Until this year I’d not come across Tomatillos !
But a Tomato Lover reader commented he was growing them and Warbourne Farm shop had young plants for sale. Now I know more , I wish I’d bought some but even Tomato Lover gets distracted when faced with such a gorgeous and handsome creature as this. There’s always next year !
In the meantime here’s my getting-to-know-you list for Tomatillos.
- Also known as the Husk Tomato or Tomato Verde.
- Fruit are small, green; sometimes streaked with purple.
- Fruit are encased in a papery outer husk, formed by the calyx and reminiscent of a Cape Gooseberry.
- Staple ingredient of Mexican cooking; key to dishes such as guacamole and salsa verde.
- Fresh tart flavour.
- Grown like a tomato but unlike the tomato, is not self fertile so two or more plants are needed for pollination.
Photos by New York Observer and Sleepyneko.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Sally,
You’ve got me worried now. I have seven tomatillo plants but six are outdoors and one on its own is indoors (and about twice the height of the others). There seems to be a lot of confusion over whether these plants are self fertile or not (see http://sharpredpencil.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/pollination-nerves/ for example).
I suppose I will just have to wait and see!
James.
Hello James. Thank you for sending the link – I think the writer of that piece expressed exactly how we all feel – we just want tomatoes and tomatillos ! Hopefully your plants will solve the mystery ! I can’t wait to experiment with growing them next year.