AIBU to not want to throw potatoes away because they are actually alive and living?

[EasyCube]

My poor abandoned potatoes . They have grown shouts and leaves and are obviously alive.

Should I plant them somewhere? I don't have a garden but have a balcony so I could maybe plant them in a flowerbox or similar?

I cant't throw them away it would be like throwing away a kitten

Oh, I feel for you!

I have a balcony too and planted some onions with shoots, did it once and came home from holiday to find beautiful flowers

Just do it, at least it might remulch the soil...

Yes, plant them in a pot. You know - like you would with a kitten.

IIRC potatoes have rather pretty purple flowers.

And you might possibly get teeny tiny new potatoes.

But what you're most likely to get is slugs.

Don't think about cutting them up & cooking them - that would be murder

I once heard a radio programme where a woman was worrying about "hurting" plants by eating them as it apparently caused electrical impulses in the plant when the stems were cut, which could be supposed to be as a result of pain, so she, already a vegan, was now subsisting on fresh orange juice as she couldn't think what else to have that wasn't cruel. [grin[

I think you need to go to bed and get some sleep.

oops = !!

Witchway she sounds like she would love lentils. To eat or weave with etc

Witch won't she think of the oranges when they are cruelly plucked from the central nervous system that is the tree?

But OP, YABU - when my potatoes grow shoots they freak me out and I lob them in the wheelie bin!

You could plant them in something quite deep like an old bin or a potato bag. If you earthed up by adding more soil that could get you a nice crop of potatoes.

A couple of my nan's friends were fruitarians. They would only eat the fruit of a plant not the plant itself.

Does your local council not do compost bins? They alleviate guilt in a wonderful way.

What's your position on mould?

Turn them in to alcohol!!

poor little things!!

What would you eat if you were concerned all living things had feelings and ' hurt' ? Genuine question?

Don't hurt the potato people.

I made the mistake of putting spuds in the compost bin once.

The entire back end of my garden is now overgrown with potato plants.

At least something is growing there I suppose......

I'm an omnivore and proud to be; everything living should be respected, and I chose to respect the species I eat and my own body by utilizing animals and plants as foodstuffs. Evolution has developed both humans and the species we consume to fulfill certain roles within the ecosystem, as consumers and producers. Our entire global ecosystem is reliant on species eating each other... and in many cases the species being consumed is benefited by the process just as much as the consumer.

x2boys geunine answer to your question is I know the meat is I eat is already dead

The potatoes and onions are garlic are still alive. If I cook them and them I have personally kiiled them

and in many cases the species being consumed is benefited by the process just as much as the consumer

How? If your being eaten by everyone how can that be a good thing?

Mmm,chips.

How? Potatoes would be a small tuber living in some areas of the Americas. Instead, because we eat them, they are grown all over the world. Species survival is more important then individual survival. Orchids would be a tiny set of species in the rainforest. because we think they are pretty there are millions of them.

Patio potaotes

Many plants rely on herbivores to spread their seeds and flowering plants produce nectar to encourage insects to feed and pollinate

Predators have important roles in population control, maintaining species diversity and maintaining the balance of an ecosytem. The loss of wolves from yellowstone national park for example resulted in a reduction in beaver numbers, complex changes to vegetation and the complete upheaval of the park's ecosystem.

Predation is the driving force behind evolution, without it the only life on this planet would still be single celled organisms, or non-existent. Prey species evolve defenses against predators, who in turn evolve to more effectively consume prey. A continuous cycle of change and progression which has resulted in the diversity of life on the planet today.

Grazers maintain the existence of grassland, animals burying seeds and nuts result in new trees growing far from the adult plant, the dung produced by all animals helps to sustain the growth of new vegetation (and a complex microbial system), predators increase the strength of a herd by culling older and weakened animals.... I could go on.

Natural systems are complex and wonderful, and utterly reliant on species consuming other species.

I can't spell or capitalise...

You'll be growing a variety of Deadly Nightshade.

It's you v them. Make your choice.

Re SummerRain's comment, I heartily endorse.

Very close by to here is a large area of ancient woodland, privately owned but managed by The Forestry Commission. There is a substantial deer population within it. Licences are granted by the Forestry Commission to a couple of deer hunters with rifles who take a number of the deer every year to restrict their numbers. A few years ago, there was an issue with the overall landowner of the forest, and the deer hunters were banned for several seasons. The deer numbers shot up and the new growth was nibbled away to nothing.

Way back, wolves would have dealt with the excess deer population, but we got rid of them, so now we have to either replace their role in the ecosystem or accept the consequences, which in this case was absolutely no young trees. Obviously not sustainable for the forest. Thankfully, the legal issue was resolved after only about five years and sensible culling is now taking place again. I've already noticed the improvement in new young tree growth and in survival of the medium size trees (the deer tend to eat the bark of young trees in harsh winters, which kills them).