[name that plant] Did I become a tomato farmer by chance?

[Frank Fremerey]

PLS: name that plant.

While I was in Hospital Hundreds, no Thousands, of these grew on my building lot.

It looks similar to Tomato or Potato for my laymen eyes.

I can take more pictures if required...

[Jack Dahlgren]

Doesn’t look like the tomatoes I’m familiar with, but not all that different...maybe something else in the nightshade family?

[Frank Fremerey]

sure night shade but which?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Solanum nigrum or one of its close relatives. They are all poisonous.

[Frank Fremerey]

Thank you, Bjørn.

Interesting. Some people eat the ripe fruit cooked while the unripe fruit are said to be poisonous. Poisonous as in "do not eat the greens of the potatoes!" not poisonous as in "do not touch or you will die."?

So what to do with them? cut them down?

[Birna Rørslett]

The members of the Nightshade Family can be highly poisonous, but this particular species is less dangerous still best to avoid.

You can try to eradicate it, but like most weeds this is easier in theory than in practice.

[Ann]

So what to do with them? cut them down?

Pull them up by the roots — before they have a chance to make any new berries!

[Frank Fremerey]

Pull them up by the roots — before they have a chance to make any new berries!

thank you

[Seapy]

I had two passifloras, beautiful flowers, spectacular but very intrusive and also poisonous.  I made the mistake of putting one small plant in my greenhouse, I had seen one at the Cambridge botanic garden inside, and I liked the look of it.

It completely took over the greenhouse and was very difficult to get rid of.  A very small piece of root is sufficient for another plant to grow.  I dug out as much as possible and keep pulling out any new growth.

[Frank Fremerey]

thank you

[Frank Fremerey]

This morning I uprooted roughly one quarter of the plants, about 50 or 60 Kilos. Problem: The Harvest was sowing at the same time. The Fruits are ripe and full of seeds. So I "planted" several hundreds unintentionally. Some roots were too deep, I have to dig them out tomorrow.

Now I want a biological solution: I need rodents, birds, insects or other biology to eat my harvest and keep the new plants down and I need some replacement plants that can take the ecological niche I am just about to clear.

So who eats the black night shadow???
Which plants like the same conditions???
What to do with 200 Kilos of uprooted plants???

[Jack Dahlgren]

The natural way is to till them into the soil. Then “solarize” the soil by covering (you can use plastic or cardboard covered in mulch). This lets the seeds germinate but not grow. After the sprouting season you can remove the cover and you are ready to plant whatever you want. Takes time, but it is easier than pulling by hand and does not require any pesticides.

[Frank Fremerey]

The natural way is to till them into the soil. Then “solarize” the soil by covering (you can use plastic or cardboard covered in mulch). This lets the seeds germinate but not grow. After the sprouting season you can remove the cover and you are ready to plant whatever you want. Takes time, but it is easier than pulling by hand and does not require any pesticides.

wonderful idea, I guess I will just do that

just have to find some Cardboard

[ColinM]

wonderful idea, I guess I will just do that

just have to find some Cardboard

I agree with Jack.
This has helped me out many times when trying to clear a med-large patch of weeds.

Triggering the unwanted seeds to germinate will also save you a lot of time later that year.