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Re: Tomatilloes anyone?

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

thank you
----- Original Message -----
From: Souliere <souliere@iname.com>
To: <sqft@listbot.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 11:49 PM
Subject: Re: Tomatilloes anyone?


> Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
> -=-=-=-Original Message -=-=-=-
> From: Johnny Vann <johnnyvann@excite.com>
> To: <sqft@listbot.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 3:37 PM
> Subject: Tomatilloes anyone?
>
> > This is the first year I have grown Tomatilloes. I have plenty of blooms
> and
> > have had plenty for about a month. What I don't have is any fruit
forming.
> I
> > only have one plant since my dog ran across the bed and stepped on the
> other
> > one (bad Charley) and broke the stem just as it was sprouting.
> >
> > Do Tomatilloes self polinate or do they need another plant for form
fruit?
> I
> > have yet to have a day reach above 80 degrees, do they need more heat?
The
> > Cucumbers and Pear Cherry Tomatoes in the same bed have started to form
> > fruit yet the Tomatillo started blooming first. Am I being too
impatient?
> >
> > Johnny Vann
> > Zone 9
> > Berkeley, CA
>
> I planted one tomatilloe 3 years ago.  Since then I have not gotten around
> to starting any more but every year I find a few volunteers outside my
> raised
> beds (or in the compost) I transfer these to my raised beds and they go
like
> crazy.  They flower early on but don't do much.  The tomatoes flower and
> start kicking into high gear and the tomatillos finally start producing
> their little
> husks.   The husks can get fairly large and be virtually empty.  It is not
> until
> mid to late season (for my garden anyway) they they finally fill the husks
> completly and start splitting them.  They are ready to pick when you brush
> against them and they just fall into your hand.  If I have a windy day I
> just
> check the ground around the plant for falled fruits.
> I don't know if they self polinate or anything but I have never had to
> pollenate them and they were vigrous that first year when I had only one
> plant.
> They produce quite a bit outlasting even the tomatoes.  They keep longer
on
> the counter top then tomatoes.  Also a tomatillo relish or salsa is
strange
> and unusual to most people (at least in my circle of friends) so a nice
> fresh tomatilla relish is quite welcome on mexican night.  I have gotten
> quite addicted to them and miss them in the off season.  But no matter how
> much of a crop I get I somehow never have enough left over to try
> to can or freeze.
> Don't peel of the husk until you are ready to use them, the green
> tomatillo in the dried husk is actually sticky and impossible to keep
> clean once the husk splits.
> Ground fallen fruits (or veggies?) must be picked up the same day or
> the ants have a field day with them.  My ants will walk past a tomato
> broken open on the ground to attack a tomatilo with the husk still on it.
> I guess they know a good thing when they find it.
> I have been able to bring tomatoes and peppers inside at the end of
> the season before.  So far this has always failed with the tomatillos.
> The fruit (de husked and rinsed) once diced and mixed with a onion
> one tomato and a little cilantro make a very tary (I like that...) salsa.
> I did try to start them inside last year (grow lights the whole bit) but
the
> 'volunteers' were always larger bigger and more vigrous so I tranplated
> them back into the garden and gave my starts away to friends/co-workers.
> My plants grow about 3-4 feet tall and don't seem to mind being confined
> to a tomato cage or two.  I use the cage to keep them neat and tidy.
> The tomatillos never get much larger than golf ball and the plants dont
> actually
> need the support.  But they will wander into every adjacent sunny square
> if you don't stop them.
> Pests like aphids may go crazy on my weakest tomatoe plants but they
> never seem to (perhaps they hide it well...) go after the tomatillos.
> All in all a very nice (zero maintenenace) addition to the garden.
> Best of luck.
> Ron Souliere ( USDA zone5, Lincoln nebraska)
>
>
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