Tomatillos

[Grandad]

B'sgirl, you may want to go ahead and put them out and at the same time plant a few more seeds for backup plants in case the ones you set out don't make it. (The do look a bit "hungry" for sunshine...)

 

[PanchoHambre]

ok all you tomatillo groweres I am having a problem. I have 2 tomatillo plants (green and purple) in containers on my patio the plants are loveley but the tomatillos keep falling off. I suspect my pots are a but too small but is there anything I can do. Would removing some of the fruits help the others grow? They are pretty plants but I am feeling my hommade salsa verde dreams slipping away

 

[BreezyCooking]

As others have mentioned in previous posts here, Tomatillos are LARGE plants, & thus need LARGE containers. They also need lots of water & good soil with lots of organic matter.

If you suspect your containers are too small, they probably are. Removing fruit probably won't help. Your plants simply don't have enough room to bring the fruits to maturity. They're most likely dropping the fruits prematurely out of survival.

If the plants themselves look healthy, I'd increase watering (I'm assuming you already know not to let the pots go completely dry) & perhaps add some fertilizer. Container plants - vegetables in particular - require a lot more feeding than garden plants.

 

[B'sgirl]

When do I harvest these babies? (These are not the seed starts I posted in a previous picture, those went to the trash. I found a store that sold some good starts so I bought those).

 

[gadzooks]

Pick 'em when the husk gets loose and papery. If you pick 'em too soon, you'll have to blanche 'em to get the husk off. Salsa verde? Yum, 'specially for fish tacos. Chili verde? I'll bring a pork shoulder...

 

[GotGarlic]

Also, when the fruit pretty much fills the husk, they're ready.