Potato Mine

The Potato Mine is a single-use explosive plant. They are one of the cheapest plants, but take approximately 15 seconds to arm themselves before surfacing from the ground. After that, they will detonate when a zombie enters their square. It may kill several zombies at once, if they are close enough. It takes two Potato Mines to kill a Gargantuar, like any other instant kill plant. It is unlocked from level 1-5.



Suburban Almanac Entry
Potato Mine

Potato Mines pack a powerful punch, but they need a while to arm themselves. You should plant them ahead of zombies. They will explode on contact.

Damage: massive

Range: all zombies in a small area on the lane

Usage: single use, delayed activation

Some folks say Potato Mine is lazy, that he leaves everything to the last minute. Potato Min e says nothing. He's too busy thinking about his investment strategy.

Cost: 25

Recharge: slow

Strategy
Because of how cheap they are, Potato Mines can be very effective early in levels. After that, the long arming delay makes them difficult to use. Always put them at least 3 squares in front of a zombie.

Placing a Potato Mine behind a defensive plant (Wall-nut, Tall-nut, or Pumpkin) can maximize its effectiveness; by the time the zombies break the wall, the Potato Mine will have armed itself and can kill the zombies that were eating the defensive plant. They can also be planted behind Wall-nuts or Pumpkins to catch any Pole Vaulting Zombies that try to vault over them. You can also plant a Potato Mine in front of a grave so that when the zombie comes up the Potato Mine kills it. This is a good strategy in Whack a Zombie. 

Potato Mines can't be planted on Lily Pads, but they can be planted on ground or in a Flower Pot.

Potato Mines are also effective against Digger Zombies. When these zombies try to dig under an active Potato Mine, it will explode. If the Potato Mine isn't armed yet, the zombie will eat it while it is still underground. On levels with Digger Zombies, plant Potato Mines in the backmost row to take them out without hassle.

Potato Mines can be used against Gargantuars. It takes two Potato Mines to kill a Gargantuar, or any two instant kills to kill it. It is extremely effective against Zombie Bobsled Teams, killing the bobsled along with all four zombies, if armed, and planted next to the ice.

In ZomBotany and ZomBotany 2, Potato Mines can't be hit by peas, even when armed. But if they are planted in Flower Pots they can be hit by peas, even if they are armed or not.

An effective strategy in early Survival levels, or in the Day levels, could be to use Potato Mines to save sun, saving the sun you could be spending on Peashooters to instead invest Sun in Sunflowers or other plants. It is best to plant them on the furthest row to maximize the time for the zombie to reach the mine. This is more effective with a rake. Eventually, there will simply be too many Zombies to handle for just the Potato Mines, however, given their slow recharge. However you can use Squash when Potato Mine is not available.

Achievements
The Potato Mine is the source for the Spudow! achievement. Kill a zombie with a Potato Mine to receive the achievement. A zombie stepping on a Potato Mine in I, Zombie will also count.

Advantages

 * Very cheap sun cost.
 * Destroys zombies that stand on it.
 * If a Pole Vaulting Zombie jumps over a Wall-nut, it can kill it after the jump.
 * Kills Digger Zombies before they come out of the ground.

Disadvantages

 * Slow recharge.
 * Takes time to arm itself.
 * Can only be used once.
 * Can't be planted on Lily Pads.

