Sweet potato slips (unrooted shoots) can be purchased from a garden center and planted directly into the garden in late May (or right before school gets out.) Slips will develop roots once planted.
Students can help grow slips for the school garden by placing a whole sweet potato in a bucket of sand. Keep the bucket in a warm location under lights. Shoots will begin to emerge from the sand and can be removed to plant in the garden. Another option is to suspend a sweet potato in a jar of water to promote shoot growth. Students can try both methods and make observations.
(KSRE Garden Guide – Sweet Potato)
(KSRE School Garden Guide – Sweet Potatoes)