Scientific explanation - In search of light

After a few days, the white potato shoots will start winding their way through the maze towards the hole in the side of the box.

If you wait a little longer, you will even see them grow through the hole. Once the shoots have left the confines of the dark shoe box, they start to turn green and grow leaves. The plant is now ready to switch on its photosynthesis mechanism.

Potato tubers are not fruit or root tubers; they are the stem tubers of the potato plant. Their job is to store nutrients. The potato plant regenerates new shoots beneath the soil that become the storage organs – the tubers.
The green leaves, the peel, the eyes and the seeds, and especially the fruits of the potatoes, contain solanine, which is poisonous and should not be eaten. The potato forms this bitter chemical as a protection against pests . Any greenish coloured areas on the potato denote a high solanine content and must be removed before eating.