Meet TomTato! It's not a futuristic film or a new novel. It's neither tomato nor potato. It's simply TomTato: another innovative oddity that grows cherry tomatoes on the vine while producing potatoes underground.
Yup! TomTato is a grafted plant from two vegetables, which is why for some odd reason many claim it's the Frankenstein of plants. Nevertheless, this does not stop the Thompson & Morgan company from offering this oddity to Britons. (Note: Potato Tom, though very similar to TomTato, is only available in New Zealand.)
"It's the perfect marriage," said New Product Manager at Thompson-Morgan Michael Perry on the unique product that is out in the market next April. "Why wouldn't someone want to buy one?"
Perry promised that TomTato offers produce to tomato lovers, who can simply chop up the fruit for a season's worth of salads and for potato lovers, who can harvest the underground produce at the end of every year.
In an infomercial-style video clip, the successful production of tomatoes and spuds is featured, and BBC said that this is actually not the first time for a plant this unique has been made, adding that "taste had previously been a problem."
"In the past we've never had any faith in the plants - they've not been very good - but grafting has come on leaps and bounds in recent years," Royal Horticultural Society member Guy Barter said.
Associate Professor at Cornell's Department University of Agriculture Kenneth Mudge said that people should not expect that the tomato and potato from a TomTato plant to taste any different.
Thompson & Morgan Paul Hansord assured the new product, which took 10 years in the making before its now nearing release, can bear tomatoes that are "sugary yet tangy" and produce "delicious white potatoes."
However, the yield of TomTato is slightly lower compared to individual plants, and Mudge said that this is because "the potato is putting all of its energy into making tubers and a tomato is putting all its energy into making fruit."
NBC News reported that the company grow their tomato and potato plants separately and that they are only combined or grafted when they reach at least a few weeks old.
Although the potatoes and tomatoes ripen at the same time, TomTato only lasts for a season, according to CBS.
Meanwhile, the technique used in TomTatoes has also been utilized in grafting two solonacea family members: bell peppers and eggplants. But the company is yet to divulge the name of this combination, let alone share which pairs will be up next. "The possibilities are there and we'll be looking into more as soon as we can," Mudge said. "The world is our oyster."
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