🌱Doc's Pantry Garden Almanac

The Garden Almanac

Calories in the ground, the prairie survival crop

🧺 Doc's Pantry·℞ Apothecary· 🌱 Garden·🎨 Artisan Hub
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Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Calories in the ground, the prairie survival crop

🔍 How to identify it

Bushy 40-90 cm plant, compound leaves with paired leaflets; white-to-purple star flowers, sometimes small green 'seed balls'. Edible tubers form underground on stolons.

☠️ Look-alike & safety

All green parts and any green/sprouted tuber contain toxic solanine — eat only firm, un-greened tubers. The 'seed balls' are NOT edible.

🤝 Companion planting

Plant near:
beancornhorseradishmarigold
Keep apart:
tomatocarrot
FamilySolanaceae (nightshade family)
Hardiness zone2-11 (annual)
SunFull sun
Water25-40 mm/week, steady while tubers bulk
SoilLoose, slightly acidic (pH 5-6); hill loose soil over stems as they grow
Spacing30 cm apart, rows 75 cm
Sowing / startingPlant seed potatoes 2-4 weeks before last frost, eyes up
HarvestNew potatoes ~10 wk; storage crop after tops die back. Cure 1-2 wk in the dark.
Common pestsColorado potato beetle (hand-pick), late blight, wireworm. Never plant near tomatoes (shared blight).

🧺 What it's good for

Staple carbohydrate. Stores all winter cold, dark, humid. Don't eat green or sprouted parts.

Plant identification here is educational — never eat, forage, or medicate with a wild plant on the basis of a website alone. Many edible plants have toxic look-alikes. When in doubt, grow from known seed, or confirm with an expert before you harvest.