13: I've never grown sweet potatoes for food.

[LWolf]

When I was a kid, my mom used to put a sweet potato into a vase of water, with toothpicks to hold it up so part of it broke the surface. It grew a massive tangle of roots, and a huge house plant that lasted forever. I don't remember her transplanting them, but she may have done so eventually, and started over with a new sweet potato.

I do know that if you want a crop, you need to get them in the ground now, and that each slip needs to be spaced at least 12" from the other.