Trivia

 * The Potato Mine is one of the 3 plants which change shape without interaction with zombies. The other two are the Sun-shroom and the Imitater.
 * In the DS version, the Imitater Potato Mine will bleep, but very faint and white.
 * Potato Mines can only be taken by Bungee Zombies while unarmed, as a Bungee Zombie will die in the explosion if it encounters an armed Potato Mine. A glitch in DS I, Zombie levels shows you can steal an armed Potato Mine and it only shows half of his body.
 * On the Xbox Live Arcade version's loading screen, the Potato Mine's red light will flash when the game is done loading.
 * In the Online Version, instead of getting a Potato Mine on level 1-5, you get a Squash.
 * In the Zen Garden and the Roof levels, the Potato Mine is slightly too large for the Flower Pot.
 * When the Potato Mine explodes, the word "SPUDOW!!", a portmanteau of spud and "pow!", will appear along with some french fries and mashed potato explosion.
 * The Potato Mine's red light will flash faster as the zombie gets nearer like a sensor.
 * The Potato Mine's red light will not flash when it is unarmed.
 * The Zen Garden Potato Mine will not have a flashing red light normally, but if held by a Gardening Glove or inside a Wheel Barrow, the red light will be permanently on. The red light will also be on when you're about to plant a Potato Mine but hasn't planted yet.
 * George Fan stated that Potato Mine was a spoof of Swiss Family Robinson, where the family sets traps for the enemies.
 * The Potato Mine is the only explosive instant kill that cannot kill a Balloon Zombie in the air.
 * When the Potato Mine explodes, you can hear a crumbling sound.
 * The Potato Mine, Sun-shroom, Lily Pad, Flower Pot and Puff-shroom are the only plants that cannot be hit by the peas fired by Peashooter Zombies and Gatling Pea Zombies.
 * A Digger Zombie will eat an unarmed Potato Mine underground.
 * The Potato Mine is the only plant that can be eaten from underground.
 * An Imitater Potato Mine, even though it is gray, will have its color restored to the original upon explosion.
 * The Potato Mine is one of the twelve plants that appear in the seed selection screen after you get the Grave Buster on the online version, the others are: Ice-shroom, Lily Pad, Doom-shroom, Threepeater, Tangle Kelp, Jalapeno, Spikeweed, Torchwood, Tall-nut, Cactus and Blover.
 * It is strange how it arms itself as when it is armed all it does is come out of the ground a little.
 * Maybe this is because it is lazy as stated in the Suburban Almanac.
 * The Potato Mine is one of the seven plants that have visible teeth, the others being the Torchwood, Grave Buster, Marigold, Starfruit, Jalapeno, Chomper and Cherry Bomb.
 * The Potato Mine and the Imitater are the only potatoes in the game.
 * The Potato Mine can remove ladders, but only when a Ladder Zombie climbs over a Pumpkin containing an armed one.
 * You can blow up every zombie before the first huge wave with Potato Mine and Imitater Potato Mine in a Day level.
 * If a Zomboni, a Catapult Zombie or a Gargantuar squashes an unarmed Potato Mine, it's flattened image will be that of an armed one.
 * This also happens to sleeping mushrooms, where the flattened woken mushroom will be shown.
 * The Potato Mine is the only plant that doesn't show it's whole body.
 * The Potato Mine (when unarmed) is one of the three explosives that can be eaten by zombies, the other two being the Ice-shroom and the Doom-shroom (when sleeping).
 * A Potato Mine is more effective than the Garden Rake in three ways:
 * When a Garden Rake is used, the second zombie almost immediately comes out after the Rake is activated. If a Potato Mine is used and planted in one of the three left-most columns, it will allow more time to plant Sunflowers/Sun-shrooms, as the second zombie will appear after the first zombie reaches the fourth column from the left.
 * A Garden Rake costs money to use, but the Potato Mine is free and will be charged about the same time the first zombie appears.
 * In Survival Mode, the Garden Rake will only be used once: before the first wave. This includes if you buy it right before starting the first wave. A Potato Mine has unlimited uses during the course of a level, even though it must recharge each time.
 * Since about half of an armed Potato Mine is still underground, it is odd it doesn't destroy the Flower Pot its in if used on a roof level.
 * This may be due to the fact that since it doesn't destroy the square its in when planted in the ground, it wouldn't make sense for it to destroy a Flower Pot.
 * In the DS version, right when a zombie reaches the Potato Mine, the zombie's eating animation's frame is shown right before the Potato Mine explodes.
 * It is possible that the Potato Mine after exploding turns to mashed potatoes.