Warm-season perennial vine grown as an annual, producing starchy, sweet tuberous roots. Thrives in Zones 5-11 with a minimum frost-free period of 90-120 days. Increasingly grown in northern regions using black plastic mulch and raised beds to boost soil temperatures. Highly nutritious and versatile, with growing consumer demand for fresh and value-added products.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Sweet potatoes are propagated vegetatively from slips (rooted sprouts) rather than seed. Slips are planted into warm soil (minimum 65°F at 4-inch depth) after all frost danger has passed. Well-drained sandy loam soils are ideal; heavy clay soils produce misshapen roots. The crop is not a heavy nitrogen feeder — approximately 50-80 lbs N/acre is typical, with higher rates risking excessive vine growth at the expense of root formation. Potassium is critical (120-150 lbs K/acre) for uniform root development, flavor, and storability. After harvest, roots must be cured at 85°F and 85-90% relative humidity for 7-10 days to heal wounds and convert starches to sugars. Properly cured sweet potatoes store 6-12 months at 55-60°F. Plant density is typically 12,000-15,000 plants per acre.
Growing Season
- Plant
- Late May to early June (after soil reaches 65°F) – Mid-June
- Harvest
- Late September – Mid-October (before first frost)
- Frost-free days
- 90+
- GDD (base 50°F)
- 2,400 – 3,000
Yield
- Typical yield
- 500 bushels/acre
- Productive lifespan
- 1 years
- Labor
- 120 hrs/acre
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
No buyer on record for this crop in the catalog's buyer network.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend not recorded for this crop.
Supply Below Demand
2 of 4 documented channels rate viability "strong". Sold into regional rather than national markets, vegetable supply here generally trails that demand.
Multiple Buyer Channels
4 of 4 documented market channels rate viable or better (direct_to_consumer, wholesale, restaurant, farmers_market). Multiple independent routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
3 viable direct-market channels (direct_to_consumer, restaurant, farmers_market). Supports value-added and margin capture beyond wholesale.
Market Growth Projected
Mature vegetable market; growth over a 5-year horizon is expected to track population rather than outpace it.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 5-11; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop needs 2400 GDD (base 50F); region accumulates 2500+. Sufficient.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop needs ~1 in; region receives ~38 in/yr. Compatible, irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop needs 90 frost-free days; region provides ~180. Sufficient.
Chill Hours Met
Not applicable — annual crop has no winter chill requirement.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 7 hardiness zones (5-11). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Fit by region
The farm matcher, run on each region's cited climate normals. Soil and site are not included here; add your own on the match page.
Limited by heat accumulation (gdd base 50f), high-severity risks. 5 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 75% cited.
Limited by high-severity risks. 5 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 75% cited.
Limited by heat accumulation (gdd base 50f), high-severity risks. 5 criteria evaluated, 1 not yet researched; 75% cited.
Climate envelope & site
What the farm matcher compares your conditions against.
Climate envelope
- Hardiness zone
- n/a
- Frost-free season
- 90+ days
- Heat (GDD base 50°F)
- 2,400+
- Winter chill
- n/a
- Rainfall
- 29.5–196.9 in/yr
Below the minimum, irrigation is needed; above the maximum the crop fails.
- Soil pH target
- 5.8–6.5
Extension lime target; within 1.0 of it is correctable.
Site & structure
- Spring frost at bloom
- n/a
- Needs cold-air drainage
- n/a
- Shade tolerance
- none — full sun
- Mature height
- not yet recorded
- Rooting depth
- not yet recorded
- Wind exposure tolerance
- not yet recorded
- Workable slope
- not yet recorded
Height, rooting depth and shade tolerance are the inputs an alley or guild layout needs.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
2 of 4 documented equipment items are crop-specific (50%) against a catalog median of 29%. Above-median share of purpose-built equipment, implying real capital outlay.
Storage Available
2 documented storage routes; at least one (Curing) is reachable with conventional on-farm or third-party facilities.
Irrigation Compatible
Requires ~1 in. Deliverable with conventional drip or overhead irrigation.
Field Layout Suitable
Suited to the small-to-mid-size fragmented parcels typical of the region.
Labor Availability
120 labor hr/ac vs catalog 75th percentile 250 hr/ac. Manageable with typical farm labor.
Processing Proximity
No processing or cooperative buyer on record for this crop; product would need to travel or be sold fresh.
Equipment Requirements
planting
Water-wheel or mechanical transplanter. Hand planting viable at small scale.
cultivation
For forming raised beds essential for drainage and soil warming.
harvesting
Mechanical undercutter or chain digger. Hand digging used at small scale.
post_harvest
Climate-controlled space at 85°F, 85-90% RH for 7-10 day curing period. Essential for storability.
Storage Requirements
Curing
Temperature
80–85°F
Humidity
85–90%
Max Storage
10 days
Long-term dry storage
Temperature
55–60°F
Humidity
80–85%
Max Storage
365 days
Financial Return
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $5,500/ac vs catalog median $6,000/ac. Below median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Input cost not recorded; not penalising. Catalog 75th percentile is $6,300/ac.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 0 years. Acceptable payback.
Insurance Available
No federal crop insurance recorded for this crop; risk sits with the grower.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Net return per labor hour $10.00 ($1,200/ac over 120 hr/ac) vs catalog median $13.16. Below median.
Grants/Subsidies
Vegetable crops are eligible under the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | — |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $5,500 |
| Annual Operating Cost | —/acre |
| Establishment Cost | —/acre |
| Total Input Cost | —/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | $1,200 |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Not available |
Source: NC State Agricultural & Resource Economics — Sweetpotato 2024 Enterprise Budget (2025)
Risk Profile
Manageable Pest/Disease
3 of 4 documented risks are high-severity (75%) against a catalog median of 36%. Above-median concentration of high-severity risk, demanding intensive management.
Market Diversified
4 viable market channels of 4 documented. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
0 years to full production. Low establishment exposure.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 5-11 (7 zones). Broad tolerance indicates resilience to seasonal variability.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a vegetable revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
disease
Fungal disease (Ceratocystis fimbriata) causing black, bitter lesions on roots. Can spread rapidly in storage.
Soilborne fungi causing wilting, root decay, and reduced yields. More severe in poorly drained soils.
pest
Adults and larvae feed on vines and roots, causing extensive tunneling and rendering roots unmarketable.
weather
Sweet potatoes are extremely frost-sensitive. Even light frost kills vines and damages exposed roots.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Sweet Potato against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem service data pending.
The next research-agent rotation will document this crop's contributions to pollinator support, soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
Cultivars
Named varieties and what the sources say sets each apart. A cultivar-specific zone, chill or maturity figure overrides the species value above.
No cultivars recorded yet for this crop.
Grows With / Avoid Near
Documented interactions with other catalog crops — shared pests, allelopathy, rotation effects, alley and understory pairings — for companion, guild and rotation planning. Plan a combination with Sweet Potato →
Avoid near, or plan around (16)
Direction matters: a rotation benefit of A before B says nothing about B before A. Interactions are documented pairs only; absence is a research gap, not a clean bill.
Nearby Buyers
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Data sourced from Penn State Extension, NC State Extension, Cornell Vegetable Program, and USDA resources.
Economics data year: 2025 · Basis: lake erie View economics source →
52 tracked changes across 8 data categories