Tomatillos self-incompatible...

Never having grown one before I bought a tomatillo this year and threw it in the garden just to see what would happen. It is happily growing along, but I just read some info saying they are self-incompatible. Anyone have an opinion on whether I should buy a second so they can pollinate each other? I have run out of room in the garden this year but I guess I could squeeze one in somewhere. I have searched some forums and books and there seems to be very wide ranging opinions on this topic.

I have also heard that tomatillos are self-incompatible and that lone tomatillo plants rarely set fruit. I have two tomatillo plants that are about three feet apart. They've been flowering for about a month and a half and currently have tons of flowers but still no fruit. I know that they require require hot weather before they start producing but it's been in the 80s and 90s here for about a month and still nothing.

I'd love to learn the "secret" to getting these things to produce!

Last year I planted one tomatillo plant and it did not produce. So this year, after reading up on their need for cross pollination, I planted three. They've since grown like weeds - tons of blooms, but I can count only 2 tomatillos on one of the plants. My plants are about 5 feet tall now and still growing. The heat factor here is anywhere from 95-100 degrees. I feel like I'm doing something wrong - shouldn't there be more? Does anyone have any suggestions? Dueteros, I want that "secret" too! Love to make salsa's with tomatillos.

Hi there. I grew tomatillos last year and had millions (a slight exaggeration). I threw a packet of seed in the ground and waited and waited. Thought it was not going to happen and then, when it got frying hot and rained, the darn things sprouted everywhere. The next issue was where to cram them in. I had no space and let them tumble over an embankment. They produced like crazy with no extra ferts or care. Just when we were feeling smug about being tomatillo barons two things happened. First the worms moved in and started dessimating all the future salsa verde and then the deer moved in for the punch. Crestfallen hardly describes the mood. We pitched hundreds of wormy fruits down the bank below.

Well, this year we put up deer fence and had high hopes of zillions of tomatillos. I scanned the soil, poked through the weeds, watered bare dirt in the vicinity and...nada...until this past week. I now have sticks in eight places where tomatillos have self sown. Some escaped the main garden and are good sized seedlings in the flower beds :). I'll move them on the next rainy day and grow some vertically and some on ground to compare. More seem to sprout daily. So, if you're concerned about your tomatillos and living in a warm climate, plant more seed because I'm seeing new plants every day now that it's very hot.

Laurel

Laurel, I envy you and your green tomatillo thumb! You're telling me that with virtually no TLC you had your plants producing like crazy?? That's what every gardner dreams of. Maybe I'm fussing too much with these guys. They get regular water, fertilizer and lots of attention. I do have deer too - so I've put up a fence around my garden, which seems to have solved the problem (for now) Those guys are so smart - not to mention brave - I found one dragging the bag of dog food out of garage one morning with the rest of the herd eating the pieces that were falling out of bag on the driveway. I'm not exactly sure where they thought they were going with the bag, but I'm sure I would never have guessed that deer had made off with the bag if I hadn't come upon them in action. Well, keep us posted of how your sprouts are coming along, and post any other "hints" for success.

Well, I guess my post spoke to the ease of tomatillo growing, but did not answer TMaples question. All I can say is we grew a bunch and had a bunch. It was hardly a no brainer between the worms and the deer. The worms did not bother the nearby tomatoes either. I need to add that early on last year and this, leaf miner and flea beetles came on strong. We have needed to stay on top of the bugs. You all sound like you have plants a month or more ahead of mine. I planted seed in early June last year. I was drowning in tomatillos by early August. They are interesting as a hand fruit too. I'll keep you posted.

L

I decided to go the "better safe than sorry" route and planted a second plant right next to the first. The first plant, which has been in the ground about one and a half weeks longer than the second is starting to flower. I hope it all works out but since I haven't grown them before I'm not expecting much. Any tomatillos will be a bonus.

Be careful what you wish for. Start reading up on canning if you're not experienced. lol

Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by a "hand" fruit? I'm trying not to expect much either. I'll wait it out until August and then if I haven't had any success I'll just have to re-think it for next year.

