Harvest sweet potatoes: savour the season
Knowing when to harvest sweet potatoes is easy. By mid-winter, sweet potato vines turn yellow and start dying back—your cue that tubers below ground are ready to harvest. They cluster within 30 – 40cm of the main stem and other thickened stems along the vine where it has taken root. To harvest sweet potatoes, dig from the outside in, loosening the soil gradually rather than spearing straight down. Feel through with your hands and lift gently, taking care not to damage the tubers – damaged tubers don’t store well.
After you harvest sweet potatoes, resist eating them straight away—curing first makes all the difference. Leave tubers somewhere warm and humid for 7–10 days; this heals the skin and sweetens the flesh. Then store in a cool, dark, well-ventilated spot (never the fridge) and they’ll keep for months, getting sweeter with time.
