Weird-shaped tomato leaves grower puzzled
A keen gardener from Telford got a shock when he went to harvest his crop and found a tomato with several other small tomatoes growing out of it.
Ken Newbrook, from Madeley, said he had been growing tomatoes for 50 years but had never seen anything like this particular fruit before.
The tomato – type Costoluto Genovese – should have been a round shape with crinkles around where its stalk was. The variety is popular in Italy for eating and preserving, and is becoming more popular in Britain because of its strong taste.
But Mr Newbrook said he didn't know what to make of it when he saw the strange growths protruding from the bottom of the fruit. "It's a funny looking thing. It's like six tomatoes in one," he said.
"It's supposed to be grown outdoors but I grew it in my greenhouse. None of the others have grown like this though – they all look like normal tomatoes.
"I've been growing vegetables most of my life but I've never seen a tomato like this. It looks like it's exploding in slow motion."
But Mr Newbrook said that although his tomatoes had never grown in funny shapes before, he had grown other strange-looking crops.
"Three years ago I grew a potato that looked like a little man. It had arms and legs and a little head," he said.
"I've seen some funny carrots as well that look like they've got legs, and potatoes that have got noses. My tomatoes have never been funny shaped before though."
