It wasn’t my intention, but here it is. Still too frosty to plant outside but it’s getting bigger every day.

This also isn’t the best pot to have used for transplanting, I have a feeling this thing will be too big in a week.

Advice is welcome. No I won’t eat this potato, because it’s raw.

  • @barneypiccolo@lemm.ee
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    1313 days ago

    Get a 5 gallon bucket, put a few inches of dirt in the bottom, and transplant your potato plant into it. When there is no chance of frost, stick it outside in a sunny spot. As it grows higher, keep adding more soil, until it reaches the top.

    In the fall, when it starts getting cool, dump it out and sift through the dirt for the spuds.

    • @kat_angstrom@lemmy.worldOP
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      212 days ago

      It wasn’t so much that I didn’t expect it to grow, as I had zero expectations, and so my expectations were surpassed :)

  • @remotelove@lemmy.ca
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    3513 days ago

    I am curious what your intentions were for a potato that you planted that wasn’t supposed to grow?

    I ask because it might help formulate a plan if we can determine your intentions and expectations.

  • I dropped a potato on the tile floor in my pantry and it ended up looking more aggressive than this. I’d say they like it rough. Pull it’s hair a little bit and talk offensively about it’s mother.

  • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    I have a feeling this thing will be too big in a week.

    The potatoe part isnt going to get bigger…

    It’s shriveling up and dying so it’s using all its stored energy in a last dying grasp for survival…

    You need to fully bury it, or chop off the bits where it grew sprouts and store it like a regular one till you plant it. Neither way is guaranteed, but they’re both better chances than exposed like that.

      • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        413 days ago

        Probably.

        I mean, you should take the time to Google it if you want it to turn out well.

        But in general bury a tuber and it’ll grow. It’s basically just a root that stores crazy amounts of energy. They all evolved to have that part buried underground.

  • @Rainbowblite@lemmy.ca
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    4213 days ago

    Potatoes form underground but they can also flower and make fruit. The fruit looks like a little tomato. My advice is to not eat the fruit; it is toxic.

    Also, it needs a way bigger pot to make more potatoes.

  • @baldingpudenda@lemmy.world
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    9313 days ago

    You arent aware how best vegetable aggressively grows, with or without your help?

    Goddamn eldritch horror, but don’t worry. I still manage to kill them somehow. Like othera have said, you’re gonna need to cover it in soil.

      • misterdoctor
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        2913 days ago

        Buddy saw an incomprehensible eldritch terror covered in sightless eyes, yearning for life, stretching myriad limbs in every feasible direction and said I gotta have one

  • CuteCatBeingEatenByHaitian
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    2413 days ago

    Potatoes grow without dirt, nor water , by just laying around in the fridge. You put one in the soil and “didn’t expect it to grow”? 😂

  • @Hikermick@lemmy.world
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    312 days ago

    Been a while since I kept a garden but if I remember right you have to keep piling dirt on top (after transplanting of course). I put mine in the ground then set a cardboard box around it, adding dirt inside the box as it grew. The dirt needs to be loaded and loose for the potatoes to grow. Maybe this method was just to make harvesting easier. I recall something about the potatoes being toxic if they grew in sunlight?

    • @kat_angstrom@lemmy.worldOP
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      212 days ago

      I’m seeing elsewhere in the thread that it’s the potato fruit that’s toxic; the taters themselves remain delicious (once grown)

  • @tychosmoose@lemm.ee
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    513 days ago

    I’m not a potatologist, but it seems like it should be fine to let it grow in there for a couple more weeks. It’s happy there, and that’s the main thing.

    Then transplant it to a big bin/pot/raised bed or the ground outside. If it’s root bound just cut down on the sides of the root tangle and detangle them a bit before planting. Put a big clear plastic tub/tote over it at night if it will be frosty.