Sweet potato - leave in the ground for winter

Question

Last year, after grow season ends, I found some tubers which were not harvested, after 3-4 weeks, during plowing, middle of November, after first frost and everything harvested in my garden. Found tubers were in very good condition.

As I am getting big troubles to store them, I wonder if I can leave them not harvested in the ground? Leaves will be destroyed by frost, but if the ground will not be frozen, will they survive longer, like 2-3 months in the ground?

I'm expecting only small frost, otherwise I am able to prevent soil from freeze at the depth where tubers are located.

What do you think?

Answer 1

Assuming you don't have subsurface vermin issues (in-ground is the way I learned to store carrots - but our carrots and beets were both savaged by burrowers this year before harvest, so storing them there was not an option) That can work.

Variations (without getting into root cellars...) range from leaving them where they are, leaving them where they are with straw or something piled on top to minimize frost penetration, or dig up and rebury in a (possibly smaller, possibly wire-mesh protected from vermin) location, with or without additional frost protection as required.