I can't grow tomatillos

What am I doing wrong?

They look more like poinsettias than tomato plants. Very pretty, big plants, lots of greenery, loads of flowers, and a ton of honey bees to polinate.

The fruit is forming.... and then the husk yellows and falls from the plant. The fruit inside the husk is very small, marble-sized, where it is supposed to fill the husk according to what I've read. they shouldn't just fall away from the plant.

Is there something that they need that my ground doesn't provide, some nutrient that I don't have enough of (hard to fathom since the soil of my garden is mostly compost)? Have any of you tried to grow them? Any ideas on what's going on here? The tomato plants growing next to the tomatillos seem to be doing well, their fruit is ripening up fine.... and their culture is supposed to be similar, which is why I put them with the tomatoes in the first place.

I guess the next thing I will try is to spray with some epsom salts... I don't know what else to do and am open to suggestions.

TIA

xoxo

My experiences with tomatillos....

I plant in the least desirable, but dry, area of the yard. I till to about 8", adding a little gypsum to keep our clay from packing so tightly, then transplant my starts. Even down here, I don't transplant until about mid-April, as they like really hot weather, and can withstand low moisture conditions pretty well.

I've also discovered, that unlike tomatoes, they seem to hate nitrogen fertilizer. Even a weak application of 10-10-10 or Miracle Grow will send them into growing spasms, blooming like crazy, but no fruit.

So, I just plant, water intermittently, and pick what becomes available. I'm not a big fan, so I only grow them every few years... YMMV





maybe if I changed my name to Jose.....

Sounds like the soil is too rich. The ideal place to plant tomatillos is in the thin layer of grime that forms at the bottom of the windshield of an old car on blocks.

Seriously, plant them someplace that only thin, dry, brown grass grows and then ignore them. You'll probably get volunteer crops until the end of time.

Thanks, guys..... phew, soil too rich is a problem I can live with. This is my first attempt with these plants. West saw them on some cooking show and wanted to try them. If they had been producing mature fruit, I'd have to be looking up recipes for them.. so I guess I've saved myself some work.

dissimulo, I know that grime... I have a truck on blocks, will that work too? My son has an old '70 Nova out there in the north 40... it's not on blocks, but it is stationary nonetheless. I'll do some serious looking for a place where only thin brown grass will grow and plant a few seeds there.... see what happens. I would like having volunteers 'til the end of time.

I guess those out in the garden will just be place holders until next year. Again, thanks, guys, I really appreciate your input.

xoxo

What Green Co. and dissimulo said--tomatillos seem to love to be...unloved. Not as much water, not as much luxury... And warmth.

The mature fruit outgrows the husk--it starts to split. They're a little sticky. You wash them, then pretty much treat them as you would a little tomato--except that the flavor is slightly different. Green chile salsa, pork in green chile salsa...I plant them every year (or they pop up on their own because I missed one or two the year before...yes, I don't have the nicest soil), make salsa and freeze it. My husband loves them.

O2BNOK said:

dissimulo, I know that grime... I have a truck on blocks, will that work too? My son has an old '70 Nova out there in the north 40... it's not on blocks, but it is stationary nonetheless.

Click to expand...

Perfect. Just think of them as raised beds.