Grow Your Own Magazine

duggie · #1 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 01:49 PM

Hi. I haven't any photos but noticed yesterday that where the flowers on my potatoes have dropped, there are little green hard fruit - similar in appearance to tomatoes

Any idea what they may be? Will I need to cut them off?

SlugLobber · #2 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 02:05 PM

They're seed pods, aren't they? Not a potato expert, so will watch this thread with interest!

Capsid · #3 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 02:20 PM

They are the fruit and similar to tomatoes because potatoes and tomatoes are in the same plant family.

Flummery · #4 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 04:47 PM

They ARE the fruits but are NOT similar to tomatoes, they are in fact toxic. However, I'm looking for some of these to grow on. Would you mind leaving them on the plant till you are ready to eat the spuds and then send them to me? I'll send you a pm and I'll pay the postage and packing costs. I'd love to grow some from true seed - but my earlies just drop their flowers without setting the fruits.

quark1 · #5 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 04:51 PM

'On no account eat them'

- they are poisonsous! Are great if you want to try a pots from seed experiment - which I'm attempting this year with Salad Blues which have produced many fruits.

If you want to leave them on plants fine for experiment - but if you have kids (or animals such as dogs - who tend to take a chance at anything and everything greedy b's!) who may be tempted to pick off and try - thinking they're toms - I'd recommend you remove them from the plants pronto.

Wasn't sure how potentially deadly the poisons were until I read this wiki entry

Potato - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

about half-way down - 'toxic compounds in potatoes' - worst case scenarios quite alarming.

Makes you think about trying to overpeel a greening spud just to save. Best left to go to seed and plant on next year (or compost).

quark1 · #6 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 04:51 PM

Flum - you seem to have got in just before me - would you like a salad blue fruit when they are ready?

Snadger · #7 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 05:46 PM

I took hundreds off last year with the intention of growing them but instead I raked them up by mistake and dumped them on the compost heap!

Some potatoes are hybrids methinks so their seed may be sterile?

Just to reiterate DO NOT EAT>>>>VERY POISONOUS

Demeter · #8 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 10:01 PM

Isn't it weird that the same family can have such different fruits - tomatoes and aubergines etc, lovely edible fruit - potatoes and belladonna - the fruit will kill you as soon as look at you...

The whole potato plant contains poisonous substances, but the tubers are fine to eat if well cooked and, in the case of greening spuds, if you chop off the green parts - at least that's what me old mum always used to do and, as the saying goes, it never did us any harm...

Duronal · #9 (**permalink**) 30-06-2008, 11:52 PM

I'm growing potatoes from seed this year. I managed to harvest the seeds last year from some supermarket king edwards. The tubers got hit by blight but the nice thing about TPS (true potato seed) is that it can't spread blight!

Apparently yields are likely to be less then with a 'seed' potato but it's more fun from seed!

I'll let you know how i got on.

for info i picked the fruit green and left it to ripen (turn black) by a sunny window. After this i scraped thr flesh and seeds into some kitchen paper. Once dried i put these in an envelope for safe keeping and planted in march.

jackie j · #10 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 10:32 AM

Flum I had a couple and put them in the compost if I get anymore I will let you know and post them to you.

Flummery · #11 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quark1

Flum - you seem to have got in just before me - would you like a salad blue fruit when they are ready?

Oooh, yes please. Remind me when they are ready and I'll send you a padded envelope and some stamps.

scarey55 · #12 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 11:10 AM

I can see the headlines now:

.....EXCLUSIVE.....

Professor Flummery Pudding has anounced the result of the great potato seed trials and has produced a pumpkin sized potato that grew with its own quilt on to protect it from the frost

Flummery · #13 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 12:42 PM

...and ended up as chips!

SlugLobber · #14 (**permalink**) 01-07-2008, 01:45 PM

I'm going to watch my own spuds like a hawk, now! It would be fab to save the seed and grow on, next year!

quark1 · #15 (**permalink**) 03-07-2008, 03:17 PM

Duronal - you seem to be at least one on here who is trying 'from seed' method.

I have many fruits well-formed on my plants - could you indicate what size the fruits have to be before picking off and ripening - prior to seed harvest?

I have Salad Blues fruiting merrily - but they will soon be ready for harvest - I am happy to leave one plant much longer if necessary to get the desired size of fruit as an experiment (and not to disappoint Flum!). At the time of flowering they were the only ones in close proximity in bloom - so are likely to be as 'true' as nature can provide. I'd really like to have a go - even if it may turn out to be a 2yr cycle.

Many Thanks.

Flummery · #16 (**permalink**) 03-07-2008, 06:17 PM

Don't leave it any longer than you need to for a harvest Quark. If it needs to be further ripened, I have a windowsill! Exciting, innit? Or do I need to get out more?

quark1 · #17 (**permalink**) 03-07-2008, 06:56 PM

Flum - at the moment they are the size of cherry toms - and I'm not sure how much seed is inside. I want to give them the best chance to deliver - next year or the year after. This is for both of us and anyone else for whom I might have spare seed that might be interested. I may sacrifice one fruit and see whats inside.

It'll be a first for me too.

Flummery · #18 (**permalink**) 04-07-2008, 02:57 PM

Cheers - long may your lobes hang low!

petlor · #19 (**permalink**) 07-07-2008, 12:40 PM

As there are many of you on with skills of potatoe growing I would like to grow some for Christmas time what would be the recommend type and where would I get them from i would grow them in two large large cut in half plastic dustbins[ about metre dia].

Duronal · #20 (**permalink**) 08-07-2008, 11:02 AM

Sorry about the late reply quark.

I picked mine when it was just larger than a cherry tomato and then left it to turn black on a window sill. I believe that you can get up to 500 seeds in one fruit so i'm not sure you'll have to collect too many.

There are reports of people using tps to produce seed potatos and then growing on from those which i liked the idea of, alternitvely just grow from seed. I would have had 6 seed plants but 4 got savaged by slugs just after germination

Still i'll keep the two i have and report back when i have more info.

D

Flummery · #21 (**permalink**) 08-07-2008, 11:31 AM

The advantage of this is thart each seed produces a different potato. If you find one with good qualities that you particularly like, you can grow that on from its tubers as usual and you have your own variety!

markwcel · #22 (**permalink**) 08-07-2008, 08:51 PM

xmas taties...save some of your first earlys...

mrswadders · #23 (**permalink**) 09-07-2008, 02:07 PM

i like the idea of growing spuds from seed,can you give me some advise as to when to sow seed ,greenhouse? pots? then how long before planting out?
Also has anyone saved pots to use as seed spuds for next year with any success?

Cheers

Flummery · #24 (**permalink**) 09-07-2008, 06:15 PM

I've never grown spuds from seed but I imagine sowing in March will give you a good start. Only guesswork though.