I picked up some sweet potato starts on a whim in late spring, and was clueless as to how much space they can hog. I was clueless as to growing them at all, aside from ornamental varieties. Some of those vines trailed 20 feet or more. They ended up covering the rows and creeping into neighboring beds. After a light frost the leaves were all withered, and I started digging. This is 5 or 6 hills dug, still have a few to go.
This one weighs 4.8 lbs.!
The vines in mid summer.
