Overview

Embark on a rewarding gardening journey with this set of 5 Purple Okinawa Sweet Potato live plant slips. These unique sweet potatoes, botanically known as Ipomoea batatas ‘Purple Okinawa’, are cherished for their striking deep purple flesh and sweet, earthy flavor. Unlike the common orange varieties, the Okinawa sweet potato slips offer a distinctive culinary experience and are packed with antioxidants. Originating from Central and South America, these vigorous vines are perfect for home gardeners looking to add an exotic and healthy staple to their harvest. Each slip is carefully rooted and ready to be transplanted, making the process of growing purple sweet potatoes accessible and enjoyable for both novice and experienced growers.

These starter plants are delivered in a cup, ensuring their roots are well-established and protected, which significantly increases their success rate once planted in your garden. The ‘Purple Okinawa’ cultivar is renowned for its productivity and adaptability to various warm growing conditions. Whether you have a spacious garden bed, a raised garden, or even plan for container gardening, these slips are an excellent choice for a bountiful harvest of visually stunning and nutritious sweet potatoes. Get ready to enjoy the satisfaction of harvesting your own vibrant purple tubers.

Key Benefits

Our Okinawa sweet potato slips offer numerous advantages for the home gardener and culinary enthusiast:

• Unique Culinary Appeal: The vivid purple flesh of the Ipomoea batatas purple okinawa is not only beautiful but also boasts a distinct, slightly nutty sweetness that elevates any dish. They are perfect for baking, roasting, mashing, or even making vibrant purple fries, offering a healthy and colorful alternative to traditional potatoes.
• Rich in Antioxidants: These purple sweet potatoes are naturally high in anthocyanins, the same powerful antioxidants found in blueberries and other dark-colored produce, contributing to a healthier diet.
• High Yielding and Productive: Known for their robust growth, these vines produce an abundant harvest of tubers, providing a generous supply of sweet potatoes from a relatively small planting area.
• Easy to Grow: As rooted slips, these plants have a head start, making them simpler to establish and cultivate compared to starting from seed. They are generally low-maintenance once established, thriving with basic care.
• Versatile Growing Options: Suitable for various gardening setups, including traditional garden beds, raised beds, and large containers, making them adaptable to different outdoor spaces.
• Vigorous Growth Habit: The strong vine growth helps suppress weeds and can even be used as an attractive groundcover in edible landscapes.
• Adaptable to Warm Climates: These plants thrive in warm to hot weather, making them an excellent choice for gardens in USDA zones 8–11, where they can fully develop their delicious tubers.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Successfully growing purple sweet potatoes begins with proper planting and attentive care. These plants thrive in warm conditions, preferring full sun exposure. Ensure they receive at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily for optimal tuber development. Plant your Okinawa sweet potato slips outdoors after the last frost has passed, typically when soil temperatures consistently reach 65°F (18°C) or warmer. They are propagated from rooted slips or vine cuttings, not from seeds, ensuring true-to-type plants.

The ideal soil for these sweet potatoes is loose, well-drained sandy or loamy soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Avoid heavy clay soils or areas prone to waterlogging, as this can lead to root rot. Space the slips 12-18 inches apart within rows, with rows approximately 3 feet apart to allow for ample vine growth and tuber expansion. During the establishment phase, keep the soil evenly moist. Once the plants are established, water moderately, allowing the top inch or two of soil to dry out slightly between waterings to prevent cracking or rotting of the tubers. Overwatering can be detrimental, so proper drainage is crucial.

For fertilization, use a balanced or low-nitrogen formula. Too much nitrogen will encourage excessive leafy growth at the expense of tuber development. A fertilizer with a higher phosphorus and potassium content is generally more beneficial. These plants are relatively heat and humidity tolerant, making them resilient in many warm climates. Harvest typically occurs 90-120 days after planting, when the leaves begin to yellow. Handle the tubers gently to avoid bruising. After harvesting, cure them in a warm, humid environment (85°F and 85-90% humidity) for 7-10 days before storing them in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated space for long-term enjoyment. This curing process sweetens the potatoes and improves their storage life, making your edible sweet potato plant efforts truly worthwhile.

Size & Details

This offering includes a set of 5 Purple Okinawa Sweet Potato live plant slips, each carefully rooted and provided in a cup for optimal health during transit and successful transplanting. These are starter plants, not mature vines, ensuring they adapt well to your garden environment. The size of the plants may vary slightly depending on the season and specific growing conditions, but they are robust enough to establish quickly once planted. Each slip is ready to be planted directly into your garden, raised bed, or large container.

These vigorous vines will grow to cover a significant area, typically spreading several feet. The tubers themselves will develop underground, reaching a good harvestable size within 3 to 4 months. Expect a healthy yield from these productive plants, providing you with numerous delicious Okinawa sweet potato slips. While minor leaf yellowing or loss can occur during shipping, the plants are resilient and will recover with proper care and prompt transplanting, quickly growing into mature, tuber-producing vines.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big do these purple okinawa sweet potato live plant slips get? A: These are starter slips, typically small upon arrival. Once planted, the vines can spread several feet, and the tubers will develop underground over 3-4 months to a harvestable size, usually 6-12 inches long depending on growing conditions.
• Q: What size pot is best for growing purple sweet potatoes in containers? A: For container gardening, we recommend large containers, at least 15-20 gallons (or half whiskey barrels) per plant, to allow sufficient space for tuber development and vine spread.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The Ipomoea batatas purple okinawa is primarily an outdoor plant, grown for its edible tubers. It thrives in warm outdoor conditions and requires full sun exposure to produce a good crop.
• Q: How much sunlight does the edible sweet potato plant need? A: These sweet potato plants require full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily, for optimal growth and tuber production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, once established, these rooted slips are relatively easy to care for. They are heat-tolerant and require consistent watering during establishment, then moderate watering. They are a good choice for gardeners looking for a productive and low-maintenance crop.
• Q: What condition will the okinawa sweet potato slips arrive in? A: The slips will arrive rooted and packaged in a cup to protect their delicate root systems. Some minor leaf yellowing or wilting may occur during transit, which is normal, and the plants typically recover quickly after planting and watering.
• Q: When is the best time to plant these sweet potato slips? A: Plant these slips outdoors after the last danger of frost has passed in your area, when soil temperatures have warmed to at least 65°F (18°C). This is typically late spring or early summer.
• Q: Can I use the leaves of the purple okinawa sweet potato live plant for cooking? A: Yes, the young leaves and shoots of the sweet potato plant are edible and nutritious, often used in stir-fries or as a leafy green vegetable in various cuisines.
• Q: Will these sweet potatoes survive winter in my USDA zone? A: These plants are perennial in tropical climates (USDA zones 9-11) but are typically grown as annuals in temperate zones. Tubers can be harvested and stored over winter, or plants can be grown from new slips each spring.
• Q: How long until I can harvest the sweet potatoes? A: You can typically expect to harvest tubers about 90 to 120 days after planting the slips, usually when the foliage begins to show signs of yellowing.