Potato tubers
Potato violet vitelotte
Potato Solanum tuberosum
Potato plants
Potato tubers
Contents
Find all our tips in the Monstera application
Solanum tuberosum, the potato
Contents
Find all our tips in the Monstera application
Scientific classification
Family
Solanaceae
Type
Solanum
Species
Potato - Solanum tuberosum
Other names:Solanum aracatscha, Solanum sinense, Solanum esculentum, Lycopersicon tuberosum
The potato (in Latin Solanum tuberosum) is the fourth most widely cultivated food crop in the world, after wheat, maize and rice. Originally from South America, it belongs to the Solanaceae family. Highly productive, it can both feed you and an LED!
How to recognize the potato, Solanum tuberosum?
The potato is a perennial plant grown as an annual in the vegetable garden. It grows to a height of 1.4 m, with an upright or more spreading habit depending on the variety.
Its thick, fleshy stems are sometimes over a metre long. They are generally green, but can also take on purple hues. Their surface may be smooth (glabrous) or slightly hairy.
The deciduous foliage, medium to dark green, consists of pinnate leaves with 7 to 9 leaflets. The largest reach 22 cm long and 13 cm wide. Like the stems, they may be glabrous or pubescent.
The plant produces white, pink, violet or blue flowerswith a yellow heart, grouped together at the top.
After flowering, the fruit appears: a small, round, yellow-green berry, 4 cm in diameter. The berry is not edible.
The part that is eaten develops underground: the tuber, formed at the end of the underground stems. Its shape and color vary according to variety. It can be :
- White, yellow or purple;
- Elongated, cylindrical, oblong or rounded.
Each tuber has "eyes", which are buds capable of generating new stems.
Which varieties of potato (Solanum tuberosum) should I grow?
There are over 5,000 varieties of potato! You're sure to find one that suits your climate, tastes and uses. Among the most popular are
- Charlotte: highly productive, easy to grow and with firm flesh, charlotte potato is perfect for salads or steaming;
- Amandine: early, potato Amandine harvests early (90 days after planting) and offers fine, melting flesh;
- Monalisa: disease-resistant, its flesh adapts to all recipes and cooking methods;
- Ratte: small, elongated, with a light hazelnut taste, it can be planted in pots;
- Belle de Fontenay: an old, early variety that can also be grown as Early potato;
- Bintje:with its large tubers, bintje potato remains the benchmark for homemade purées and fries;
- Jeannette: productive, it can be harvested 100 days after planting and is disease-resistant;
- Annabelle: an early variety with small foliage, suitable for growing in tubs or bags on terraces;
- Désirée: drought- and disease-resistant. Its red skin and floury flesh make it an excellent winter storage potato;
- Vitelotte: a late variety. The Vitelotte potato are known for their purple skin and flesh.
Is Solanum tuberosum toxic?
Potatoes naturally contain solanins, substances that are toxic to humans. However, their concentration in tubers is very low and harmless in normal consumption. On the other hand, the aerial parts (leaves, stems, fruit) contain more and should not be eaten.
Our maintenance tips
The winter before planting, work the soil to a depth of 20 cm to loosen it. Add a potassium-rich fertilizer to enrich it.
Watering
Water without wetting the foliage, either at the base of your Potato, or between the rows.
Adapt the amount of water to the development of the plant. Your watering should be more copious during the flowering period, without soaking the soil. Reduce the volume when the foliage starts to turn yellow.
Plantation
Once the last spring frosts have passed, you can plant.
Work the soil to a depth of 20 centimetres. Add a potassium-rich fertilizer.
Dig furrows 8 to 10 centimetres deep. If you're planting several rows, space them at least 50 centimetres apart.
Plant your tubers, sprout side up. Leave 30 centimetres between plants. Cover with soil and form a mound about 15 cm high to prevent the tuber from catching the light.
Buttage
Plug your plants regularly to encourage production.
Weed around the base of your Solanum tuberosum. After that, it will be too late: ridging will bury weeds under the soil.
Scrape the soil between the rows to loosen it. Using your hoe or ridger, pull the soil from each side of the row towards the stem. Form a mound about 15 to 20 cm high. Only the top 5 to 10 cm of foliage should remain visible.
Frequently asked questions
Potatoes benefit from association with garlic, onions, beans, peas, cabbage and corn.
Avoid proximity to tomatoes and eggplants. They belong to the same family. They consume the same nutrients and suffer from the same diseases.
Don't forget to rotate your crops. After your harvest, wait four years before planting potatoes again in the same spot.
Diseases / Threats
Information
| Lifecycle | Annual |
| Foliage | Deciduous |
| Exposure | |
| Substrats | |
| Planting methods |
Open ground In pots In tubs |
| Category |
Vegetable |
| Tags |
Beginner Large pot |
| Origin |
South America |
| Hardiness (USDA) | 10b (1.7°C ≤ T° < 4.4°C) |
| Leaf color |
|
| Flower colors |
|
| Fruit colors |
|
Discover plants from the same family
Find out more
