Now that’s a tomato!
A new tomato, called Gigantomo, can grow up to 10 inches wide and as heavy as 3lbs – about 12 times the size of an average salad tomato.
The revolutionary tomatoes have now gone on sale in Britain just in time for gardeners to buy them before spring arrives.
The tomatoes are so large that one tomato alone can serve up to four people, and just one slice fills an entire burger bun or sandwich.
Each plant can grow to 6ft tall and yield as many as 11 tomatoes but must be supported to prevent it buckling under the weight of the fruit.
The new variety is the result of almost two decades of research and development by breeders in the UK and the US.
Simon Crawford, one of the UK’s leading plant breeders, was called in five years ago to finish the work of late American grower Paul Thomas, who spent 15 years trying to breed the huge tomato.
Mr Thomas passed away before he saw his tomatoes hit the market, but Mr Crawford was able to complete the breeding programme to ensure there would be enough seed to sell commercially.
They were launched in the US last year by seed company Burpee and sold under the name SteakHouse.
The huge tomatoes were such a hit that they have now been brought across the Atlantic but EU chiefs ruled the name unacceptable so it was changed to Gigantomo.
