Vegetable Garden- How to Grow Tomatillos from seed

Days to Maturity: 90 - 100 days

Tomatillo are also known as Toma Verde or Ground Cherries. It is a member of the nightshade family, related to tomatoes. It is grown like a tomato, and the plant and leaves are similar to the tomato plant. However, that is where the similarity ends.

Tomatillos can be used in a wide variety of Mexican dishes, and their unique flavor makes an indescribably tasty “Salsa Verde”, which some say is superior to red salsa. The ‘Toma Verde’ is a large-fruited variety that has been adapted to grow successfully in a wide variety of climates.

Related to tomatoes, tomatillos prefer similar growing conditions, but they will handle a lot more heat and drought. The 3’-6’ tall, indeterminate plants grow quickly and produce well in both southern and northern climates. Fruits grow inside a paper shell and keep producing until the first fall frost.

• Harden off your tomatillo plants, by bringing them outdoors for increasing amounts of time, beginning a week before transplanting. Make sure to bring them in, or put them in a cold frame, if frost is in the forecast..
• Tomatillos like hot weather. They are grown just like tomatoes. Provide plenty of water, and mulch around the plant to retain water. Feed them regularly, and switch over from nitrogen to higher phosphorous and potassium as the plants grow, to promote flowering and fruit set.
• Sow Tomatillo seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost, at ¼” deep and one inch apart. Keep moist but not soggy at 75 to 80 degrees. You will need to provide a strong light source until the plants are ready to be transplanted outdoors. Transplant the seedlings when they are 2 inches tall.
• Transplant tomatillo plants into your garden after all chance of frost has past.
• Plant seedlings 18 - 24 inches apart, in rows three to four feet apart.