Potato fruit????

level200

HI Guys

Whilst checking on my potatos this morning I noticed green round growths the size of small tomatos growing from the flowers. What are they?

Lotus-eater

Seed pods, don't eat them!

unhappy_shopper

My potato plants too have these tiny green fruits,the size of cherries now.Should I pluck them off? Does that indicate that my potatoes are ready for picking?I am a newbie and this is my first year of growing tatties.

Lotus-eater

You can take them off if you want, won't make alot of difference now.
What potatoes have you got? Maincrop you are supposed to wait for them to die back, earlies you should be able to dig up now, or at least have a look. My earlies are already out.

honeydukes

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Seed pods, don't eat them!

The same thing happened to me last year and I read thast they are mega poisonous... is that right?

Mojisola

Potato flowers don't usually get pollinated and produce fruits but they do sometimes. They are poisonous. It would be best to pick them off and dispose of them safely.

The potato tubers aren't affected by the plant producing fruits. Enjoy your spuds!

r.a.i.n.b.o.w

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Seed pods, don't eat them!

Can spuds be grown from these?

olly300

r.a.i.n.b.o.w wrote: »

Can spuds be grown from these?

No.................

RuthnJasper

honeydukes wrote: »

The same thing happened to me last year and I read thast they are mega poisonous... is that right?

As I understand it, they ARE poisonous. Not enough to kill but enough to make you feel a bit grotty. DO NOT EAT THEM!!!

RuthnJasper

r.a.i.n.b.o.w wrote: »

Can spuds be grown from these?

No. Not even the potato plants can be grown from them.

If you want to grow next year's spuds from this year's crop, save some of the spuds (from underground - nothing that looks like a green tomato or spud from 'up top'. You need to save ACTUAL uncooked spuds);

Store them in brown paper in a dark, warm place (my Grampy and my mum used to put them in the airing cupboard). They will, after a few weeks, sprout shoots from within the spuds;

After a month or so (when they look ready), plant each 'sprouted' spud - otherwise known as "chitties" or "chitted potatoes" - in its own, individual pot of peat/soil and return it to the warm, dark place;

Sometime around March (after the frosts), transfer the sprouted spuds (which should now resemble mini-plants with the original spud as the 'bulb') into the place in the garden where you want your spuds to grow (with a suitable space between each 'spud-bulb'). Then leave 'em, feed and water 'em, as normal until ready to harvest and repeat.

Here's a tip, which my much-loved late Grampy left me: don't grow your spuds in the same bit of soil every year. There is a bug/weevil that likes spuds and will wait in the soil if a regular pattern of planting develops and, after a few years, will devour the entire crop before you can dig them up. If the place where you plant the spud-bulbs varies every year, they won't know where to wait and you stand a chance of a better harvest. And then the cycle can go on.

Here is a link to a site that provides better advice than mine: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_potatoes1.shtml

Good luck with your tatties! There's nothing like the taste of home-grown.
xx

Lotus-eater

RuthnJasper wrote: »

No. Not even the potato plants can be grown from them.

Ahh but they can, there are plenty of articles if you search for potato seeds pods, on growing plants from them.
It's certainly not that easy and not worth it compared with growing from seed potatoes.