Post by macmex on Dec 6, 2020 11:47:49 GMT
There is a distinction being made between "slips" and "cuts." I believe it's a good distinction, though, to be honest, I'll probably forever revert to calling them all "slips," in normal conversation.
A "slip" is a sweet potato stem with a few roots on it. Generally, this is what one gets when producing cuttings from a sweet potato whose new shoots emerge under the soil or under water. Naturally they grow a stem and grow roots too. When one orders slips they expect to receive a bundle of cuttings, each with a few roots on the bottom end.
A "cut" is a sweet potato stem with no roots on it. Usually, it's been cut from the mother root with no roots at all. Sometimes, when I pull slips from my starter roots, a stem will break above the root, coming away with no roots at all. In recent years some sweet potato experts have been recommending cuts over slips. Their reasoning is that a lot of sweet potato diseases and even insect pests are transmitted from the mother root to the new plant by way of soil particles. Using cuts puts a bit of extra "distance" between any residual disease or pest, found on the mother root, and the resulting cutting.
I usually sell cuttings every spring and haven't been able to bring myself to totally abandon slips in favor of cuts, but this is primarily because many customers would be shocked to open their bundle and find no roots at all on their cuttings. Most would set those cuts in water until some roots developed before planting them in the garden.
The fact is that I've planted both slips and cuts in my own garden and cannot discern ANY DIFFERENCE in how they do. Cuts don't seem to miss a beat. So, logically, I believe they are superior since they do cut down on the probability of any kind of pest or disease transmission.
Interesting note on a related topic: Many new sweet potato growers will purchase little potted plants in a box store. Generally that's the only way they'll find any local sweet potato starts, unless they have a really good nursery nearby. Many times I've heard reports from such folk, that when they dug the harvest in the fall, the roots were gnarled and deformed. I'm pretty sure this is a result of the original plant having a sizable ball of roots, all contained inside a little pot. The gardener simply popped the little plant out of the pot and planted it in the garden as if it were a tomato plant. Those pot bound roots then developed into twisted, gnarled sweet potatoes! So, I'm going to make a suggestiong to anyone who purchases sweet potato plants this way. When you go to plant them pop them out of the pot and STRIP OFF most of the roots before planting. It wouldn't hurt to remove them ALL. (I can hear the gasps
The truth is, you'll almost certainly get a better harvest.
A "slip" is a sweet potato stem with a few roots on it. Generally, this is what one gets when producing cuttings from a sweet potato whose new shoots emerge under the soil or under water. Naturally they grow a stem and grow roots too. When one orders slips they expect to receive a bundle of cuttings, each with a few roots on the bottom end.
A "cut" is a sweet potato stem with no roots on it. Usually, it's been cut from the mother root with no roots at all. Sometimes, when I pull slips from my starter roots, a stem will break above the root, coming away with no roots at all. In recent years some sweet potato experts have been recommending cuts over slips. Their reasoning is that a lot of sweet potato diseases and even insect pests are transmitted from the mother root to the new plant by way of soil particles. Using cuts puts a bit of extra "distance" between any residual disease or pest, found on the mother root, and the resulting cutting.
I usually sell cuttings every spring and haven't been able to bring myself to totally abandon slips in favor of cuts, but this is primarily because many customers would be shocked to open their bundle and find no roots at all on their cuttings. Most would set those cuts in water until some roots developed before planting them in the garden.
The fact is that I've planted both slips and cuts in my own garden and cannot discern ANY DIFFERENCE in how they do. Cuts don't seem to miss a beat. So, logically, I believe they are superior since they do cut down on the probability of any kind of pest or disease transmission.
Interesting note on a related topic: Many new sweet potato growers will purchase little potted plants in a box store. Generally that's the only way they'll find any local sweet potato starts, unless they have a really good nursery nearby. Many times I've heard reports from such folk, that when they dug the harvest in the fall, the roots were gnarled and deformed. I'm pretty sure this is a result of the original plant having a sizable ball of roots, all contained inside a little pot. The gardener simply popped the little plant out of the pot and planted it in the garden as if it were a tomato plant. Those pot bound roots then developed into twisted, gnarled sweet potatoes! So, I'm going to make a suggestiong to anyone who purchases sweet potato plants this way. When you go to plant them pop them out of the pot and STRIP OFF most of the roots before planting. It wouldn't hurt to remove them ALL. (I can hear the gasps
The truth is, you'll almost certainly get a better harvest. 
