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And in fact potato fruit are poisonous! Just remember that when you grow potatoes and you get those "nice small tomatoes" on the potatoes that do bloom and frui
by tharkun__ 5y ago
And in fact potato fruit are poisonous! Just remember that when you grow potatoes and you get those "nice small tomatoes" on the potatoes that do bloom and fruit :) Luckily not many bloom and fruit usually, so most people that just grow a few potatoes for fun don't even get tempted. Then again they don't ripen red anyway, so I guess there's that to "save the curious".
EDIT: Anyone else have an unusually many potatoes bloom and bear fruit this year? I've never had this many before.
- hinkley 5y agoThere’s a tomato plant that produces little purple tomatoes that don’t look that different from potato fruits. I knew someone who planted both one year and I still haven’t forgiven them for being so reckless.
- morelisp 5y agoThe bigger warning to any potential potato farmers is to make sure you keep the potatoes underground; any tuber above ground will also have heightened levels of solanine. If they're light-skinned they'll also turn green from chlorophyll, which helps identify them a bit, but better to make sure they're well-buried. (All my potatoes had a couple fruits this year, but I'm in Germany, so I have no clue if that data is relevant...)
- tharkun__ 5y agoThat's a good one that people should know even for potatoes they buy. If green, discard. But you are right, some people don't. I think it is relevant because I'm in Canada and even though we now have a total of statistically irrelevant 2 anecdotal data points only it is something. Lots of fruit on potatoes in the same year on different continents more than 5000 km apart on a plant that usually has very few if any fruit at all. My very first years of planting potatoes I did not even have flowers.