I'm Joining the Potato Queries...

[nick the grief]

Would I be so cruel ?

The answer is yes they do, if you were trying to breed a new variety you would grow it in sucha away that i didn't make tubers but flowered & set fruit. This fruit is then harvested & the seed sown & grown on - it takes about 2 years to get them to the stage where you can harvest a few tubers of them - bit like the micro plants that you can buy.

[Shortie]

Would I be so cruel ?

Do I have to answer that Nick

Only joking. Love you really. Of course you wouldn't

[leona]

what are those microplantS?

[Slug]

Hi Shortie,

I am amazed at the similarity of your photo to a picture of my Chilean Potato Vine (Solanum Crispum I think is the name). I've never grown potatoes myself, so don't know what the flowers look like, but they are idential to my ever green climber! Obviously this is related by more than just name.

The Chilean Potato vine is a member of the nightshade family, but it doesn't produce tubers (well.... none that I'm aware of!), so if you get tubers, I'm sure it's safe to assume they're spuds!!

Here's a link to what's growing in my garden - but I think from the sounds of it (with everyone else's suggestions), you've got spuds....

http://www.paghat.com/bluepotatovine.html

[Shortie]

They do look similar don't they? I did wonder that when I very first realised they had purple flowers, but then realised it wasn't attempting to climb and was too busy.

Just wish the things would die back so I can lift them out, have a nose (and hopefully a crop) and check/turn my compost. Can't open the bottom at the moment as the flowers are growing out of the bottom door and will snap ann the foliage clean off if I open it

[shirlthegirl43]

Just wondering what was the result of this Shortie? Did you get any spuds?

[seasprout]

Solanaceae

[QUOTE=Shortie;21062]They do look similar don't they?
[QUOTE]

Just to mention that the Chilean Potato Vine (Solanum Crispum) and Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are in the same plant family, hence similar flowers.

Also Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and Eggplant (Solanum melongena) as well. Its the flowers on the plants that taxonomists study to classify plant families.

More info here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum

Potatos sprouting in the compost heap are possibly the product of potato peelings, or those very small spuds that got thrown out.