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true sweet potato seedlings

3/6/2017

5 Comments

 
Picture
Quick to germinate! I probably will direct sow next time as they have been germinating quickly and uniformly.
Picture
Note the compartments in the seed coat where the cotyledons (baby leaves) were curled inside.
I've had excellent germination on seeds sent to me by a fellow sweet potato enthusiast in Sweden, some seeds sent to me from a warmer local and from my own (albeit limited) seeds grown out from short season sweet potatoes here. 

Germinating Sweet Potato Seeds: 

They seem to germinate easily after scarifying by clipping carefully with a nail clipper away from the root and soaking. You can continually soak until you see roots or soak until seed coat starts to swell and crack. At this point, they could be direct sown into deep containers - they have quickly growing and long ranging roots - or you could monitor them in the baggie method somewhere warm. Took 1-2 days for most seeds with swollen seed coats to germinate fully. The rest took up to a week. 
Picture
Top has what I've typically observed. Short, fat leaves and stem. Bottom is a variation with longer stems. Hope that doesn't relate to tuber spacing!
Picture
One purple and one green seedling. Pulling themselves out of their seed coats.
Seedlings emerge colour coded. Some are purple, some bronze and some white. I presume this relates to colour when they are mature but I haven't had enough experience to make correlations. On the left you'll see that length of stem and leaf shape vary.
Seedlings start off slowly raising out of the soil, shedding their seed coats and setting out roots. The cotyledons (seed leaves), that look like butterfly wings and betray their morning glory relations, grow quickly in vigorous seedlings. 

What I've learned about growing seedlings so far:
​

1. Make sure you bury the germinating seeds so that the seed coat properly softens and is easily discarded by the unfolding seed leaves. Soaking slightly longer may also help with this process. The seedling should be pulling itself out of the soil.
2. Slow and struggling seeds have not improved much several weeks in. I have about three seedlings that had damaged seed leaves at emergence and now have undersized true leaves. These will be discarded shortly.
3. Seedlings benefit from warmth.
Picture
Young seedling with slightly hairy leaf margin.
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Younger leaves looking a little less than chlorophyll-ific. Placing on a heating pad corrected this.
Cotyledon shape varied slightly in shape and colour. The Purple Selfed emerged unsurprisingly as purple though the true leaves are so far light in colour. Most seedlings have emerged with yellow to bronze to purple baby leaves that have greened up afterwards.
Oddity gallery
Picture
Always a baby. No growth point and no adult leaves.
A seedling that does not appear to have a growth tip and therefore is not developing true leaves. The baby leaves look healthy and keep expanding. Curious.
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Variation in cotyledon shape.
Picture
Four cotyledons and multiple true leaves at growth point.
Emerged with four baby leaves. One was accidentally broken. True leaves are also emerging in multiples.
Picture
Curly cotyledons
I started one set quite early in order to set out robust seedling (because of an issue last year) and started another set recently. Plan to grow on inside and then in the lean to greenhouse before setting out to see what treasures they may grown beneath!
5 Comments
Jackie Simpson
3/6/2017 05:56:18 pm

That's amazing. Will you be selling your sweet Potato seeds this year?

Kind regards, Jackie

Reply
Telsing
3/8/2017 03:59:23 am

I won't be selling seed yet as I am not producing in that sort of quantity but mostly only for plant breeding purposes. I do sell sweet potatoes for slipping however .

Reply
Jackie Simpson
11/11/2017 05:16:41 pm

Greetings, Telsing.

I've been following your true sweet potato seed posts and I was very curious how your plants turned out this year? Were you able to grow any treasures?

Reply
BJ Broen
4/8/2017 09:12:10 pm

I want to buy slips for Georgia Jet sweet potato this spring,

Reply
Telsing
4/10/2017 04:26:29 am

Hello! I only sell tubers for the person to use to slip for themselves but I have mostly sold out of those. I don't sell slips. If you are looking for them, I recommend Burt's Greenhouse or Mapple Farms. There is also a location out west which I think is called Manitoba Sweet Potato.

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  • Home
  • Shop
    • Seeds and Propagation materials
    • Print and Classes
  • Resources
    • Plant to Plate >
      • Chufa
      • Butternut Squash
    • About Seeds >
      • Seed Starting
      • Seed Saving
      • Threshing and Winnowing
    • About Design >
      • Edible Landscape Design
    • Plant Lists
    • Garden Critters
  • About
    • About ALE
    • Workshops and Tour Schedule
  • Project Updates
  • Contact