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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Lucho on March 14, 2009, 14:48:57

Title: Tomatillo advice
Post by: Lucho on March 14, 2009, 14:48:57
It's my first time growing these and I have some sturdy looking specimens in the window propagator but one rather long and leggy individual that came up a week before the others. Can they be pricked out and planted deep like tomatoes or would they rot? Any advice on growing them gratefully received.
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: Hyacinth on March 14, 2009, 15:02:18


hello, I grew them about 3 years ago...yes you can plant deep like regular tomatoes.  As I remember tho, because I had mine in the g/house, I needed to hand-pollinate them. Grown outside, there's no probs, obv.
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: Lucho on March 14, 2009, 17:11:26
Thanks. I'm going to try a couple outside and a couple in the polytunnel, so I'll remember to pollinate them by hand.
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: amphibian on March 14, 2009, 21:39:49
My main advise concerning tomatilos is that they are very prolific, so don't worry about losing a plant if you have a few, just one or two plants will produce loads of fruit.
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: starter on March 15, 2009, 17:34:30
help please what is hand propagating. Im a beginner
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: manicscousers on March 15, 2009, 18:39:32
Hiya, starter, welcome to the site  ;D
hand pollinating, hmmm..we use a paint brush, transfer pollen from one flower to the other, specially on melon and peach blossom  :)
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: amphibian on March 15, 2009, 21:59:14
Quote from: Miss Whiplash on March 15, 2009, 18:39:32
Hiya, starter, welcome to the site  ;D
hand pollinating, hmmm..we use a paint brush, transfer pollen from one flower to the other, specially on melon and peach blossom  :)

No need to move from one flower to another with tomatilos, the flowers are perfect and will pollinate themselves.

With all members of the Solanum genus, simply tapping the ripe flower will assist it in pollinating itself. I've never bothered with tomatilos, though, just one plant will produce more than I use.
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: rosebud on March 15, 2009, 22:15:43
 Welcome Starter, good luck with your growing ;D ;D.
Title: Re: Tomatillo advice
Post by: Hyacinth on March 17, 2009, 09:12:48
Sorry I've been so long getting back to this.

I put the advice about hand-pollination after reading that I'd need to because I only had one tomatillo in the greenhouse along with other varieties.  The other was somewhere outside.I'd read that cross-pollination doesn't happen with these?

(In the event, I moved the g/house one outside, too...I'd no idea just how big they got - and I've only a 6x4 'house!!)

I love tomatillos but they're much too big to grow in my limited space in the garden plotties. Pity :'(  Good luck with yours - hope you get a good crop and enjoy them. :)