Compost Pile Potatoes

Last week while bringing a load of debris to the compost pile I spotted something growing in the mass of leaves, sticks, vegetative kitchen scraps and garden debris.

After a few moments, I realized it was a compost pile potato vine. A few weeks ago I tossed potatoes in the pile and I guess they liked it there.

Here’s a picture of the compost pile potatoes from a distance.

A closeup of compost pile potatoes.

If you think those leaves look familiar they should. Indeed potatoes are in the same plant family as tomatoes, Solanaceae. It looks like tomato plants growing but it’s too early in the season for that.

Below is a comparison of the leaves of the two plants.

My plan was to move the compost pile to where my mulch pile is when I finished spreading the mulch. As a result, I’m not sure what to do.