How to harvest potatoes. Dust seed potatoes with sulfur before planting. At each location the result was the same, the fruiting potato plants yielded a lower weight of potatoes, vs. flowering potatoes and where flowers were removed completely yield was highest. Seeds will be at the bottom of the glass. Although the fruit doesn’t harm the growth of the tubers, the little fruits can be a dangerous attraction to children. When potatoes were introduced in Europe, they thought they were poisonous, then an aphrodesiac. Can a potato plant grow a tomato? Required fields are marked *. (Some gardeners recommend waiting for the flowers to fade away before digging up potatoes.) New Potatoes. Copyright © 2020. In theory, by removing the flower, the plant will divert more of its energy into the growing potatoes. Do potatoes have to flower before harvesting? That said, nightshade plants have high levels of a toxin called solanine. All of these have similar flowers. Deep Do You Plant A Potato? However, the difference is thought to be quite negligible so it really all comes down to personal choice and preference. If you find your potato plant flowering, you might even be able to grow a true potato plant, which doesn’t carry the same characteristics as the parent plant. Solanine is the reason parts of the potato tuber turn green when they are in contact with sunlight. Tomatoes and potatoes are in the same family: the Nightshades or Solanaceae. Instead, the blossoms are linked to production of the small, green above-ground fruits that resemble tomatoes. The easiest way to separate the seeds is to mash the berry and put the resulting mix into a glass of water. These turn into the true fruit of the plant, which resemble small green tomatoes. Filed Under: General Gardening, Potatoes Tagged With: Growing Potatoes, harvesting potatoes, potato blooms, potato flowers, potato gardening, potato harvest, potato questions, when to harvest potatoes, Your email address will not be published. The fruits may look a lot like a tomato but are just the berry of the potato plant. They contain a toxic level of solanine, a poisonous alkaloid that forms when parts of the potato plant are exposed to sunlight. Remember: Potatoes like acidic soil (do not plant in soil with a pH higher than 5.2). In areas where children are at play, it is best to remove the fruit and the temptation from eager little hands. Indeed they found that the yield on potato … It’s time to dig up your tender, homegrown potatoes when the buds drop or the flowers that do … Potato fruits have seeds inside just like any berry. Potato plant flowering is a normal occurrence, but the flowers usually just dry up and fall off rather than producing fruit. The berries are not edible but they don’t affect the development of the tubers. Occasionally, however, gardeners will notice tomato looking things on potato plants. Our gardening obsessed editors and writers choose every product we review. The fruit’s resemblance to sweet cherry tomatoes can pose a hazard to little ones. These greenish parts of the potato must be cut away before the potato is consumed. When Do Potato Plants Flower? Find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Keep up to date with all that's happening in and around the garden. The way you tend to know that first earlies are ready is by their flowers. Potato Flower Appearance. Why potato plants flower can depend upon the temperatures or excessive amounts of fertilizer. Your potatoes should not be touching each other or the edge of the pot or their growth will be stunted. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! -Matt G. ANSWER: Don’t worry if your potato plants aren’t producing blooms. Some gardeners rely on their potatoes blooming to tell them when to harvest new potatoes, because usually when they bloom is also when the plant first begins to produce tubers. When the flowers appear on the shoots and stems of potato plants, it’s a sign that the potato tubers are maturing. It is nothing to be concerned about – in fact, it is a sign that the potato plants are doing well! Once the potato seedlings sprout and grow, they need mounding. Consumption of parts of the potato that contain solanine can cause confusion, diarrhea, digestive discomfort, drowsiness, vomiting, shortness of breath, and weak or rapid pulse, and if solanine poisoning is not treated, the person who consumed it can die due to respiratory failure.