Covington is a widely adapted orange sweet potato that has earned its place as a traditional favorite among home and market gardeners. This compact cultivar reaches harvest in around 90 days, thriving in zones 9 through 11 where warm soil and moderate water create ideal growing conditions. The variety's reliable performance across different regions, combined with its characteristic orange flesh and robust yields, makes it a dependable choice for anyone serious about growing sweet potatoes.
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Moderate
9-11
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High
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Covington arrives as bare-root slips that may look wilted or pale when they first come in the mail, but don't let that fool you. This orange sweet potato is a proven performer that adapts well to different growing conditions, and it stores beautifully after a simple curing process. The slips' apparent dormancy is completely normal and won't affect your yield, making Covington forgiving for gardeners new to sweet potato cultivation.
Covington sweet potatoes are roasted, baked, mashed, or used in both savory and sweet dishes. Their orange flesh makes them particularly suited to side dishes, casseroles, and traditional holiday preparations where their natural sweetness shines through.
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Covington arrives as bare-root slips ready for transplanting outdoors rather than starting from seed indoors. If slips arrive dry, wilted, pale, or brown in appearance, this is completely normal and does not affect viability. If you must delay planting, wrap the root end of slips in moist paper towels, keeping leaves and stems dry, and store them upright at room temperature away from direct sunlight.
Plant slips outdoors once soil temperatures consistently reach 65 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and all frost danger has passed. Covington thrives in zones 9 through 11 where warm conditions support the full 90 days to harvest. Space slips appropriately in well-drained, sandy loam soil with a pH near 6.5.
Covington sweet potatoes are ready to harvest approximately 90 days after planting. Dig carefully once the vines show maturity and the leaves begin to decline, taking care not to bruise or cut the roots. Harvest before the first frost, as this variety is frost-tender and cannot tolerate freezing temperatures.
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