A background image of a young sweetpotato slip with three leaves growing in the field on a raised bed covered in a black plastic mulch and a logo of Washington State university and the title ‘How to plant sweetpotato slips’ in the foreground.
Use a piece of rebar or similar tool to make planting holes about 6 inches deep.
A person wearing blue shirt and black overalls in a field with several rows of raised beds covered in black plastic mulch uses a rebar to make holes in a raised bed of the black plastic mulch.
Place slips into holes, burying 3 to 4 nodes.
The person wears black gloves and inserts a potato slip into the premade holes in the black plastic mulch such that the stem and leaves are above ground.
Press down on mulch to compress soil around slip.
The person uses fingers to press the mulch to compress soil around the slip.
Water immediately after planting.
The person taking individual slips from a bunch of sweetpotato slips and inserts four more sweetpotato slips in the raised bed with black plastic mulch. A row of sweetpotato slips gently swaying in wind on a raised bed covered in black plastic mulch in the field. A closeup of two sweetpotato plants swaying in wind on a raised bed covered in black plastic mulch in the field.
Wilting or dieback of some slips in the weeks after planting is normal.
A sickly looking sweetpotato slip with brown leaves and pale green stem in a raised bed with black plastic mulch in the field. Another closeup of the sickly looking sweetpotato slip with brown leaves and pale green stem in a raised bed with black plastic mulch in the field.
Plants will typically regrow from a node near the soil surface within a few weeks.
A closeup of a sweetpotato slip in the field with only a few inches of green stem growing in soil on a raised bed covered in black plastic mulch. A closeup of a sweetpotato slip in the field with an elongated stem growing in a raised bed covered in black plastic mulch. Logos of Washington State University, Western SARE, and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.