True potato seeds?

[missyvortexdv]

Has anyone any experience with true potato seeds? I had some potato fruit last year and no clue what they were. Got a lot more this year from the same plants I'd left tubers in overwintering and thought to google it as I hadn't heard of potato fruit before

Comments

[acy]

I believe there is a lot of genetic variability in potatoes grown from true seeds, and it takes a couple of seasons to give you an idea of what you're going to get. I highly recommend "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan. A large portion of the book is dedicated to the potato.

[sirtobybelch]

I did a google search and found this site http://www.growseed.org/potato.html it explains how to harvest and clean the seed for next years use. It is cool that you got actual fruit on your potatoes. As far as I know it is not dangerous to touch the plants or fruit, but to be on the safe side I would wear gloves and wash my hands after harvesting them. Good luck, I would be interested in knowing how this turns out since I am a student in the Organic Farmers Training Program at Michigan State University and am teaching myself how to save seed from plants, since I want to start my own seed company.

[sparklysadness]

I had my purple potatoes produce one single fruit, so I've been obsessively taking care of it. :) I harvested it and extracted the seeds barehanded with no issues. They're currently in my fridge in a jar, and I'm already planning my potato plot for next year!