Growing Considerations
Botanical Name: Ipomoea batatas
There are over 400 different varieties of sweet potatoes and all are not created equal. Like apples, it all depends on personal taste. One of the many benefits of growing your own food is that you are able to try different varieties that you cannot obtain from the grocery store or farmers' market.
However, it is important to keep certain factors in mind when deciding which variety of sweet potato to grow in your garden. Do you have limited space or are you only able to grow in a container? Then selecting a bush variety would be better than a vining one. Are you located in a northern climate? Most sweet potatoes prefer hot climates with long days and warm daytime as well as nighttime temperatures; that's why they're commercially grown in the southern half of the US and other warmer climates. But there is a variety that is bred just for northern growers. When growing sweets, the right growing conditions are necessary to have a successful yield of tubers. Here are some of the top growing varieties of sweet potatoes.