The hybrid plant isn’t exactly new, but this is the first time it’s been commercially produced, reported the BBC. A British mail-order company called Thompson & Morgan is selling the plants in the U.K. for about $24 (14.99 pounds).
The plant is made by grafting rather than genetic engineering. A tomato plant and potato plant are combined in the soil pot and grown as one.
“The TomTato has been trialled for several years and the end result is far superior than anything I could have hoped for,” Paul Hansord, horticultural director at Thompson & Morgan told the Independent. “Trusses full of tomatoes which have a flavor that makes shop tomatoes inedible, as well as, a good hearty crop of potatoes for late in the season.”
The company claims the TomTato plant can grow 500 cherry tomatoes “that come to 10.2 on the brix scale,” a scale that measures sucrose levels, and a good crop of white potatoes simultaneously.