Hand fruit is a fruit you can eat out of hand. Like a pear, apple or plum. Tomatillos have a crisp, lightly lemon taste and a crunch like a not quite ripe pear. Interesting in slices. I'm thinking when I become the tomatillo baroness this year a tomatillo consortium and a marketing campaign should be in place :).

There's got to be more uses for this fruit than salsa! We used them in salads, as dippers and roasted them with meats. Can they be grilled? What foods do they compliment? We only used them (aside from the roasting experiment) raw. I'm looking forward to more experiments this year. Are there any great chefs out here? Our salsas are al fresco. We have combined tomatillos with tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, cucumbers and whatever herbs and garlic are available in the garden. Of course cilantro, limes, etc are great for traditional salsa...but we work with what we have in the garden at the time. The home canned jalepenos with a splash of their vinegar is killer when making salsa. We have never made a cooked salsa. Why, if you have them fresh? I'll do it if the worms and deer don't get them in the Fall.

Found two more in a weedy bank today. I think the tad of rain in our record drought is encouraging them.

Laurel

recipes for tomatillos - Late this spring I scored some tomatillos from the local grocery store - not bad for rural Minnesota. I threw in a couple cupfulls (chopped) after browning 3 +lbs pork shoulder in 3 inch chuncks and sauteing some onions, garlic and anaheim peppers. Add back the pork and use any liquid available - beer, wine, chicken stock etc, half way up the meat. Cook covered for 2.5 to 3 hours at 300 degrees. Salt and pepper to taste both before browning and sauteing.

I served over rice and black bean would be good. A squirt of lime juices on top is manditory before eating. Chicken thighs work too.
Bob

Bob, I'm booking a ticket for Olivia, MN. That recipe sounds fantastic! I'm doing it. I think you'd need something on the rich side, like thighs, if you used chicken. Can you grow tomatillos? My re-seeds are just ramping up with the temps in the high 80's to 90's. I've made room for six. They are handling the record drought well, but are the flea beetles' best friend.

Laurel

If y'all don't mind me butting in for a second... How do you know a tomatillo is ripe. I have a few plants that have had fruit on them for awhile but I'm not sure when to pick them. Thanks in advance.

Jeff

Jeff, I think, like medicine, tomatillos are not an exact science. When the husks start to split is good enough. I'm not going back to read what I wrote before, so excuse me if I repeat...the best way to store these is to put them in a little brown paper bag. They will last for many weeks (2-4). Leave the husks intact. Don't use plastic or stuff them in a moist veggie drawer...they will rot. We have left them out on an open plate for several days too.

Laurel

Thanks Maypop,

I went thru and picked the ones that looked mature today. I was waiting for them to turn color or something...

Jeff

I planted a tomatillo plant about 4 years ago. Every year they self sow and I get 100s of them. I haven't learned to can them, but I did freeze several bags full. This year they all came up just fine, but now one by one they are being eliminated by what looks like slugs. They are eating the flowers and right on down to the bare stem. Any suggestions? I've just been pulling up the plants one by one and tossing them in the garbage - away from the compost and other plants.

So tomatillos can grow in MN. If slugs and snails are a problem, and you are organic, there is a product called Sluggo that baits and kills. It's supposed to be very safe. I have not used it. There's another, but the name escapes me right now. Someone else here? The big box stores do not usually carry organic products for slugs/snails. I have not found beer, boards, diatomaceous earth, hot pepper sprays, etc very effective. I am not die hard and use the non-organic baits containing metaldehyde in very small amounts outside the garden proper. I only use it if there is evidence of damage. Since it is a bait, the critters high tail it out of the garden and I find lots of snail shells within days. I'd prefer to go organic, but the products are not readily available and are pricey. BTW, be sure to rule out caterpillars or worms.

Hope this helps. Laurel

My tomatillos are doing great. They are big and healthy, loaded with blooms and starting to get actual tomatillos. I am excited. It helps curb the pain of having to pull out my Better Boy which has been lost to wilt :( What a disappointment.

