Gardener who planted tomato seeds from his own crop surprised when they turned into chilies

A gardener from Ashburton in Devon planted tomato seeds in the hope of growing himself some salad and was then amazed when the plant started producing chilies. David Bleazley sowed seeds saved from a batch of his own 'Ox Heart' beefsteak tomatoes.

He was pretty sure how they should turn out, but when the plants started growing, he realized something was very wrong. He said: "I noticed that they were slower than the other tomato seed to germinate, and to my astonishment they all produced pepper plants, which in turn produced red chilies."
He went to seed suppliers Tuckers in Ashburton who confirmed the seeds they were shown were tomato seed and that the plant was indeed a pepper plant but they could not explain what had happened. David said: "I left with a warning that I would struggle to get people, especially experts to take me seriously." David then approached Newton Abbot nursery Plants Galore for another opinion.

He was told that there was 'no way' a tomato seed could grow into a pepper or chili. They suggested that the seed had become mixed up at some point, either during the packing stage, in the garden by birds or after harvest when drying the seed. But David said he is '100% certain' that the seeds have not been mixed up. David said he will be planting a few more of the seeds to see what happens.