Visalia paper investigates tomato-potato plant

A Tulare resident reported to the Visalia Times-Delta the appearance of a plant in his garden that is producing potatoes in the ground and tomatoes on the stems.

Reporter Hillary Meeks inquired with UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Michelle LeStrange about a phenomenon the gardener said he has never seen before in 60 years of gardening. Le Strange said it could be a natural anomaly.

"Several types of mutations occur in nature and occasionally we can visually see the result," LeStrange wrote in an e-mail to the paper. "Anyway... it is a curiosity, but there are tons of plant curiosities out there in nature."

Meeks did some more digging on the Internet. A Texas A&M University horticulture website said cross-pollination of the two plants is impossible. A University of Illinois Extension article said potato and tomato plants can be integrated, but the results are unlikely to be successful.

Meeks also found grafted potato-tomato plants for sale on one website and directions how to do it yourself on ehow.com.

For information on growing potatoes, see the potato growing tips written by Le Strange and Master Gardener Clara Smith. A 10-page UC publication on growing tomatoes may be downloaded free from the UC ANR Catalog.

Tomato flowers and potato flowers look similar.

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