We have grown sweet potatoes in large and small containers and it can be done. The only difference between the two would be that with small containers you end up with small sweet potatoes. The photo above is from when we grow sweet potatoes in a hanging basket outside. The following information is about how to take care of the sweet potatoes and what is the smallest size container needed. If you don’t have the space for a container that big you can also grow them in smaller containers. You will just end up with smaller sweet potatoes.
Sun
Sweet potato plants like full sun for 6 to 8 hours a day, however they can also tolerate morning sun and evening shade conditions.
Soil/ Transplant
When planting sweet potatoes it is best to use well draining soil. They can grow well in garden soil if the soil is allowed to dry enough before watering them again, and if you make sure the soil doesn’t get to packed. We would turned the soil by replanting/transplanted the sweet potatoes when they soil started to look to hard and packed. In lose well drained soil you don’t have to worry about packed soil or over watering.
Spacing
When you are growing sweet potatoes in containers your should try to plant one plant per container. Fr large potatoes you can use a pop up potato plants, you may be able plant more than one plant in them depending on which one you get. For medium to large sweet potatoes a 5 gallon bucket is good for one plant, and for smaller sweet potatoes medium container, plant baskets, and pots well work.
Water
Sweet potato plants need about one inch of water a week. They can tolerate bouts of dryness as well.
Food
Sweet potatoes don’t need to be fertilized in fact fertilizing can cause problems with growth. The best thing to do is pick a well draining loose soil that has a lot of organic matter in it. This will slowly feed the sweet potatoes as they grow without preventing their growth or causes to much leaf growth.
Annual or Perennial
Sweet potatoes are a perennial that can live for a minimum of 2 years. If you are careful to only pull up the tubers and not harm the main plant and to protect it from cold it will grow sweet potatoes year after year.
Climate/Hardiness
The climate that works best for sweet potatoes is warm summer weather. They do not do well in temperatures colder than 60°F/15°C. If the weather near you is lower and falls around 60°F/15°C they will still grow but very slowly and maybe smaller, they could also go dormant. If it gets colder they will die.
Harvest
Sweet potatoes should be ready to harvest in 4 to 5 month from planting. You should slow your water and even stop it altogether in the last month of growing before the harvest. If you stop watering the tubers will be ready once the leaves and stems are dry. If they get to much water during this time the could split open and rot.