Which variety of sweet potatoes are you growing? I bought some Gardman potato tubs from Amazon for the sweet potatoes I ordered from Georges Plant Farm. The bags are supposed to be 20" tall and 16" across, so I planted three slips per bag to make sure that I have at least one plant survive the brutal summer heat. I also planted one or two okra seeds per bag because they are supposed to be great companion plants for the sweet potatoes.
Although it is not my first time growing sweet potatoes in a container (not everyone I knew at the time thought it was a sane idea), it is my first time growing them in a bag. I hope the bags last through the season as I know how damaging direct sun can be. They didn't look all that sturdy for re-usable bags in the pictures at amazon.com, but when they arrived, I can see that the pictures didn't do it justice. I just hope the outcome of this experiment is favorable. I am already feeling a bit of relief from seeing a bunch of new leaves growing on the slips. But it is too soon to get my hopes up. We had a couple nights temperatures that dropped below 40 degrees F shortly after I planted them which had me very stressed, but I think the layer of straw I topped each bag with helped them survive and the next morning is when I noticed the new leaves starting.
I'm probably aiming too high in wanting at least 10 potatoes per bag - I bought four bags. But with the hot summers we have here, I thought sweet potatoes would be one of the most successful crops I could grow here because they are supposed to really love it hot. And if the bags can be used for at least two seasons, it will allow me to feel comfortable trying the bags for other crops. Having sweet potatoes grown from my own garden for Thanksgiving will also be fantastic. I have the Porto Rico, Vardaman, and Red Japanese varieties growing. I think I only grew one variety last time, Beauraguard, if I remember correctly.
But there's a chance I know of a local place to get some free feed bags I will have to remember to look into.
