We are all fascinated by what is different.

The calf with two heads, for example, or the African birds that perform elaborate dances. Ants that “farm” fungus. And certainly the carrots and potatoes that in their deformity resemble human body parts. They catch our eye and they make us wonder what Mother Nature had in mind.

You may be familiar with the fruit trees that produce both peaches and nectarines, or apple trees that produce several different varieties of apples. In the case of these fruit trees, their difference is completely manmade, a result of grafting a part of one plant onto another type of closely related plant.

It’s not all that complicated, really. And it’s fun to see the results.

Grafted tomatoes—a tomato with a disease-resistant root system and an heirloom fruit-bearing top portion—have been around for a few years. However, someone recently took the grafted tomato a step further and made it super different.

The TomTato

The British seed company Thompson & Morgan have introduced the TomTato, a tomato on the above-ground portion and a hill of potatoes growing underground. Yes, I said potatoes. How nuts is that?

The potato and tomato are genetically related, both being in the genus Solanum. It’s not genetically modified to produce this unique double harvest. Instead, each plant is grafted by hand. It’s all-natural—well, humans do have to do some of the work, but it’s not harmful in any sort of way.

The above-ground portion of the plant produces more than 500 sweet cherry tomatoes. The below-ground portion yields up to 4.5 lbs of white potatoes.

Growing

The TomTato grows well in ground and is aided by the use of a cage to reel in growth. It’s also appropriate for a large container. In fact, if you have a clear-plastic container, you’ll fascinate friends (and yourself!) with the developing potato tubers beneath the soil.

I’m not sure if it’s available in the United States yet, but something this different is sure to appear in garden centers soon.