How to Grow Sweet Potato at Home (Shakarkandi) From Slips
You don’t plant shakarkandi seeds. To learn how to grow sweet potato at home, start with slips: the leafy shoots a sweet potato sends up when you stand it half in water. Root those shoots, plant them in a wide grow bag once nights are warm (roughly March to July in the plains), and dig your roots 90 to 120 days later, before the cold. It’s one of the most forgiving crops for a hot roof.
At a glance
- Method: slips from a root, or vine cuttings with 2 to 3 nodes
- Planting (Punjab and Delhi plains): March to July, once nights stay warm
- Container: 40 to 60 litre grow bag (about 18 inch wide) for 2 to 3 slips
- Sun: 6 hours or more; loves heat
- Harvest: 90 to 120 days, always before frost
- Bonus: young leaves and tips are a cooked green
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How do you make slips from a shop sweet potato?
- Pick a firm, medium root with no soft patches. Organic or market roots usually sprout better than ones stored long and cold.
- Push three toothpicks into its middle and rest it on a jar so the bottom half sits in water. Put it somewhere warm with bright, indirect light, like a kitchen windowsill.
- Change the water weekly. Shoots usually appear in about two weeks.
- When a shoot is 15 cm (6 inch) or longer, twist it off at the root.
- Stand the shoots in a glass of fresh water. White roots form in about ten days.
- Plant the rooted slips about 8 cm (3 inch) deep, leaving the leafy tip above the soil.
Already have a vine, or a neighbour does? Even faster: cut tip pieces 10 to 15 cm long with 2 to 3 nodes (leaf joints) from a vine at least three months old, strip the lower leaves, and bury the bare nodes directly in moist mix. They root within days in summer warmth.
When to plant in each zone
| Zone | Plant slips | Dig by |
|---|---|---|
| Punjab plains: Lahore, Faisalabad, Delhi | March to July | Before the first frost, late November |
| Hot dry: Multan, Sukkur, Bahawalpur | March to April; July | November |
| Coastal humid: Karachi | Most of the year except the coolest weeks | 3 to 4 months after planting |
| Sub-humid: Islamabad, Peshawar | April to June | October |
| Hills | Late spring only, warm valleys | Early autumn |
Start slips in February so they’re ready when the weather warms.
Pot size, mix and sun
Roots spread sideways as much as down, so a wide grow bag beats a tall narrow pot. A 40 to 60 litre bag takes 2 to 3 slips; a 20 litre bucket takes one. Use a light, sandy mix: 2 parts soil, 1 part sand, 1 part compost. Heavy, rich soil grows lovely vines and thin, stringy roots. Our potting mix guide has the base ratio.
Full sun all day is ideal. The vine will spill over the bag and run along the roof; that’s fine, but lift runners every couple of weeks so they don’t root everywhere and split the plant’s energy into dozens of tiny roots.
Lift the runners
Every two weeks, gently lift trailing vines off the soil or roof floor and lay them back on top of the bag. Where nodes touch soil, they root and form little side roots, and the main crop in the bag stays small. A 30 second job that makes the difference between a handful of fingers and proper roots.
Watering in 45°C heat and in the monsoon
Water well for the first three weeks while slips root in. After that, sweet potato is fairly drought tolerant. In a 45°C June, a grow bag may still need water daily or every other day; in the monsoon, only if a week passes without rain. Ease off in the last three to four weeks before harvest: too much water late causes split roots. Never leave the bag sitting in water.
Feed lightly. One handful of compost at planting is enough for most bags. If you use NPK, choose one with low nitrogen and more potassium (the last number), at label rate, once around six weeks. Rich feeding gives a jungle above and little below.
Yellow leaves, weevils and no roots
| Problem | Signs | First response |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet potato weevil | Tunnels and a bitter smell in roots | Clean slips, earth up cracks at about 50 days, dig on time |
| Yellowing in the final month | Older leaves fading | Normal as roots mature; plan the dig |
| Yellowing early | Soggy mix | Check holes, water less |
| Caterpillars and beetles on leaves | Holes in leaves | Hand pick; healthy vines outgrow it |
| All vine, no roots | Rich soil, shade, rooting runners | Sandier mix, more sun, lift runners |
Weevils lay eggs through soil cracks onto exposed roots. Topping up the bag with mix around 50 days and digging promptly are the best home defences.
When to dig, and why you should wait two weeks before eating
Most varieties are ready 90 to 120 days after planting. Scratch at the side of the bag: when several roots are fatter than a thumb and a half, they’re ready. Always dig before frost, because cold damages roots in the soil. Tip the bag onto a sheet and handle gently; the skin bruises easily.
Fresh-dug shakarkandi is starchy and bland. A warm rest after digging turns starch to sugar and heals the skin. Professionals do it at about 29°C with high humidity for a week. At home, keep unwashed roots in the warmest room, often the kitchen, for about two weeks. Then store in a cool, dark spot, not the fridge. For roasting and picking tips see our shakarkandi roasting and storing guide, and for colour types the orange vs white guide.
Grow it or skip it?
Plant it if you have a sunny roof or ground and a hot summer. It shrugs off heat that kills most vegetables, needs little feeding, and the cooked leaves are a bonus. Maybe in Islamabad or Peshawar with a shorter warm season. Skip it in the hills and in shady spots. Pots work; the ground gives bigger crops. More summer-proof starters are in our first five plants guide and the Kitchen Garden section.
People with diabetes can eat shakarkandi as part of a meal but should count it as a carb portion; our diabetes guide covers portions. Don’t confuse the edible vine with ornamental “morning glory” relatives grown for flowers, whose seeds are not food. Empty saucers so dengue mosquitoes can’t breed. If you use any chemical spray, read the whole label, wear gloves and a mask, keep children and pets away, and wait the stated days before picking leaves or digging.
Sweet potato growing questions
Can I grow sweet potato from a store-bought one?
Yes. Stand it half in water, let it sprout slips for about two weeks, root the slips in water, then plant them.
What is the best time to plant sweet potato in Pakistan?
March to July in the Punjab plains, once nights are warm. Karachi can plant most of the year except the coolest weeks.
How long does sweet potato take to grow?
About 90 to 120 days from planting slips, depending on variety and heat.
Can sweet potato grow in a pot?
Yes. A wide 40 to 60 litre grow bag holds 2 to 3 slips. Wider beats deeper.
Why does my sweet potato plant have lots of leaves but no potatoes?
Too rich a mix, too little sun, or runners rooting outside the bag. Lift the runners and use a sandier mix next time.
Can you eat sweet potato leaves?
Yes, young leaves and tips are eaten cooked like other greens in many countries. Wash them well and cook them.
Why are my sweet potato leaves turning yellow?
Near harvest it’s normal. Early on, it’s usually waterlogging or a cold spell.
Does sweet potato flower?
Sometimes, with small trumpet flowers. Flowers don’t matter for the crop; the roots are what you’re after.
Why are home-grown sweet potatoes not sweet?
They skipped the warm rest. Keep them in a warm room for about two weeks before eating.