How to grow sweet potato in Canberra
Ipomoea batatas
Also called kumara, sweetpotato
Frost in Canberra rules out the cool zone's usual months for sweet potato. Ask the growers at your garden what works locally.
Sweet potato belongs to the morning glory family and is grown for its big, starchy roots with a sweet taste. Flesh and skin colour vary between cultivars, and young leaves and shoots can be eaten as greens. Despite the name, it is only distantly related to the potato.
When to sow in Canberra
Canberra, ACT is in the cool zone. The zone also plants in Oct to Nov, but Canberra's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.
Matches local guides.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Canberra
Frost usually arrives in Canberra around early April and finishes by early November. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as mid March or as late as late November, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
Growing details
- Sowing depth
- 7cm
- Plant spacing
- 30cm
- Row spacing
- 90cm
- Height
- 25cm
- Time to harvest
- 100-150 days from planting
- Frost
- Frost tender
- Sun
- Full sun
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.