Curing sweet potatoes

9 years ago

I'm curing my sweet potatoes. The closest I can come to the "ideal" of 80-90° F and 90% humidity is a cardboard box, loosely taped, with a seed starting heat mat at the bottom.

Temp runs around 82, but is closer to 90 at the bottom on the mat, and mid 70s around the sides of the box, which is larger in diameter than the heat mat.

I'm doing it in our utility room because nighttime lows have been getting into the 50s the last couple nights, so it's probably too chilly outside.

I Don't have any real way to measure the humidity, but I'm assuming since it's a cardboard box that's not completely sealed, it's probably close enough, that the moisture in the route keeps it humid, but the fact that it's open keeps it from getting too close to 100%.

Featured Answer

digdirt2

9 years ago

I can only tell you what works for me and I try to keep it as simple as possible. I just spread them out in a single layer - no stacking or piling - on any hard surface that is relatively warm (for me that's in the barn out of direct sunlight) and spread a sheet of clear plastic over them to keep in moisture. I have cut some venting slits in it over the years so excess moisture isn't trapped.

i don't worry about the temp so much as the humidity and they give off plenty of moisture on their own as they cure so I just focus on not letting it evaporate. The barn ranges from 80-85 in the day time and 60ish at night. Takes about 4-5 weeks for the largest ones to cure but the smaller, skinnier ones are done in 8-10 days. I get minimal sprouting.

Have a fellow grower friend that swears by single layering them in plastic Walmart grocery bags with the top loosely tied and sitting on the kitchen counter or top of his chest freezer. Just needs to be warmish and humidified either way.

Dave

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Comments (11)

hairmetal4ever
Original Author
9 years ago
What do you think? Will this work? How long should I cure in these conditions?
wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
9 years ago
When I went for a week of high temps and humidity, they started sprouting badly!
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hairmetal4ever
Original Author
9 years ago
That's what I'm concerned about. Just after a day I already see little nubs on a lot of them.
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
9 years ago
I've always heard that "curing" sweet potatoes is putting them out in the sun until their skin dries. 90% humidity isn't going to do that.
hairmetal4ever
Original Author
9 years ago
https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/cure-sweet-potatoes-zbcz1310

http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/sweet-potato-industry/growing-sweet-potatoes-in-north-carolina/curing-and-storing/
war garden
9 years ago
wow. I did not even know the sweet potatoes were sick!
hairmetal4ever
Original Author
9 years ago

This kinda looks like scurf, but I'm concerned I bruised them or something...this darkening is on many of them and just showing up.
hairmetal4ever
Original Author
9 years ago
My problem is I stacked them in the box, I think it might have bruised them. Or during the harvesting process.

If so, my only option may be to cook, mash, and freeze them, since frozen mashed sweet potatoes are reasonably good.
wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
9 years ago
That does look like a touch of scurf. Do NOT recycle any unused ones into compost or throw any old ones on the garden. The scurf spores are said to live 1 -2 years.
hairmetal4ever
Original Author
9 years ago
Some look clean. I’ll use the off-colored ones first.

I will clean up any errant roots I see, plus I’m planting next year about 30 feet away.

I’ve heard that one way to prevent the spread of scurf is if you start your own slips, instead of breaking off the sprouts at the base of the root, cut it off an inch or two above that, and root that. Even better is to just cut a 6” cutting off the end of each sprout. Scurf doesn’t carry up into the stems and foliage.