Thompson & Morgan 
 
 A Western Oregon mail order company has begun selling what might become the No. 1 conversation starter of Northwest garden parties this summer. 
 
 It’s a grafted vegetable plant that produces potatoes and tomatoes at the same time. 
 
 Cottage Grove, Oregon-based wholesale nursery Log House Plants licensed the dual tomato-potato from Europe. It is distributing to independent garden centers and through the Territorial Seed Company mail order firm. A video shows how the combo plant yields cherry tomatoes above ground and spuds below ground. 
 
 “Each plant is grafted by hand to ensure that unique double cropping,” the narrator says in the video. 
 
 So it’s not a miracle of genetic engineering, but rather a simple graft of the top of one plant onto the rootstock of the other one. 
 
 The reason this works is that potatoes and tomatoes are closely related. The grafted plant first yields lots of cherry tomatoes and when that winds down, puts its energy into maturing its potatoes. 
 
 Grafting can be done at home, but requires skill and practice. In this case, the tomato stem and potato stem need to have the same thickness. The graft entails making a clean cut of both plant stems and then taping two ends together until they heal. 
 
 The British mail order nursery that commercialized the combo plant dubbed it the TomTato, also known as “Ketchup ‘n’ Fries.” An imitator in New Zealand called its version the Potato Tom. 
 
 “People have been grafting tomatoes and potatoes for a while, but mostly as a novelty,” said Territorial Seed Company marketing director Tim Russell. Prior to commercialization, he said research was needed “to find a variety of potato and tomato that complement each other well.” 
 
 Russell said the unusual combo plant generated “lots of comments and buzz” almost from the moment it appeared in his company’s 2015 catalog and was promoted via Facebook. “People are excited,” Russell observed. ||||| An Oregon seed company is unveiling a new nightshade to accompany your summer barbecues. 
 
 The "Ketchup 'n' Fries" is a hybrid of tomato and potato plants. The roots of the TomTato are thin-skinned white potatoes attached to a vine of red cherry tomatoes. The plant was released in the United Kingdom this year. 
 
 The Territorial Seed Company in Cottage Grove is selling the TomTato in its 2015 seed catalog as a way for home gardeners to maximize use of limited space. Instead of planting potatoes and tomatoes in separate areas, the company's literature for the TomTato advises that the plant can grow in a 10-gallon container. 
 
 The plant was created by SuperNaturals Grafted Vegetables using grafting -- not to be confusing with genetic engineering. The tomatoes were chosen for the qualities the breeders wanted and then spliced onto potato rootstock. Since both potatoes and tomatoes are fairly closely related, they graft well together. 
 
 Now, if only somehow they could incorporate the hamburger patties... 
 
 -- Molly Harbarger ||||| >> Stephen: WELCOME BACK,EVERYBODY. 
 
 NATION, NATION, I DON'TTRUST VEGETABLES. 
 
 YOU ALWAYS SEE THEM GROWINGBUT YOU NEVER SEE THEM EAT. 
 
 WHAT'S UP. 
 
 SO WHEN I CARVE PUMPKINSIT'S NOT FOR HALLOWEEN, IT'S 
 
 A WARNING. 
 
 THIS IS WHAT I DO TO YOU. 
 
 AND THIS VEGE-TERROR IS ONLYGETTING WORSE BECAUSE THERE 
 
 A NEW CROP OUT OF ENGLANDAND IT MIGHT BE THE CRAZIEST 
 
 [BLEEP] THING I'VE EVERHEARD. 
 
 >> WARNING, FOLKS, WHAT YOUARE ABOUT TO SEE MAY CAUSE 
 
 YOU TO BURGLARIZE YOURPANTS. 
 
 JIM. 
 
 >> IT'S A PLANT WHICHPRODUCES BOTH TOMATOES AND 
 
 POTATO. 
 
 >> ABOVE THE GROUND YOU CANHARVEST UP TO 500 CHEREE 
 
 SIZED TOMATOES BUT THAT'SNOT ALL. 
 
 BELOW THE GROUND YOU CANHARVEST YOUR OWN CROP OF 
 
 DELICIOUS WHITE POTATOES. 
 
 >> Stephen: THAT'S UNNATURAL. 
 
