Green potatoes
josusa47
Posts: 3,530
in Fruit & veg
I grow potatoes every year in a raised bed, and I like to try different varieties. This year for the first time I have grown Pink Fir Apple and they have done something I haven't encountered before: they have grown too close to the surface and I can see tubers breaking the surface and turning green. I have covered them with a couple of inches of soil I had spare in hopes the green would disappear.
Now we all know green potatoes are poisonous, so if the earthing up doesn't work, and they are still green when I come to harvest them, I'll know not to use them. My question is: if the green disappears, will they still be poisonous? Or do the toxic compounds (I think they're called alkaloids) disappear with the chlorophyll?
Is this a known problem with certain varieties, and if so, shouldn't the growers supply them with a warning that they need earthing up later than others?
Now we all know green potatoes are poisonous, so if the earthing up doesn't work, and they are still green when I come to harvest them, I'll know not to use them. My question is: if the green disappears, will they still be poisonous? Or do the toxic compounds (I think they're called alkaloids) disappear with the chlorophyll?
Is this a known problem with certain varieties, and if so, shouldn't the growers supply them with a warning that they need earthing up later than others?
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