So, how to grow camote? To grow camote, start getting camote slip with roots. Choose a location and make a gardens plot with 10 inches high, 1 meters wide and 3 metes long. Get trowel, make holes in the soil and plant the slip with 6 inches deep with a spacing of 12 inches apart. Water it regularly and avoid drying the soil. After 4 to 5 months, mature sweet potato can now be harvest.
This root crops had many nutrients content that will surely help our body like carbohydrates. This will make us strong and gives us energy in the whole day. You can eat the root crops as well as its leaves. So without further more here are the step by step procedure in planting camote.
How to Plant Camote
1. Get Camote Slip
The camote slip is just a stem of the sweet potato. This is what you are going to use in planting. Get the slip with roots so that it will grow easily.You can get sweet potato slip then put it on a container. After few days it will produce some roots and then you can use it in planting camote. Or you can get fresh slip with leaves and then directly plant it on the ground.
There are some store selling slips with roots which you can use in planting. One bunch of camote slips just cost around $1 to $5+ depends upon the quality and the quantity and also of the store.
There are agricultural store which you can also buy some slips. Or just ask from some farmers near your location to give you some sweet potato slips to plant.
You can also get camote slips through the root crops. What you need to do is get one or more camote root crops and then put it on a container in which only the base of the root crops will touch of the water. After few days or weeks it will produce some slips and roots. Cut it after.
Becareful in cutting the slip on crops as it can be cut its roots. Try to do it carefully. After cutting it you can now use it in planting.
2. Makes the Garden Plot
When you have now the slip make now your gardens plot. A garden plot is a plot where you will going to grow your vegetables. This will need your time, energy and effort inorder to produce high yields and healthy camote plants.Get your gardening cultivating tools like grab hoe and rake. Start holding the grab hoe firm and cultivate the soil. Be careful in doing this to prevent accident. After digging and cultivating the soil start forming the plot.
Form the soil with 10 inches high with one meter wide and three meters long. You can adjust the size according to your space. If you have a small space you can use that size. But if you have a little bit wide space you can add more length.
After that remove the grasses, roots, rocks or any other unwanted materials left on the soil. Those materials can affect your camote so better to remove them.
Make it pulvirize. There are many bunch of bigger size soil so you need to make it pulvirize. Use your hand to turn those into smaller one. After that start leveling it.
With the use of rake start leveling it. The soil will be level with the rake. Put also some compost on the soil. The more nutrients the soil content the better.
You can put organic fertilizer which have more nutrients needed by the camote. You can produce your own organic fertilizer by making a hole on the ground with a deep of one meter.
Then put inside the hole the following materials; leaves, grasses, leftover foods and animal manure. After few weeks it will start to decay and you can now use it to mix on the ground as fertilizer.
If the soil is ready now, lets go planting the camote.
3. Planting Camote Slip
Planting camote slip is a way where it will start to grow leaves and root crops. Let us start doing this. Are you ready? Lets go.In planting camote slip, get two to three slip. Then make a hole on the soil around 6 inches deep with a spacing of 12 inches apart. This way there is a space for the root crops to grow well.
Cover it with the soil. After that apply some water. The roots will start to spread under the soil and continues to grow. The leaves will also appear after few days or weeks.
4. Applying Fertilizer
Does camote needs fertilizer? Absolutely yes. Every plant needs it. In fact the more the nutrients the soil have the more healthier and bigger its size.The best fertilizer for camote is organic fertilizer. Why? Because people will eat the root crops so it is better if you apply the organic free from chimecal fertilizer. We already mention the procedure in making organic fertilizer in number 2.
In applying the fertilizer just put it on the base of camote plant and done. Easy as eating camote. But it is advisable that if you are going to put fertilizer put it as early as possible.
On the beginning of your garden plot making, put the fertilizer in that time. That is the best way to put the fertilizer as you will not worry anything.
5. Watet it Regularly
When is the best time to water camote? The best way to water camote is during 6 to 7 am in the morning and 4 to 5 pm in the afternoon.Does it need to apply water everyday? No, you don't need to water it everyday. Just apply enough water when you see that the soil is too dry. Too much water can affect the crops and it might decay if it get a lot of water.
6. Care for Camote
How to care for camote? To care for camote simple, when you see pest or insect roaming around your garden remove them. Remove them why? We think you already know.Pest or insect can damage and destroy your plants, probably they will start to eat the leaves so you need to remove them. Worms and bugs are the main pest of the camote.
In caring also water it and apply some fertilizer. That way you show your care to camote plant. Be consistent in doing that and it will produce high yields and healthier plants.
7. Harvest Camote
You can do two things harvest the leaves or harvest the root crops. If you will harvest the leaves get the fresh and young leaves. Those red to purple color on its leaves. It has a heart shape leaves that is commonly eaten. Because there are also other camote variety in which only root crops are being eated.When the camote grows and continues to produce more leaves you can get those and cook. You can mix it on a fish and eat.
You can also harvest the root crops after 4 to 5 months still depends upon on how to care for it. It will adds more months depending on the climate and also the other factos such as sunlight and water.
In harvesting the root crops just uproot the camote and get its root crops. You can get bigger and smaller size camote crops.
Also you can see color white, purple, and orange root crops depends upon on its variety.
Some related questions about camote.
Can You Plant Camote in Container?
Yes you can plant camote in container. Get those bigger size container so that you can get a bigger root crops. Also put more fertilizer and expect a bigger root crops.
Can You Plant Camote on Sand?
Yes definitely you can plant camote on sand. In fact in that soil the camote grows bigger root crops compare to loam soil. Its because the soil in loam is compacted and heavy compare to sand that it is light and have many small space to grow its crop.
How to Plant Camote Easily?
To make it easier to plang camote just get a good gardening tools to use so that you can work well and easier. It will also help you to avoid any accident and will be light and comfortable to handle.
How long does it takes to plant camote?
Estimated around one hour to two hours. It will depends on your work and the tools you are using. You will put more work on the soil as it takes more time to cultivate it. I mean it takes only one to two hours in planting camote. It exclude until the harvesting.
But if you mean how long does it takes to grow camote until harvesting then the answer would be around four to five months.
Do You Need to Put Fence on Camote?
In some what yes especially when there's a chicken. On its first phase they can probably destroy your crops by scratching the ground. So you can also put some fence.
Thank you! Thank you for reading this article about camote. You read this from the start to finish that is good to hear from us. You spend your time and effort in reading this and we hope you learn something even as little.
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