That is just so awesome! Now I have a problem. I planted some rose gold potatoes earlier this year, but they didn’t do much, and with the lack of water, I just figured they died.
When we started getting some regular rain, I noticed that area had some yellow blooms, and the plants looked like tomatoes. Yesterday, I wandered around to the other side of the patch, and lo and behold - green fruits - looks like tomatoes.
Some are exactly like the cherry tomatoes that grow in a bunch some are pear shaped, and others are shaped like small beefsteak. I haven’t planted tomatoes there for at least 4 years.
Of course, last year I had volunteer tomato plants that came up among the lilies, and they were like the grape cherry tomatoes, that I have never planted anywhere on the property.
Hubby said best not to eat them, because they might actually be the potato fruit/seed pod.
Yes, potatoes WILL ‘set fruit’ if they think they’re going to die. They ARE an annual plant, so if they’re stressed, they’ll do that; set fruit or go to seed quick so they can perpetuate themselves.
Mother Nature knows what She’s doing! Gardening is ALL ABOUT THE SEX and reproduction and the perpetuation of YOUR particular sub-species, Baby!
(And some people think plants are dumb!) ;)
Potatoes are in the Solanaceae family of plants, so that’s why the above-ground fruit looks like a tomato.
‘S. tuberosum’ is potato, ‘S. lycopersicum’ is tomato and, ‘S. melongena’ is eggplant...which I never grow; they’re tasteless SPONGES, fer Pete’s Sake!
Whee! My Master Gardener classes are FINALLY paying off! ;)
Don’t eat them, but if any look ripe, I’d save a few seeds. True potato seeds keep for years, just like tomato seeds do, and can be a back-up for your “SHTF” seed stash.
If things ever get bad enough that you lose your seed potatoes and can’t get any more, those seeds will let you rebuild. The first year, the spuds will be tiny. Save them to replant the next year. After the second fall you’ll have a better idea what size spuds your new varieties will produce, and you’ll be able to select for things like size, flavor, and disease resistance.
I don’t suggest true potato seeds for the normal garden, but they can be a backup to your backups.
(Unless you’re a plant breeder, in which case they’re just plain fun!)