How to successfully grow your TomTato® plants
We’ve had an amazing amount of interest in our TomTato® plants and news of the new innovation has spread throughout the world!
TomTato® is available to buy from the Thompson & Morgan website, but only to customers in the UK and only as plants. To help you get the best results from your TomTato® plants, we’ve put together a few FAQs with some top advice from our horticultural experts. We recommend bookmarking this page so that you can find it easily when your plants have been delivered.
- Are they resistant to blight?
TomTato® plants have good tolerance to blight. In the last few years of trials, none of the plants in our nursery were affected by blight. - How do I dig up the potatoes without destroying the tomato plant?
The tomatoes will have finished their harvest period by the time the potatoes are ready to lift. This begins in August and goes through to late September. - Are the potatoes a maincrop or a late variety?
The potatoes in TomTato® are a late variety. We chose this variety specifically so that the tomatoes are ready to harvest first, allowing you to harvest the two crops independently of each other.
- What type of plant feed should I use?
We recommend using Chempak® Soluble Tomato Food. - Which compost is best?
Any general multipurpose type will be fine for growing TomTato®. - How deep should I plant them?
Plant them deep enough to cover the graft point on the plant stem. As the potatoes begin to form, top up the container with soil or earth up the plants if you’re growing them in open ground to stop the potatoes being exposed to sunlight and turning green. - Is the tomato a bush or cordon variety?
This particular tomato is a cordon variety that grows very quickly. You’ll need to tie the shoots to their support on a regular basis. Removing side shoots each week will also help to keep the plant healthy. - How many potatoes will each plant grow?
You’ll get approximately 15-20 potatoes from each plant, which is about 2kg. - What about watering? Tomatoes need a lot, but potatoes don’t.
As tomatoes are very thirsty during the main season (July and August) this will not be a problem – the main thing is not to overwater in the early stages before the tomatoes set fruit. Potatoes usually only suffer if they are developing in the bottom of a damp planter. With the TomTato® plants the potatoes set nearer to the middle and top layer of compost, from where the water will naturally drain.
Rebecca works in the Marketing department as part of the busy web team, focusing on updating the UK news and blog pages and Thompson & Morgan’s international website. Rebecca enjoys gardening and learning about flowers and growing vegetables with her young daughter.
I was very privileged to receive a free tomtato plant and it is doing very well indeed. The fruits are so sweet and delicious and I will follow all the instructions on this blog and dig up,the potatoes after the to,actors have finished fruiting. I cannot wait until next year when I will grow 3 or 4 plants. Thank you so much for my plant.
I’ve had 3 Tomtato plants growing this year and have had a fabulous crop of tomatoes. Growing outdoors in large planter bags.
One plant has given up now on tomatoes so I’ve cut the plant right back – when is the right time to dig around for the potatoes?
The other two plants are still producing fruit so i’m leaving them be – they are slowing down so I suspect in the final couple of weeks…
Hi Steve,
I am so glad to hear you have had a great crop of tomatoes. In reference to your potatoes, you can have a ferret around in the compost now on the tomtato plant that has stopped fruiting. I would leave the other two plants until they stop fruiting and then dig them up. Potatoes will quite happily sit in their bag.
Hi Rebecca, these plants have flourished and have lots of tomatoes. We have eaten the first few that turned red and they are delicious in flavour. My question is; how tall should they be allowed to develop and do the tops need pinching off at all?
Hi Francis,
Are your Tomtato plants in the greenhouse or outdoors ? They will grow in both situations but are more reliable under glass. If your plants are healthy with plenty of developing trusses then, as long as the plant is adequately supported, you can let it grow as tall as you want. Once it reaches your preferred height just cut off the top of the plant to ‘stop’ it. If growing outdoors then you would allow less number of trusses, but certainly 6 trusses should be feasible outdoors under the current summery weather.
Aim to keep fruits ripening until mid to late September and ensure none of your potato tubers are showing on the surface of the compost. They must be kept covered to avoid any turning green. There is no hurry to lift potatoes so keep your tomatoes going as long as possible.
Yours sincerely
Colin Randel
thanks for such detailed instructions, we have just ordered one of these. I’m going to grow it in a tub.
Glad to be of help! We’d love to hear how you get on with them!