Thursday 26 September 2013

Fancy a TomTato anyone?

Did you see that next year we are going to be able to grow Tomtatos?   Apparently a plant has been developed which will grow cherry tomatoes above ground and white potatoes underground.  The two are related so I suppose it is not that far removed from an idea to develop.

The plants are to cost £14. 99 each and the tomatoes are reputed to be delicious.   I have to say that it is a long time since I had a delicious tomato.   It is only outdoor grown tomatoes which have that beautiful sweet taste and tomatoes only grow outdoors up here in the North if it is an exceptional Summer.   This year I could of course have grown a few, but then I didn't know it was going to be such a lovely Summer did I?

One thing is for sure.   If I tempt fate and buy a couple of plants next year that will ruin any chance of another fine Summer - so does anyone out there who lives further South (or in a warm climate, where they will have no trouble getting tasty tomatoes anyway) fancy having a go with them and forking out the large cost of buying a plant?   If so - they are available from Thompson and Morgan.

On a different note - the farmer opposite is ploughing the big field.   It has been a grass field for many years - so many that the farmer was only a lad when it was ploughed and sown with corn before.   The contours of the land show up so well in the corduroy soil stripes.   Now I am wondering what the crop is going to be.   If it is rape then I think I shall probably have to keep my curtains drawn on sunny days to keep out the bright yellow light.

15 comments:

Willow said...

ha ha Oh if it is that crop , go on ahead and draw back the curtains and allow the brightness in , just wear your sunglasses ! :)

Heather said...

Last year I had a wonderful crop of tasty tomatoes in the greenhouse, in spite of the disappointing weather. This year the weather has been wonderful and for some reason the tomato crop has been disappointing. I don't think I shall be forking out for any tomtato plants and think it is a pity that horticultural scientists don't reintroduce reliable old varieties of fruit and veg which are in danger of being lost for ever.

MorningAJ said...

Somehow I don't think I could bring myself to grow a tomtato. It just doesn't seem right.

mrsnesbitt said...

Yellow tomatoes...................pure nectar!

Hildred said...

Oh Pat, do move closer - in our early years of farming we had up to ten acres of tomatoes while we waited for the fruit trees to bear.. Lovely great red juicy ones that went to canneries and fresh markets. This year I had a sweet pot of tomatoes growing on the patio and a great crop - wonderful picked right off the plant and popped into ones mouth where it bursts with that marvelous tomato flavor. I would gladly share with you.

Cro Magnon said...

I shall NOT be buying these silly plants.

In the garden I now have dozens of huge delicious toms all rotting on the vines. They turned colour too late, and once all our preserves were done we just couldn't cope! We'll keep having one each day for lunch, but otherwise...

Gwil W said...

I bought some delicious toms 3 weeks ago direct from the farm lady, in fact I bought all she had left, and they were all odd shapes and sizes - certainly not suitable for uniform EU supermarket produce - and they were as always absolutely delicious, in fact I should say they are still delicious as I still have a few left. But the best tomatoes I have ever tasted were little cherry tomatoes in a bar near Lake Garda, there must have been 20 of these mouthwatering fruits piled on my piece of toast.

Em Parkinson said...

I've never managed to grow them but have never had anything to grow them in. Now we have a cold frame of sorts, perhaps I'll try next year.

Rachel Phillips said...

Now that's a first. I have never heard anybody say they will have to close the curtains to keep the rape yellow out. I have heard it blamed for many things but this is a new one. Was it a tongue in cheek remark? Difficult to tell.

Totalfeckineejit said...

I'm looking forward to the Lambcow.
No more dithering for the sunday roast!

MorningAJ said...

@ CroMagnon Make ketchup. Don't let them go to waste!

Anonymous said...

Believe it or not, but the NBC Evening news here in the States had a story about the TomTator Thursday night! Small world! I'm starting my winter garden next week, Snow Peas, Diakon radish and beets. Sandy @ My Yellow Swing

Virginia said...

Goodness 13 pounds for your Tomtato is expensive - they were advertised in today's NZ paper for exactly half that!

We visited a couple of Garden centres when we were in the UK two years ago, and thought your prices were a little higher than we pay here in New Zealand, but twice is really high. You'd have to get a whopper crop to make growing them worthwhile.

We did enjoy visiting them though, as they had great cafes attached!

thelma said...

Sounds like a very expensive plant. Yellow tomatoes as one contributor says are the best - sweet and yummy.
I grow things in pots, so a couple of strawberry plants given a couple of spades from the compost also produced a couple of tomato plants from the compost as well and they produced very sweet tomatoes as well....

The Weaver of Grass said...

We must just be unlucky up here because wherever I buy my tomatoes they never ever taste of anything. Thanks for the visit.