Sweet potatoes are grown from sprouts that spring from the potato root. Buy these from a dealer in the spring or start your own from disease-free stock. Pull sprouts for transplanting when they are about 6 inches tall. Transplant sprouts only after soil temperature reaches 60 degrees Fahrenheit, generally one to two weeks after the danger of frost is over. A starter fertilizer solution will aid sprouts at the time of transplanting.
Sweet potatoes benefit from growing on ridges where soil is heavy or poorly drained.
Work the soil into ridges 8 to 15 inches high before transplanting. Ridges should be in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. On lighter or sandy soils, ridges are likely unnecessary. Once established, the sweet potato is a fairly drought-hardy crop and an tolerate some leaf wilting during the day. If leaves do not recover by early evening, water the plants.