Potatoes losing their leaves

Hi,

My potato crop has suddenly lost all their leaves and I am just left wth a bare stalk and on some, rock hard, green cherry tomatoe looking fruit. Does anyone know what has happened and will the crop be OK to harvest in a few weeks time? I only grow potates for fun as they are a better at supressing the weeds than the weed killer is, so I am not to worried if the crop is no good, but having said that, they are rather tasty!

Thanks

Jan 19

Hi Jan,

It's my first year so no expert, but I do know that that fruit is highly toxic and poisonous, so don't attempt to eat it. You can pick it and it has the seeds in it. Someone will be along to answer why your leaves have fell off though.

Your potatoes might have blight, or they might just have reached their natural end, or did they need watering?  Anyway, if they've got to the stage of having fruited they're probably ready to harvest now.  They won't continue to grow if they have no leaves.

I'd dig them up on a dry day, leave them in the open  for a few hours just to set their skins and then store them in the cool and dark and use them.

By the way, yes the seeds are poisonous but that's ok, they're a normal part of the plant - just don't eat them!

Thanks very much.. I did think I would have to harvest sooner rather than later. This is the first time I had seen the fruit on, and just wondered what they were.