First off, forget everything you know about planting regular potatoes. Those are tubers you plop in the ground. Sweet potatoes are a whole different vibe. You start with a slip—which is basically a baby plant that grew roots from another sweet potato. Think of it as taking a cutting from your cousin’s pothos plant, but way more rewarding because you get fries in the fall.
You can buy slips online (yes, people ship plant babies in the mail) or grow your own by sticking a sweet potato in a jar of water. The latter makes you feel like a kitchen wizard. Fair warning: your family will think you’re growing a science experiment. Let them. The payoff is coming.
