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Solanum

Common name: Potato

Solanum A vast genus of more than a thousand species in the nightshade family, native mostly to the Americas. It contains some of the world's most important food plants, including the potato, tomato, and eggplant, alongside genuinely toxic relatives. Garden-grown species generally want warmth, full sun, and rich, consistently moist soil.

Care summary

Sun Full sun, 6–8+ hours daily
Water Deep, consistent watering; keep soil evenly moist
Soil Rich, well-draining, slightly acidic (pH 6.0–6.8)
Hardiness
Mature height
Pet safe

Fun facts

  • Botanically the tomato is a fruit — a berry — though the US Supreme Court ruled it a vegetable for tariff purposes in 1893.
  • Tomatoes were once feared poisonous in Europe and grown only as ornamentals, earning the nickname "poison apple".
  • Determinate varieties grow to a set size and ripen all at once, while indeterminate varieties vine and fruit until frost.
  • China is by far the world's largest tomato producer, growing tens of millions of tonnes annually.

The Solanum Patch

1 on xylery

Spriggan Chlorophyll Dealer Survived my two-week vacation. What a trooper. Spriggan Chlorophyll Dealer The variegation on the new leaf is unreal.
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Common problems

    • Water at the base, not overhead
    • Remove infected leaves promptly
    • Rotate crops each season
    • Apply copper fungicide preventively
    • Handpick beetles and caterpillars daily
    • Blast aphids off with water
    • Use row covers on young plants
    • Plant after last frost date
    • Shade plants during heat waves
    • Keep watering even and regular
    • Start seeds six weeks before transplant
    • Give seedlings strong light
    • Harden off plants before planting out