How We Grow, Pack, & Ship our Commercial Sweet Potatoes

Growing:

Scott Farms grows sweet potato seedlings by two methods:

 
All of Scott Farms’ newly purchased micro-propagated seedlings from the NC State Micro-Propagation Unit are raised in our greenhouses until they are ready for transplanting. Others are grown directly in well-prepared beds direct from seed potatoes.  

In the beds, seed potatoes are placed as close as possible without stacking them.

 

Two lines of drip tape for irrigation are installed as we cover the seed beds with soil.

 

The beds are then covered with plastic. Holes are punched in the plastic to allow air to circulate through the plant bed.  Along with water, nutrients are added through the irrigation tape.

Starting about the first or second week of May, plants are cut every eight to nine days for seven to 10 weeks before transplanting in our fields. We cut only the bigger plants to encourage growth and give the smaller plants time to grow before weekly cuttings and transplanting to the field.

 

Irrigation is key to growing quality plants and assuring a good stand of sweet potatoes. To get a good, uniform stand, we irrigate if there has been no rainfall.

 

At Scott Farms, we apply side-dress fertilizer four weeks after transplanting. This will help ensure a high yield of #1 sweet potatoes.

 

Moving sweet potato vines eight to 10 days before digging to upturn the sweet potatoes with a two-row plow.

 

Bins and buckets are sterilized before harvest time. Our harvesting crew separates seeds from #1’s, carefully handling them as they are placed in a bin before going to the curing house.

 

Boxes (each holds 40 bushels) of sweet potatoes are loaded onto a truck.

Curing:

 

Sweet potatoes are cured and stored over winter in the curing barn where the climate is carefully controlled to ensure quality. We maintain a temperature of 85 degrees F and 85% humidity and use forced air curing to enhance the taste and extend the shelf life of sweet potatoes.

 

Packing & Shipping:

Our commitment to our customers is to deliver top-quality, blemish-free sweet potatoes when and where they need them.

 

Over the past several years, Scott Farms has redesigned our conventional packing line to meet the ever-changing trends in the sweet potato industry. Through mechanical sizing and strict inspection standards, we can provide our retail, restaurant, and foodservice customers with a variety of sizes and forms to meet their needs. We pack sweet potatoes in 20 lb. and 40 lb. cartons, 6 kg cartons and bulk bins.