Maybe it is a growing conditions-related issue, but I have had a very different experience with these. I planted a couple Solanum melanocerasum this spring in a partly shaded area around my duck pond here in Northern Virginia and although they started slow, once the rains started coming in early summer, they exploded into huge bushes with tons of berries. Mine really don't taste all that great raw, but once they are fully ripe and cooked, they are quite tasty. They don't all ripen at once, which is annoying, but every time I pick them, I have plenty to cook with. I have been making them into compote for pancakes or waffles or biscuits. I make sure they are a dull black with no shine and soft before I pick them and have had no issues. My ducks also love eating the low-hanging leaves and berries, they hang out under them in the shade and have picked the bottom 24 inches of all the bushes bare. I have been pretty pleased overall, which doesn't seem to be the general consensus.
