Highland Horticulture
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Scottish grown,
Sweet potato
Frequentley Asked Questions
"Do you ship to the Channel Islands?"
Our prices allow for delivery by first class Royal Mail to all UK post codes, including the Channel islands. Please note that postal services to the Channel Islands may take two/three days and all orders to post codes outside mainland UK are supplied at buyers risk.
"Have looked at site and see slips and plugs. Please can you give advice on what I should buy and how best to plant them?"
All the sweet potato varieties we offer will grow in the UK, provided they are given good growing conditions and protection from cooler temperatures. We recommend growing the sweet potato either in a greenhouse or under garden cloches, they can be grown in raised soil beds or large containers. You can find additional growing information on our website and each order comes with cultivation instructions.
Sweetpotato Beauregard would be our recommendation for a first attempt. The top growth is more compact, but the vines can still grow up to several feet, so if space is limited try growing the vines up a wig wam or fan of canes. Plug plants will establish more easily, where slips will need a bit more attention in the early stages, other than that both should produce a good yield of sweet potato tubers.
"When do you start delivering orders and when can the slips be planted?"
We dispatch slips from late April through to early June. Sweet potato require warm soil temperature, frost free conditions and for best results grown under a protective structure such as a cloche , tunnel or in a greenhouse. Different regions of the UK will have different planting times, but generally from early May onwards is fine for planting. Ideally slips should be planted at the latest by early June. If you want a latter delivery please give instructions when ordering.
"Can you grow sweet potato in bags?"
Sweetpotato can be grown in large bags or containers. For each slip, we recommend a 70 or 80 litre bag/container, because sweetpotato are vigorous plants when they start growing. Using a large bag/container allows room for the tubers to grow and help prevent them becoming twisted or misshapen. The bags should be filled with a free draining compost, adding horticultural sand or "perlite" will improve drainage and give a more open compost. Don't forget to make drainage holes in the bottom of the bag/container. During the growing season use a high nitrogen liquid feed for the first couple of months then change to a low nitrogen high potash/potassium feed to help tuber development.
"Could you tell me what sort of yield I would get from a pack of sweet potato plugs and how they are best planted?"
The yield of tubers will depend on lots of variables such as soil, sunshine and warmth etc, so it is difficult to give a definitive answer. At our northerly location the sweetpotato we grow typically produce an average yield of about 2Kg or more per slip or plug plant. We supply cultivation notes with each delivery and you can find growing information on our website.