 THE ONLY TIME TOMATOES ANDPOTATO SHOULD MEET IS AT THE 
 
 BOTTOM OF A STYROFOAM CLAMSHELL. 
 
 BESIDES IT'S DISGUSTING. 
 
 WITHOUT WOULD WANT A POTATOTHAT COMES OUT OF THE GROUND, 
 
 IT'S FILTHY. 
 
 AND VEGETABLES SHOULD NOT BEMATING WITH OTHER SPECIES. 
 
 THIS IS MIS-VEG NATION, IT'SADAM AND EVE, NOT ADAM AND 
 
 ENDIVE. 
 
 AND JUST LISTEN, LISTEN HOWTHESE MAD BOT ANNISES 
 
 CREATED THEIR VEGETABLEMEDLEY. 
 
 >> THE INVENTOR PLANT ISBEING CREATED USING A 
 
 GRAFTING PROCESS, BY TAPINGTHE ENDS OF TWO PLANTSING 
 
 TO. 
 
 IT WORKED IN THIS CASEBECAUSE TOMATOES ARE MEMBERS 
 
 OF THE POTATO FAMILY, SOTHEY ARE NATURALLY 
 
 COMPATIBLE. 
 
 >> TOMATO AND POTATO PLANTSTAPED END-TO-END. 
 
 THROW A TURN I IN THERE ANDYOU CAN STITCH TOGETHER THE 
 
 VEGETABLE CENTIPEDE. 
 
 AND THE NAME, WAIT A SECOND,TOM-TATO, WHERE DID THEY GET 
 
 THAT NAME, IT'S HALF POTATOAND HALF TOMATO, IT SHOULD 
 
 BE CALLED THE POTE-AT THATTIMEO. 
 
 WHATEVER, YOU SAY POTATO ASAY TOE MATHO. 
 
 >> YOU SAY TOMORROW-TOMTATO. 
 
 THAT'S THE CRAZIEST [BLEEP]THING I'VE EVER HEARD. ||||| Image copyright Norfolk Plant Sciences Image caption The new tomatoes could improve the nutritional value of everyday foods 
 
 The prospect of genetically modified purple tomatoes reaching the shelves has come a step closer. 
 
 Their dark pigment is intended to give tomatoes the same potential health benefits as fruit such as blueberries. 
 
 Developed in Britain, large-scale production is now under way in Canada with the first 1,200 litres of purple tomato juice ready for shipping. 
 
 The pigment, known as anthocyanin, is an antioxidant which studies on animals show could help fight cancer. 
 
 Scientists say the new tomatoes could improve the nutritional value of everything from ketchup to pizza topping. 
 
 The tomatoes were developed at the John Innes Centre in Norwich where Prof Cathie Martin hopes the first delivery of large quantities of juice will allow researchers to investigate its potential. 
 
 "With these purple tomatoes you can get the same compounds that are present in blueberries and cranberries that give them their health benefits - but you can apply them to foods that people actually eat in significant amounts and are reasonably affordable," she said. 
 
 I hope this will serve as a vanguard product where people can have access to something that is GM but has benefits for them Prof Cathie Martin, John Innes Centre in Norwich 
 
 The tomatoes are part of a new generation of GM plants designed to appeal to consumers - the first types were aimed specifically at farmers as new tools in agriculture. 
 
 The purple pigment is the result of the transfer of a gene from a snapdragon plant - the modification triggers a process within the tomato plant allowing the anthocyanin to develop. 
 
 Although the invention is British, Prof Martin says European Union restrictions on GM encouraged her to look abroad to develop the technology. 
 
 Canadian regulations are seen as more supportive of GM and that led to a deal with an Ontario company, New Energy Farms, which is now producing enough purple tomatoes in a 465 square metre (5,000sq ft) greenhouse to make 2,000 litres (440 gallons) of juice. 
 
 According to Prof Martin, the Canadian system is "very enlightened". 
 
 "They look at the trait not the technology and that should be a way we start changing our thinking - asking if what you're doing is safe and beneficial, not 'Is it GM and therefore we're going to reject it completely'. 
 
 "It is frustrating that we've had to go to Canada to do a lot of the growing and the processing and I hope this will serve as a vanguard product where people can have access to something that is GM but has benefits for them." 
 
