Science & Technology

New plant grows potatoes and tomatoes

By T.K. Randall
September 28, 2013 ·  25 comments

The unusual plants have gone on sale in the UK this week. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Matt MacGillivray At first glance the bizarre creation might seem like a joke or prank, but remarkably the plant described as a "veg plot in a pot" is a genuine product. Now on sale in the UK, the TomTato plant can produce up to 500 tomatoes while also growing white potatoes.

Created through the use of hybridization as oppose to genetic modification, Horticultural mail order company Thompson & Morgan managed to keep the growth process as natural as possible. Director Paul Hansord claims that he first got the idea when he visited a garden in the US in which someone had planted a tomato plant over the top of a potato plant as a joke. "The TomTato has been trialled for several years and the end result is far superior than anything I could have hoped for, trusses full of tomatoes which have a flavour that makes shop tomatoes inedible, as well as, a good hearty crop of potatoes for late in the season," he said.

A similar product known as the "Potato Tom" has also gone on sale in New Zealand.

Source: Independent | Comments (25)

Tags: TomTao, Tomato, Potato