skip to main content

Vegetable Gardening

Keeping sweet potatoes from sprouting

18 years ago

Elsewhere on these forums, my feeling that I shouldn't eat sprouted sweet potatoes was more than confirmed. I was only worried about loss of nutrients and taste.

How can I keep my (store-bought) sweet potatoes from sprouting? Someone suggested keeping them in the dark (A paper bag?), but this seems counterintuitive; it's dark underground. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

oldpea
18 years ago
Wikipedia states that sweet potato leaves and shoots are sometimes used as greens. Do a search on sweet potato/toxicity and sweet potatoe/storage. Lots of information.
Macmex
18 years ago
We eat them sprouting all the time. Never had a problem with it. However, we try to keep them from sprouting, so that they remain moist and last longer. The best way I know is to keep them cool, like between 40 and 60 degrees F. They won't sprout if they are cool. I know: many is the time I've tried to start my sweet potato sprouts, in March, and struggled because I couldn't get the starter roots warm enough!

George
Tahlequah, OK
Related Professionals
Newport News Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Flint Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Tucson Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Montrose Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Virginia Beach Landscape Contractors · Taunton Landscape Contractors · Buffalo Landscape Contractors · Mesquite Landscape Contractors · Bismarck Landscape Contractors · Jackson Landscape Contractors · Muskogee Accessory Dwelling Units · Charleston Accessory Dwelling Units · Lebanon Accessory Dwelling Units · Oshkosh Accessory Dwelling Units · Temecula Accessory Dwelling Units

Related Stories

FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine

Versatile, fast growing, inexpensive and easy on the eyes, ornamental sweet potato vine has it all

KITCHEN DESIGN Guest Picks: Sprouted Kitchen Must-Haves

Sara of Sprouted Kitchen Shares Her Essentials Tools for Good Cooking

DECORATING GUIDES Design Mystery: Why Do Pineapples Sprout Up in Home Design?

By Mary Jo Bowling

Early Americans were bananas about pineapples — and we’re still reaping the benefits of the sweet fruit’s symbolism today

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Potatoes

By Marianne Lipanovich

This ever-popular tuber is a stalwart in spring and fall gardens and a staple in kitchens everywhere

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING World of Design: 10 Home Gardeners Show Us Their Sweet Summer Harvests

From New York to Tokyo, these gardeners have turned their yards, terraces and rooftops into places of bounty

EDIBLE GARDENS How to Grow Your Own Sweet Summer Crops

By Marianne Lipanovich

This guide will help any gardener get started on growing the freshest warm-season veggies and berries for summer

GARDENING GUIDES 3 Ways to Revel in Summer Garden Sweetness

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Patiently observe what works and doesn’t work in your landscape

DECORATING GUIDES An Expat’s Guide to Making a Home Away From Home

By Mariana Pickering (Emu Building Science)

How do you stay balanced when each foot is in a different culture? You take a stand where you hang your hat

CONTAINER GARDENS 8 Easy Container Plants to Grow From Seed

Get beautiful blooms and herbs in summer by starting these choice garden picks from seed in spring

FALL AND THANKSGIVING Fall Decorating Ideas From a Designer to the Stars

By Vanessa Brunner

You might think all-out glitz and over-the-top glamour make up Adam Hunter's fall decorations. You'd be wrong

Sponsored

More Discussions

What are you planting this spring?

13

Garden Tales >>> April 2026

23

Beds with good soil are destroyed by armadillos or possums or skunks

11

Harris Seeds, bad seeds

20

How is buttercup squash different from kabocha?

1