Allotments 4 All

I have two tomatillo plants growing great guns in the greenhouse.  I have never grown them before and just wondered if they need to have to side shoots removed as with tomatoes  ???  I cant remember who it was who donated the seeds but thank you anyway. ;)

OOOOOOO Errr  Will I get smacked wrists for posting in the edibles instead of the 'Under Glass'    sorrrrrrryyyyyy

More suited here than tillers? No OOOOOOs needed!

No site seems to suggest pinching out??

http://www.farm-garden.com/growing-vegetables/37/growing-tomatillos.htm

Wooowh There is service for you.. Many thanks Tim... now for the next question.  Do they have two types of roots (like tomatoes???)  Top for feeding, bottom for watering ???

Don't know - keep it simple??

Hi Mimi,

You might want to look here, (if this link works, if not it goes to the Swap section, weird and wonderful seeds to swap, started by Justy )

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,9050.0.html

I didn`t pinch out side shoots, and never looked at the roots. I thought everything had two types of roots. In the greenhouse you probably won`t get fruit unless bees can get in.

Col

Can you pollinate them yourself? A very small paintbrush seems to work for most things.

Thanks for that info Columbus.  I leave the greenhouse doors open in the summer so I would say yes the bees can get in.  Will also make sure and go in with the make up brushes too.  Thanks all for the help.  :-*

They'll grow outside OK. I grew them last year and I've got some on the go now -waiting to go out. I just left them alone to bush out. They take quite a long time to grow and ripen, I think it was September before I got many (so I'm hoping that I've started them earlier this year). The biggest got to 3 or 4ft high and maybe as wide and they needed staking.

HTH

Jeremy

mine have been outside in sheltered spot for weeks now and seem fine and growing like weeds.  No sign of flowers yet. 

Last year I grew Tomatilos in the greehouse. The plants took over!! They grew massive, They were planted direct in the soil and had plenty of water and feed when I remebered. They were pretty attractive and you can eat them straight off the plant, also nice in a most south american cooking, but some (my husband) says is an aquired taste.
We had plenty (too many) of fruits and our greenhouse wasn't particularly open to the bees.

I did the same as you Viks, and didn't realise they were so similar to cape gooseberrys!  Both plants took over my greenhouse, but we were rewarded with loads of great fruits, tomatillos went into delish river cottage chutney, cape goosegogs dunked in choccy and scoffed!  ;D

I left mine to just grow and grow mimi, fed and watered the same as my tomatos.

Viks has it-they grow like wild fire and need support and almost savage cutting back to stay `tame` (at least under glass/plastic).

The fruit are ready for salsas when still green,just as the husk splits-and they are slightly `sticky` to the touch.

Raw-yes they taste odd,but raw and mixed with stuff to make salsa-oh yes ;D.

Stephan

QuoteCan you pollinate them yourself? A very small paintbrush seems to work for most things.

Hi Robert,

I don`t know if you can or not. I don`t suppose it would do any harm. Mine grew out of the top of the lean-to (6 feet high) and then attracted loads of bees, before that it seemed the flowers just fell off. I didn`t cut them back, they got the same conditions as the tomatoes, ie feeding and watering but not blight. The plants were big and dropping fruit "like conkers" when the first autumn frosts came and killed them off.

I enjoyed growing them because they really grew themselves in a triffid-taking-over way.

I just washed the stickiness off and froze the fuit whole, they remind me of marbles when the bags burst. (our freezer is over-stuffed) I think we just finished last years crop.

Col