tomatillas anybody..

[oldhippydude]

this is my second attempt trying to gow them... last year i learned teh hard way that one plant is rarely self fertile...i have fairly decent fruit set this year,right now i can feel marble sized fruits inside the husks.. they seem to love this hot dry wheather, which i suppose they would being natives of the baja.. doing well in Albuquerque NM

this year i have 3 plants ... would love any advise..

[Denninmi]

1. Well, it doesn't sound like you need any advice.

Sound like you have all of the bases covered. I guess all I would add is water enough to make sure they don't wilt -- a severe wilt, even a one-time event, can make them drop all of the developing fruit.

[oldhippydude]

2. thanks didn't know that about wilt..

today we had 100 degree plus day, single digit humidity.. soaked them twice today they are veracious water hogs.. have been feeding once a week with miracle grow, used lots of compost in the planting holes..

[HopeHoops]

3. I grew tomatillos in NH - I had BAGS full of them well into the winter!!!

They get HUGE!

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Next year, watch for volunteers.

I had a terrible time with them the first year and I remember being frustrated when I read that in Mexico small farmers don't plant them, they just let a few volunteers grow.

Every year since our first successful crop we've had volunteers the next year not only near where we had plants before but in other beds -- probably because a seed survived composting.

When the plants have about six leaves we transplant a couple to the right spot and dig out the rest.

I have a moderate to hot dry summer climate and once the plants are established they produce like crazy. Don't let them dry out but don't give them a lot of water either -- they don't seem to need much. I think that more water will make the fruit bigger though.

[Denninmi]

5. If you want really large fruit, try the varieties 'Gigante' from Burpee or 'Cisneros'

Both have fruit larger than golf balls approaching the size of a ... what's bigger than a golf ball and smaller than a baseball/tennis ball ...

Cisneros is available from a number of seed companies.

[NeedleCast]

6. Never had luck with them in Baltimore

Planted tomatillas - mostly for use in salsa - two years and never got anything from them. Both years I had two plants and they both produced lots of flowers, but never a single fruit. Gave up on them after two years of nothing.