Photo of Vardaman Sweet Potato PlantPhoto of Vardaman Sweet Potato PlantPhoto of Vardaman Sweet Potato PlantPhoto of Vardaman Sweet Potato Plant

Vardaman Sweet Potato Plant

6 ReviewsAsk Questions

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Description

Productive and compact. Purple-leafed, bush-form variety yields gold-skinned sweet potatoes with deep-orange flesh. Skin darkens after harvest. Space plants 12-15 inches apart in 3-foot rows. Named for the famous sweet-potato growing town in Mississippi. Stores well. Harvest before frost. Matures in approximately 95 days.

  • Available for spring shipping only.
  • Last day to order sweet potatoes is June 4
  • Sweet potatoes will ship separately from the rest of your order. In the best interest of the plants, sweet potatoes begin shipping on April 15 to the warmer parts of the country. Shipping will continue through Late May for colder parts of the country.

Estimated Sweet Potato Ship Dates

Hardiness zones

 After April 15CA, AZ, NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC, FL
 After April 22OK, AR, TN, NC
 After May 3WA, OR, NV, UT, CO, KS, MO, Southern IL, Southern IN, KY, Southern OH, WV, VA, DE, MD, DC
 After May 10Southern ID, Southern WY, NE, IA, Northern IL, Northern IN, Northern OH, PA, NJ
 After May 15Northern ID, Southern MT, Northern WY, SD, Southern MN, Southern WI, Southern MI, Southern NY, RI, MA, CT
 After May 20Northern MT, ND, Northern MN, Northern WI, Northern MI, Northern NY, NH, VT, ME

Characteristics

Bloom Color Purple
Fruit Color Orange
Hardiness Zone Range 5 - 9
Pollination Not Required
Ripens/Harvest Harvest Before Frost Kills Vines
Shade/Sun Full Sun
Soil Composition Loamy
Soil Moisture Well Drained - Average Moistness
Soil pH Level 5.5 - 6.5
Taste Mild, Sweet
Texture Firm
Years to Bear 1

Zone Compatibility

This Variety's Zone Range 5 - 9
My Hardiness Zone ?
The USDA hardiness zones offer a guide to varieties that will grow well in certain climates. Each zone corresponds to the minimum winter temperatures experienced in a given area. Make sure that your hardiness zone lies within the zone compatibility range of this variety before ordering.

Pollination

Pollination is not required for this variety.

This variety does not require pollination to produce a harvestable crop.

Tools & Supplies

Having the proper tools and supplies when growing your own can make the difference between a good harvest and a great harvest! Here's a list that our experts recommend for this variety.

Planting & Care

Learn all about how to grow sweet potato plants in The Growing Guide. An entire section of our website dedicated to your growing success.

Read about how to grow sweet potato plants »

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Questions & Answers

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6 Questions
Why did you choose this?
Stark Bro'sStore

Never had luck with the other products.

Mike M

For one it was on sale and for another reason it stored well.

JOAN T

Wanted to grow sweet potatoes

GERALD R

Review from others who had purchased.

PAUL V
Is it practical to grow sweet potatoes in a potato bin?
Ross B.

Sure – it's like a strategically raised bed :) When growing sweet potatoes in potato bins, you'll still add soil as the vines grow until they reach the top of the bin. As long as the soil isn't too heavy/compact, and the soil is nutrient rich, it should yield a nice, space-saving sweet-potato crop.

SARAH D
How many plants can I grow in a large (20 gallon) grow bag?
JENNIFER K

To the best of my knowledge you can grow 4-5 per 20 gallon bag.

Tabitha R.
When are the sweet potatoes ready for the public to buy?
E. Wayne T.

Thank you for your question. Sweet potatoes can be harvested when they've grown to a good size, about 3-4 months after planting. Flavor improves with cold weather, so some growers wait until the first frost kills the vine, but if you wait that long, dig up your sweet potatoes right away or their quality will suffer.

LeAnn
How long can they be stored?
Kevin C

Do you mean how long they can be stored prior to planting or how long they can be stored after harvesting?

TiffanyF
What procedure do you have to take after the sweet potato is harvested? Do they need to sit in sun?
Mary C.

After harvest, the sweet potatoes should be cured. This involves placing the potatoes in a warm (85 degrees) humid (90 percent) environment for about 4 to 6 days to increase sugar content, heal nicks and bruises incurred during harvest, and increase flesh color.

TiffanyF
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Customer Reviews

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6 Reviews
Rated 5 out of 5
Feb 8, 2022
Best Flavor Ever!!
This Vardaman Sweet Potato is awesome! Last year (2021) was our first year trying to grow sweet potatoes. Since the Beauregard, which is what we were looking to purchase, was sold out everywhere including here at Starks, we decided to try the Vardaman. They were in stock and marked down in price so we thought we'd give them a try. These sweet potatoes grew very well in our area (south central Pa). We planted the slits in mounds, and kept mounding the soil up around them as they grew, keeping the tubers covered until harvest. From the 25 slits planted, we harvested a good 2 bushel of very firm, and deeply orange fleshed sweet potatoes. But the best part was the flavor! This sweet potato is VERY tasty! I canned many of them and they held up beautifully during processing. If there is a negative, it would be that some of them do split when growing (not all of them, just a few). So if that is something that is important to you, i.e. you sell them at market and appearance matters then you may want to keep that in mind when deciding whether or not to purchase the Vardaman. However, we should also mention that while we did harvest ours before the first frost, it was a bit later than it should have been so that may have contributed to some of the potatoes getting so big that they split. If you are looking for a firm, deeply orange fleshed sweet potato that tastes phenomenal we HIGHLY recommend the Vardaman. We are buying them again this year. Why try another variety when these, for us, were perfect!
LAWRENCE S
Rated 4 out of 5
Dec 26, 2021
Average to large size, stores fairly well. Firm, but good flavor.
JEFFREY L
Rated 3 out of 5
Aug 29, 2022
So-so but I have some potatoes.
I received my order and about half of the slips were not any good, but the ones that were did pretty good so far and I have gotten about average size potatoes.
GAIL A
Rated 3 out of 5
May 17, 2022
Meh.
Wish they had more roots. Stark was nice enough to send me an email 13 days later letting me know they arrived. Good thing I found them in my mailbox; I don’t check mail daily. Of the 25 I have 8 that seem to be doing well in my garden. Next time I’ll buy local so I can plant when I buy and see the root quality.
Ellen F
Rated 2 out of 5
Aug 6, 2022
Not great for Western Washington.
These did not do well in my Northwest Washington climate, but they produced delicious greens. I grew them side by side with another variety which produced nice roots.
SUSAN A
Rated 2 out of 5
Jun 3, 2016
I will not bother to grow Sweet Potatoes again
I wondered if sweet potatoes would thrive in Vermont, and mine did not. They were more like lean, stringy carrots. The flavor was very good, by the way, but my wife and I decided not worth the effort.
DAVID W

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