Quick question about growing Tomatillos

[larry_stewart]

When planting a tomatillo seedling, can you bury the stems deep, as you would a tomato , to enable more roots to form? My seedlings are a little leggy, so if possible, Id like to transplant them and bury them deep while ion the process.

 

[blissful]

Yes, the same as tomatoes. And be aware that if you leave any tomatillas on the vine at the end of the year, lots of plants will come up the next year at that spot.

 

[larry_stewart]

Yes, the same as tomatoes. And be aware that if you leave any tomatillas on the vine at the end of the year, lots of plants will come up the next year at that spot.

That happened to my dad. His house was at the bottom of a hill. Every time it rained, a ' River ' would form from the top of the hill. It would wash everyone's ( from the top of the hill's) backyard furniture into his backyard, flow through his garden , then cause a waterfall off a brick wall on our neighbors drive way. The following year, about 20 feet away from where they were planted the year before, there were tons of tomatillo plants, self planted and moved. He never planted them again. They came back year after year. I had a similar situation with those ground cherries. Like sweet little orange tomatillos. The dropped from their plant and now are all over the place.

 

[medtran49]

That happened to my dad. His house was at the bottom of a hill. Every time it rained, a ' River ' would form from the top of the hill. It would wash everyone's ( from the top of the hill's) backyard furniture into his backyard, flow through his garden , then cause a waterfall off a brick wall on our neighbors drive way. The following year, about 20 feet away from where they were planted the year before, there were tons of tomatillo plants, self planted and moved. He never planted them again. They came back year after year. I had a similar situation with those ground cherries. Like sweet little orange tomatillos. The dropped from their plant and now are all over the place.

We had that problem with Everglades tomatoes at our old house. They popped up everywhere!

 

[jazzerlord]

When planting a tomatillo seedling, can you bury the stems deep, as you would a tomato , to enable more roots to form? My seedlings are a little leggy, so if possible, Id like to transplant them and bury them deep while ion the process.

Sure, you can bury the tomatillo stems deeper to encourage the formation of additional roots. This process is called trenching tomatillos. With deep planting, tomatillos will root along the stem, promoting a stronger and more resilient plant.

 

[dragnlaw]

I never knew that! Thanks guys!
Now my leggy seedlings might have a chance.

 

[larry_stewart]

I knew about tomatoes, just not tomatillos, and mine are looking scraggly and leggy so Im glad I can do this with them.

 

[pepperhead212]

Here's a photo showing those roots on those tomatillos, trying to grow - some of the tomatoes have a hint of them starting, but the 3 tomatillos have them on the half inch or so above the soil line.
Stems on the tomatillos, showing the roots trying to grow above the soil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I used to have problems with the weak stems on all my tomatillos, when I started from seed, but several years ago I found an answer to this - the silica supplement, which is done for stronger stems in hydroponics. This takes very little 1/4-1/3 tsp solution/gal. Something I add to each watering container, along with just and eighth of a tsp of hydroponics fertilizer. The only fertilizer I add to these, besides the worm castings, in the soil mix.

Years ago, I used to dig up volunteer plants every year, partly being lazy, but also because of this problem I had with the weak stems, while the volunteers were very short and strong. However, the fruits would gradually get smaller, each season, and the tomatillos wouldn't stay green very long, so I went back to seeds, and a couple of years later, I found the silica.

 

[Badjak]

My tomatillos also pop up everywhere
I find they can handle the heat a fair bit better than tomatoes