Knowledge from Olle Garden Bed: Will Sweet Potato Vines Grow In The Shade
If you are a gardener, you may have dark areas that are difficult to fill, especially edible plants. Most vegetables need sunshine. Although we can put most plants in the preferred position, sometimes we just lack space. The following content also has some reference value for raised garden beds.
Sweet potato is an interesting vegetable, because although it grows best in sufficient sunlight, it also grows in the shade. A few hours of soft morning light can make a plant look great, but will it grow sweet potatoes?
Sweet potato vines will produce tubers when growing in the shade, but they will be less than plants in sunny conditions, and they will be distributed farther. This plant is still worth planting and you will find it below.
Will shadows limit the harvest of sweet potatoes?
Shading will play an important role in the harvest size of sweet potatoes. Our experience tells us that although grape vines look very energetic and healthy, they chase sunshine, which will take away energy from tuber production.
If you are a gardener, you may have dark areas that are difficult to fill, especially edible plants. Most vegetables need sunshine. Although we can put most plants in the preferred position, sometimes we just lack space.
Sweet potato is an interesting vegetable, because although it grows best in sufficient sunlight, it also grows in the shade. A few hours of soft morning light can make a plant look great, but will it grow sweet potatoes?
Sweet potato vines will produce tubers when growing in the shade, but they will be less than plants in sunny conditions, and they will be distributed farther. This plant is still worth planting and you will find it below.
Will shadows limit the harvest of sweet potatoes?
Shading will play an important role in the harvest size of sweet potatoes. Our experience tells us that although grape vines look very energetic and healthy, they chase sunshine, which will take away energy from tuber production.
Why plant sweet potatoes in the shade?
Sweet potato vine can be a good ground cover under the shadow. The leaves are full of vitality and richness, bringing a lovely tropical style to the region. It should be noted that sweet potato is not just a vegetable for planting tubers.
Leaves are good vegetables, full of beauty. Grapevine is a very active grower in spring and summer, so if some plants are growing, it can continue to pick.
Will sweet potatoes outperform other plants that grow in the shade?
We found that the sweet potato vine wanted to go to the light at the edge of the shadow, so it would become irritable. If there are higher plants around, vines will climb on these plants to look for light. If the stems of these plants are very weak, sweet potatoes can be pulled through the weight of leaves.
We found that this is the case for some Rosella plants growing at the edge of the tree shade. Sweet potatoes eventually suffocated some of them.
We grow ginger and sweet potato together in a cool place, and we find that there is no problem between them.
Which sweet potato plant varieties will grow in the shade?
There are so many varieties of sweet potatoes that it is impossible to determine which can grow in partial to full shade. What we can do is to share the varieties of sweet potato vines in our yard and know that they are well done under all lighting conditions.
Purple skin, white flesh.
We don't know the correct name of this sweet potato vine. Most of us eat it in the sun. It will well tolerate half shadow to full shadow areas, while tubers return less.
This kind of plant likes sunshine and its leaves are not so big, so it may be a big problem to rely on it to grow kitchen vegetables.
The skin is white and the flesh is purple.
Similarly, we do not know the name of this variety, but it provides large sized tubers under appropriate conditions. It will endure the same conditions as the above varieties, with significant differences in leaf shape. This variety is everywhere, so if you need to harvest leaves, you will provide a large number of green vegetables.
Orange skin and orange flesh.
This is our favorite sweet potato vine. It can grow anywhere and its leaves are suitable for the kitchen. We don't know what this sweet potato vine is called. It's a big help, isn't it!
These sweet potato vine varieties in our yard have been given to us for several years, and the local people only know them by the color of their skin and meat.
Because the harvest of sweet potato vines is limited when planted in the shade, it is easy to ignore the potential of this plant if your sunshine is limited.
If promoting self-sufficiency is your goal, just like our goal, it may be a good strategy to put the plant in the shade. It is worth considering, as long as you harvest something from the plant.
Suppose you didn't plant sweet potato vines in the shade. What weeds might fill that place? Why not plant edible varieties to take care of yourself.