Hello everyone.
This is the first time I have tried to grow tomatillos. Never even heard of them before I got a packet of seed in my Christmas stocking.
Load of the seeds germinated so I kept 3 and gave the rest away. My three plants grew very well in my small greenhouse and even though we have had a terrible summer with little sun and the temperature has rarely gone over 72 degrees I have a very good crop.
Could I please ask: When I store them, do I remove the husk and wash off the sticky coating before I store them, or do I just put them in a paper bag and wash and clean them only when I need to use them?

Thank you so much to anyone who can help me.
Christine.


This message was edited Aug 23, 2008 9:58 AM

I store them, with the husks, in a brown paper bag in the open refridgerator. The veggie drawers are often too damp.
Laurel

Laurel. - Thanks very much for taking the trouble to reply. Im very grateful to you and wish you well.
Christine.

In April 2008 I was given 2 tomatillos. They had been picked for about 2 weeks, were filling their capes but still crisp and green. I had not seen this species before. I put them on a windowsill, and in May took one and spread it's seeds out on a paper towel. When the seeds were dry I stored them in a jar. In October - (spring in NZ) - I planted them in seed trays - every one germinated, and now, in March, I have a fine crop of fruit.

MEANWHILE the remaining tomatillo is still sitting in its cape on the windowsill, where it has been for 11 months. It has turned a little yellower than green, but has not rotted. The seeds inside will still be viable, and, if I was REALLY hungry, it is probably still edible. The temperature here ranges from between 8 degrees in the winter to 30 degrees in midsummer. The tomatillo has been through all the daily heating and cooling of my kitchen for nearly a year. The fruit skins seem to have a natural waxy coating which may help to preserve them. Has anyone else tried storing tomatillos raw over winter - on trays in an airy dark pestproof place, I suppose? Away from apples etc.

Calypso, what are you doing with your tomatillos food-wise? I'm thinking your temperatures are Celsius and not Farenheit? No, we don't over-winter them. We ferment them the way you see them done on the tomato forum, or toss them out to re-seed in the garden. Tomatillos seem to require much warmer temperatures than, lets say, tomatoes, peppers or even eggplants. As an example, I'll see self-seeding tomatoes reseeding in May, but not tomatillos until late July though started plants will thrive when planted in early June. The seed seems to require a good deal of heat to germinate and the plant needs months of warm soil temps to grow well.
L

This recipe probably won't be very useful since I tend to "eye everything out" and taste along the way but when I make "green enchiladas" I remove the husks and boil the tomatillos until they change color (kind of olive drab). In a separate pot I boil a chicken, let it cool and then shred the meat. I drain the tomatillos and after they cool a bit toss them in a blender and fill it with the chicken stock. I add some fresh garlic, 1/2 an onion, serrano peppers, a little cumin, a little cilantro, salt and pepper to taste and then blend it all together. I then empty the contents into a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. While the green sauce is going I take corn tortillas and a cook them in a skillet with a little oil for just a few seconds to soften them up, then dip them into the simmering green sauce for a bit. I roll the enchiladas up with the shredded chicken and place them side by side in a baking pan. I then pour the remaining sauce over them and add cheese on top (I usually "queso fresco" but I guess cheddar would work or maybe even feta) and then bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese is nice and "melty". If I'm feeling ambitious I serve them covered with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cilantro. I can try to guesstimate the quantities involved... probably 1lb-1 1/2lbs tomatillos, 6 serrano peppers (might be hot for some ppl, jalapenos will work ok), 3 cloves garlic (I like garlic), dozen corn tortillas, 1 dead chicken, 1 bunch fresh cilantro, 1 or 2 diced tomatoes, 1 onion

Sound like a hassle? Well it kind of is but the salsa verde is where tomatillos shine, and it can be canned and stored.

This message was edited Apr 16, 2009 7:38 AM

Not a hassle. Authentic "slow food". Thanks for sharing. Making food is always easier than trying to explain it to the rest of us. Sounds like the real deal. Thanks.
Laurel

Supposedly tomatillos do better on a lean soil. You should not be fertilizing excessively. I think they do need a decent amount of water as my tomatillos have been incredibly tart in some years when I have not watered regularly.