 The first 1,200 litres are due to be shipped to Norwich shortly - and because all the seeds will have been removed, there is no genetic material to risk any contamination. 
 
 Image copyright Rothamsted Research Image caption Scientists at Rothamsted hope to produce a GM plant that provides "fish oil" 
 
 The aim is to use the juice in research to conduct a wide range of tests including examining whether the anthocyanin has positive effects on humans. Earlier studies show benefits as an anti-inflammatory and in slowing cancers in mice. 
 
 A key question is whether a GM product that may have health benefits will influence public opinion. 
 
 A major survey across the European Union in 2010 found opponents outnumbered supporters by roughly three to one. The last approval for a GM food crop in the EU came in 1998. 
 
 Prof Martin hopes that the purple tomato juice will have a good chance of being approved for sale to consumers in North America in as little as two years' time. 
 
 She and other plant researchers in the UK hope that GM will come to be seen in a more positive light. 
 
 Legacy of distrust 
 
 Earlier on Friday, scientists at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire announced that they were seeking permission for field trials for a GM plant that could produce a "fish oil". 
 
 In a parallel project, they have been cultivating a type of GM wheat that is designed to release a pheromone that deters aphids. 
 
 Professor Nick Pidgeon, an environmental psychologist at Cardiff University, has run opinion polls and focus groups on GM and other technologies. 
 
 He says that a legacy of distrust, including from the time of mad cow disease, will cause lasting concern. 
 
 "Highlighting benefits will make a difference but it's only one part of the story which is quite complex. 
 
 "People will still be concerned that this is a technology that potentially interferes with natural systems - they'll be concerned about big corporations having control over the technology and, at the end of the day, you feed it to yourself and your children and that will be a particular concern for families across the UK." 
 
 "To change that quite negative view that people had 10-15 years ago will take quite a long time - it'll take a demonstration of safety, a demonstration of good regulation and of the ability to manage the technology in a safe way. And that doesn't happen overnight." ||||| American grafting leaders SuperNaturals Grafted Vegetables, LLC (creators of the Mighty ‘Mato brand) have brought Burbank’s vision to reality with the release of Ketchup ‘n’ Fries by TomTato®. For the first time, specialty hand-grafted plants are being offered to American gardeners in the 2015 growing season! This recent effort has been in the works for over 15 years in Europe was released into the British market as TomTato® in 2014. Plug Connection in San Diego County holds the exclusive production rights for starter plants that will be shipped to growers all over North America. Look for Ketchup ‘n’ Fries™ at GardenAmerica, Territorial and garden centers this spring. 
 
 Read all about this amazing new plant in our Press Releases (SuperNaturals and Territorial); or watch the Colbert video: 
 
 And this clip is from Good Morning America:
– Tomatoes and potatoes go together like, well, ketchup and fries—so why not grow them together? A hybrid plant known as the "TomTato" or, yes, "Ketchup 'n' Fries," allows you to do just that, and it's now available in the US after first being released in the UK. The plant combines a vine growing cherry tomatoes with roots growing white potatoes—but it's not genetically engineered. Rather, it's created by grafting, in which the tomatoes are "spliced onto potato rootstock," the Oregonian explains, noting the process works well for tomatoes and potatoes because they are closely related. Technically, you could try to do it at home, but it requires the plant stems you're joining be the same thickness. SuperNaturals Grafted Vegetables is the company handling the grafting process in the US, and home gardeners can purchase the non-GMO plant in a 2.5-inch pot from the Territorial Seed Company. "People have been grafting tomatoes and potatoes for a while, but mostly as a novelty," Territorial's marketing director tells OPB, noting that before this plant was commercialized, it was necessary to research varieties to find ones that "complement each other well." Now, purchasers can expect to harvest some 500 red cherry tomatoes and 4.5 pounds of potatoes from each plant. Back in 2013 when the plant was only available in the UK, Stephen Colbert featured it on his "The Craziest F#?ing Thing I've Ever Heard" segment, calling it "unnatural" and noting, "The only time tomatoes and potatoes should meet is at the bottom of a Styrofoam clamshell." (Read about a tree that grows 40 different fruits.)