How big is a big pot? I've done 4-6 slips in 18 gallon totes. 4 tends to grow happier than 6 for me. About 5 gallons of space/dirt per slip.

My pot is a decorative ceramic pot - that is 14" diameter and 15" tall. Not sure how many gallons it holds. It seems like more room than the cuttings need. I have 3 dwarf Dahlia bulbs that are meant to grow in pots but I know they produce tubers as well, so thought that might not be a good combination. I think sweet potato cuttings alone would look lost in the pot. Do they remain trailing or do they grow to some height?

A 14x15 inch pot is roughly around 10 gallons, maybe a bit more or less depending on the shape of the pot. Two slips would work in that pot if you are looking to get root production. I wouldn't add in the dahilas to compete with the taters if you want to get root production. Usually for me the foliage can sit up for several inches or even a foot before they get too long and start to trail over.

Thank you BeesNeeds! That makes the decision for me. It sounds pretty boring though a pot of nothing but Sweet potato folage, but if that will give me the best chance of getting root production than it will be worth it.

How did you figure out the gallons?

A gallon is 231 cubic inches. Caclulate the volume of a cylinder- I guessed it was a round pot rather than a square one. I did it lazy and used a volume calculator- the real math is V=pi*r^2*h. Volume of a 14x15 cylinder is 2309. You can either multiply that by .0043 or divide by 231- that gives you your gallons. Roughly 10 gallons in this case.

Edit to add- the measurement counts if you have the pot full up the whole way. If you tend to leave a couple inches unfilled at the top that would impact the total volume amount.

BeesNeeds - Great, thanks for explaining that. I have decided to use just the sweet potato cuttings. I'm going to wait a bit because the roots are just forming on two of them - one has nice long roots and is ready, so when there are two that are all the way ready - I'll put them in. I'm looking forward to how this is going to work out.

Have you done this before? Did you get potatoes? Would you use mulch to keep the pot from drying out too fast?

BeesNeeds - Very interesting. I'm not accustomed to growing veggies in containers but I've decided to try it in a big way this year. Wish I had tried it about 5 years ago when pots/potting soil etc was less expensive [g] I've not been happy with the results of annuals in pots because I grow organically and figuring out how that works in a container is confusing. But I have some ideas that I'm trying this year. Fertilizing has been I think the biggest way I've held myself back. I have only felt comfortable to use Liquid Seaweed fertilizer and compost in containers and at least with annuals that has not been enough to give me the results I'm looking for. But this year, I decided to try adding organic rabbit manure to the mix. So we'll see.

I'm also trying a few container size seedlings - Early Girl Bush tomato is off to a great start so far. Red Racer is another one. I wanted a few more varieties of different vegetables but thought of it too late and didn't find them in time. So basically all my containers have either tomatoes or peppers in them, besides the one that will go for sweet potatoes.

What is an 18 gallon tote? Like a growing bag? Where do you get those? That's pretty big if my pot is only 10 gallons.

I use chopped up leaves in my beds as a mulch.

So what do you consider your container skills?

18 gallon tote as in the big plastic totes you can get pretty cheap at most box stores. Usually 5-7 bucks each depending on where and if they are on sale or not. Punch drain holes in the bottom and you got a big container to grow in. Their size and rectangular shape is great for growing and also how they fit under caps- those cheap caps you can find at Aldi or gardening sections of some stores. Some of my caps fit 2 bins, some of them fit 6 bins. I also have other gardens and beds in the yard, but I like a nice container garden as my kitchen garden- close to the house and I can use it mostly year round.

If you got bunny poo, use it. Bunny poo is great fertilizer :)

Are you talking about this....

18 gallon tote

Do you notice the price on that?

I thought you were talking about those reuseable shopping bags people use for their food shopping? With handles and designs on them? I can't find a picture of what I am thinking of, but maybe you know what I mean. That would seem like a $5-7. purchase. I used to see a whole wall of them by the registers in Marshall's.

What's a cap? Maybe you mean an inexpensive cloche? I've seen people use cheap plastic umbrellas.

I bought organic rabbit manure - and it was not cheap. I just added it to some of my containers and around a number of heavy feeders in my beds, like Lilies and Mums. You are not supposed to need a lot of it, so I am hoping it lasts awhile.

I have more shade than not in my backyard off the kitchen, so I am having to park the container garden all along my front walkway. Luckily we had them put in a wide one when it was done and it does have a couple of wide corners. All my full sun is in the front. I just planted the last container today. I just have the one left that is waiting for the sweet potato cuttings.