Oh darn...that's a shame. It's been such a miserable growing season. I'll be digging my sweet potatoes in another month. Hope growing them in a raised garden has saved them from a similar fate. Fingers and toes crossed.

It may be somewhat varietial.....for this year with your weather. Last year I had a few Cenntenial and they were bad like that while the O'Henrys were much clearer.

Inconsistent watering throughout the season doesn't help. We have had a drought, then into floods, now back to dry. During this time I have kept my sweet potatoes very wet, so when the rains came, they didn't try to rapidly grow and crack and split.

I haven't dug any up to see if it worked, but I am hopeful. Variety also has lots to do with it. Georgia Jet is one of the worst. I planted a bunch (100) Cenntenials I hope they aren't all split.

Jay

Hi vgkg - long time no see!

I agree that variety seems to have a lot to do with it.

Hi Florauk! oddly since retiring 4 years ago my time here is too brief to cover the GW bases, esp during the growing season. I goofed off more here when I worked for a living ;o)

Ugh....Jay, Wayne, Pat, I think you nailed it. I am growing Georgia Jets, I love the sweetness but not the cracking. Have saved the slips annually from GJ's that I bought several years ago. Also like Red Jewels but can't seem to find them easily, maybe they're just as bad at cracking as GJs as they seem very similar to each other? I tried and liked Vardeman years ago but those grew too long and slender for me. Any suggestions for a good shaped sweet tasting variety that resists cracking? We prefer orange over yellows. Thanks.

Beauregards grew nicely for me, but i prefer a really nice yellow.

Beauregards grew nicely for me, but i prefer a really nice yellow.

When I saw the pic I knew they were Georgia Jets, famous for producing lunkers (that's actually the word for them). Beauregard and Covington just don't do that, and grow almost as fast.

Thanks for the Beauregard advice guys, might have to give the yellows another try too Wayne but this time with a blindfold ;) My Ga Jets are sure Lunkers alright. I still have 2 more rows to dig up and it rained another inch, ugh. It won't be any fun exhuming these next 2 rows of "Zombie Sweets"!

Update :

As previously reported the first 2 rows of SPs that I dug up 2 months ago were a 90% lunker mess. So I left 1 row in-ground to see what happens. Due to a predicted freeze tonite I dug them up yesterday and to my delight there were more good ones than lunkers present. Waiting 2 more months set more new potatoes which came out nicely shaped and good bakers. The older lunkers were still ugly as hell (a few as big as my head) but by waiting longer I got more good ones than bad ones. The only drawback is that the new potatoes grew from the sprawling vines and were tricky to locate without damaging by digging.

Hi, vgkg. I made an error ...actually 2 on my sweets this year. I ended up with a lot of skurf. It is a brownish black on the outside skin. It is a fugal growth. Underneath they are fully edible for a short time, but tend to decay some after a while.

What causes skurf is [1] Too much water
. . [2) Too much recent organic matter

I was guilty on both counts...no goodies or water for you guys next year.

I finally got a decent harvest of sweet potatoes this season after years of trying. I'm convinced what made the difference was all the sand I added to my organic-rich garden soil...probably 50/50.

Hi Wayne, my soil here is mostly gray & orange clay but with a good 6" cover of black topsoil. Never had a rot problem even though it's been a very wet year. Last week while shopping at Whole Foods I picked up 2 SP varieties to save for slips next year ( Jewel Sweet & Red Garnet). Will also get Beauregard slips next spring from local nursery. Haven't seen any yellow SPs at the market yet. My present Ga Jets are good tasting but I want to leave the lunkers behind.

For me Beauregard is inferior eating quality. It is hard to beat for productivity in the marginal climates, though Korean Purple makes about as well and is so much better-tasting.

I wish my florida relatives would maintain some deep-south cultivars, like Nancy Hall.

pat, I have raised Nancy Hall many times. It can be a good tasting tuber, but O'Henry makes a better tuber that is smoother inside and out.

You can get many of the varieties from Steele Plant Co. in Tennessee. They ship reliably just about to the day for your area.

Covington and Mahan are my success stories. Vgkg, please look for these two. They are far better than Beauregard.

Wayne, I guess you have a much hotter longer summer there (heat zone 3 or 4 here). Still, I'd like to try o'henry.

PN & Fusion, thanks for steering me clear of Beauregards as I'd much rather have good tasting really sweet potatoes. Beauregards are the mainstay at nurseries around here in Spring, they must be like hybrid tomatoes - look great, easy growing, but taste bland?

Wayne, thanks for the tip on suppliers too. I'll also continue to scan the produce sections of stores here while the harvest iron is hot. Of the 2 I've already bought the Jewel Sweets are sweeter than the Red Garnets. I had never heard of either one till seeing them at the market. But then again sweetness has a lot to do with growing conditions and soil types.