From garden to table – an Egg and Chips update

I have finally dug up my Egg and Chips – a grafted aubergine and potato novelty plant from Thompson and Morgan. Nestled among the roots were around 750g of potatoes (above) - not quite as many as I’d hoped for, but still, for a newbie potato grower, a good crop - while the stem produced a lot of flowers, and four large aubergines. These were not at all bitter, and didn’t need salting. Three disappeared into moussaka, while the largest had pride of place on the table this evening, stuffed and baked according to this BBC recipe. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lamb-stuffed_aubergines_99219

Delicious!

Egg and chips anyone? Growing Thompson and Morgan’s new grafted plant.

It’s always fun to try something different in the garden. For me, this year it was Thompson and Morgan’s Egg and Chips plant, hand-grafted so it grows aubergines (aka egg plants) from its stem and potatoes from its roots – great for gardeners without the luxury of an allotment or large veg patch. (The two vegetables belong to the same plant family, known as the Solanaceae or nightshade.)  This novelty arrived by post in May, protected by a plastic cylinder, looking very healthy. Planted up on the sunny terrace in a large container (as per the instructions), it soon expanded to fill the space. Delicate mauve flowers began emerging in July, but it wasn’t until August that they began to set.

While Thompson and Morgan claim an average of three or four large aubergines per plant, I now have five aubergines of various sizes hanging there, with another four flowers looking promising. The potato yield could be up to two kg, suitable for boiling, mashing or, of course, chips. The spuds seem to have begun producing their own foliage, so I'm looking forward to seeing what lies beneath when all this yellows and dies down.
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/vegetable-plants/all-vegetable-plants/egg-and-chips/t67489TM