Why I Stopped Growing Sweet Potatoes in My Garden 🍠 (and What I’m Trying Instead)

If you’ve ever grown sweet potatoes… you probably already know — they can take over.

And I mean completely take over.

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🌱 How It Started

The first year I planted sweet potatoes, I planted them everywhere.

• Every garden box
• Every open space
• No real plan 😅

Some didn’t grow at all…

But the ones that did?

They took over everything.

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😳 The Problem

For the last 3–4 years, I haven’t been able to fully get rid of them.

They just kept coming back.

It actually took my sheep getting into the garden and cleaning things out before I finally feel like they’re gone.

So now that I have a fresh start… I’m doing things differently.

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🚫 Why I’m Not Planting Them in the Garden Again

From what I’ve learned:

• Sweet potatoes do better when you rotate crops
• Planting in the same spot can reduce growth

But honestly…

My biggest goal is just to not let them take over again 😂

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🪴 My Sweet Potato Planter Experiment

This time, I built homemade planter boxes to keep things more controlled.

Here’s what I did:

• Filled the bottom halfway with leaves 🍂
• Added a layer of dirt
• Planted the sweet potatoes
• Covered them with more leaves

I’m also trying a few different varieties.

And I’ll be honest…

I guessed and planted about 3–5 in each box 😅

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🤔 Will It Work?

That’s what I’m about to find out.

This could:

• Work really well ✔
• Be a total fail ❌

Either way — I’ll share what happens.

If it works, I should be able to:

• Lift the box
• Have all the potatoes fall out
• No digging required 🙌

And bonus… my sheep will probably enjoy the vines as they grow 🐑

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💬 What Do You Think?

Be honest…

Is this going to work?

Or am I setting myself up for another sweet potato takeover? 😂

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