But they aren't. They are potato seeds, on a plant of Sarpo Axona. Potatoes and Tomatoes are of course closely related.
I have three different types of Sarpo potato in my garden at present, growing in pots like all the other varieties.
The Sarpo potatoes are the product of development work done by the Sarvari Trust, who have been trying to develop blight-resistant potatoes. Some people claim that the disease-resistance that these potatoes exhibit has been achieved at the expense of taste and texture, so I am growing mine (kindly provided FOC by David Shaw of the Sarvari Trust) to see for myself.
David has told me that it is possible to propagate potatoes from their seeds, so I might just try! So far there are only the two pods seen above, which I shall jealously guard, but it would be nice to have a few more, so I'll be scanning the plants carefully. The preferred method is supposed to be just like the one used for saving tomato seeds - fermenting them in water for a few days to remove the gelatinous pulp, which can inhibit germination. I'm not sure whether potato seeds have gelatinous pulp, but I intend to find out in due course!
