Thompson & Morgan launch a world exclusive in TomTato You can now harvest potatoes and tomatoes from the same plant
Thompson & Morgan have announced another major horticultural breakthrough – specially hand-grafted plants producing both potatoes and tomatoes.
Above the ground, gardeners will be able to pick more than 500 cherry tomatoes with a Brix level of 10.2 - that’s sweeter than supermarket varieties. The fruits also have just the right level of acidity that only the very tastiest tomatoes can boast.
Below the ground they will find a nice big crop of white potatoes which are incredibly versatile – they can be boiled, mashed, roasted or made into chips.
Now, home gardeners really can grow tomatoes and potatoes on one plant. This concept has been worked on for over 15 years, but this is the first time that plants have been successfully produced commercially.
Tomatoes are members of the potato family (Solanaceae) and are therefore naturally compatible with potatoes. Each plant is hand-grafted to create this unique double-cropping feature. There’s no genetic modification - it’s an all-natural and completely safe process.
As is the case with all of Thompson & Morgan’s plants, TomTato is dispatched with full growing instructions. However the company says that these are hardly necessary as the plants are so easy to grow.
TomTato can be grown inside or outside, in a large patio pot or 40 litre bag, on the allotment or in the vegetable patch. Thompson & Morgan is expecting huge interest in its innovative new ‘veg plot in a pot’ and customers are being urged to order early to be sure to get their hands on these unique plants.
Paul Hansord, T&M’s horticultural director, is understandably excited about bringing TomTato to UK gardeners: "When I first saw this plant, I was amazed! Potatoes and tomatoes on the same plant? You really have to grow TomTato to believe it."
