Growing Tomatillo

Physalis ixocarpa : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    S                  
        T              
        P              

(Best months for growing Tomatillo in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 21°C and 27°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 70 cm apart
  • Harvest in 10-14 weeks. Husk splits when fruit is ripe..
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Will happily grow in a flower border

Your comments and tips

30 Dec 20, (Australia - temperate climate)
Shriveling could be from hot sun, dry soil or fungi/disease. Suggested time to plant Sept-Oct.
08 Aug 20, Heather (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Do you have to have 2 plants in order for it to produce fruit?
14 Oct 20, Mjar (USA - Zone 8b climate)
yes, these plants need a partner to pollinate, I have found 4 plants is a good sweet spot to get enough tomatillos to do some sauce making (Salsa Verde) . I hope you found your answer already as it's now so late in the season! Good Luck.
06 May 20, Suzanne (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Seeds can be bought through www.glenseeds.co.za they have both the green and purple varieties.
26 Mar 20, Robin Duval-Smith (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Compared with a cape gooseberry which I have, how large does a single fruit of tomatillo grow? Is it rich in vitamin C...what other food values?
01 Apr 20, Anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Check on the internet.
22 Sep 19, June (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
I am interested in either tomatillo plants or seeds. I am on the eastern side of Jhb.
14 Nov 19, anon (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Try internet seed selling companies.
13 Sep 19, Julie Elliott (Australia - temperate climate)
Bought one tomatillo at the green grocer near me. It was the 1st time I'd seen them selling tomatillo. I left it in the fruit bowl a few weeks and watched it shrivel up. Then I squished it open and left it another week or more to dry out and tonight I pricked out the seeds. Tomorrow I'll plant some seeds in a seed punnet and leave it on my north facing kitchen window sill to germinate. I'll do a punnet each week. The leftover seeds I'll keep for next year. Hopefully some will sprout. I travelled with a Mexican friend (from Mexico City) many years back and saw how she (and her maid) cooked them. I especially loved "drowned eggs". And I saw tomatillos growing wild in southern Mexico near the Guatemalan boarder. My memory is that it was a fairly lightly foliaged shrub like plant. Wish me luck.
11 Jun 18, Annie (Canada - Zone 3a Temperate Short Summer climate)
I am in Calgary Alberta and this spring I took a few tomatillo's and sliced them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and planted them into dirt right away. After I started to see small plant sprouts I took the slices out of the smaller pots and planted them right into the large planter for the rest of the grow season I will be back in the fall to let you know just how they faired
Showing 11 - 20 of 101 comments

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