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Posted by maplegreen (U13434460) on Monday, 19th July 2010
First time grown potatoes and boy have we enjoyed them! Nothing like them with butter
and parsley sauce.
We are now about half way through our crop and are finding small bunches of green "tomato looking" things in amongst and attached to the greenery - what are they? Are they the new seed potatoes?
Help
Maplegreen
What do I do with them?
Just in case your message doesn't get any other answers, I think these are fruits, and are poisonous for humans. I think you should take them off as they will take some of the energy from the tubers. I don't really know what I am talking about, but have read this on the allotment board. I hope someone backs me up / puts me right!
Yes I am sure that is right - they are poisonous fruits and sadly not seeds for next year.
We used to call these potato "apples" when we were children. They are poisonous.
Potatoes are members of the deadly nightshade family Solanacea.
both spot on.potatoes & tomatoes are both members of the solanum family,same as deadly nightshade.that's why the fruits on your potatoes look like tomatoes but are definitely poisonous.when you remove them don't put them on the compost heap & do wash your hands afterwards.
Thank you very,very much for your advice - blimey they sound a bit dangerous!
I would have put them in the compost - so thank you again.
Maplegreen
You don't eat your compost do you Harry?
Hi, maplegreen - It always scares the pants off me when I read messages such as yours, where the poisonous potential isn't apparently realised.
The small green fruits should NOT be eaten.
These are the fruit of the potato and are of NO value to the gardener whatsoever.
Potato fruit, as well as the plant itself, contain relatively large amounts of a poison called solanine and solanine is a poisonous alkaloid.
Since potatoes don't come true from seed, no effort should be made to save the seed either.
Finally, any green potato tubers (resulting from exposure to the sun) also contain the same solanine poison and shouldn't be eaten either.
well yeah barny.why? what on earth do you do with yours!!
Whilst I agree that any of the plant which is green is poisonous,there is no problem putting any of this on the compost heap,provided it is free from 'blight'.
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