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Tomatillo - another needed

geeme

geeme

I started 3 tomatillo plants from seed a bit back. unfortunately, two of them totally bit the dust when the broad mites came on the scene. The third was attacked, but survived. This is my first time growing tomatillos, and I do know from a bit of research that they are not self-compatible, so I need at least one additional plant. The thing is that I got the seeds from a tomatillo I picked up at the grocery store, and there was no variety given on the label, so I am missing a bit of info. I understand tomatillos are like tomatoes in that there are determinate varieties and indeterminate varieties. Also, from the research I've done so far, it seems very likely that the one I purchased is indeterminate, as apparently that's what most commercial growers who sell to grocery stores grow. Other than that, about all I can tell you is that it came from a green, fairly good-sized piece of fruit (good-sized when compared to most tomatillos sold in this area.)

There is a good chance that when the nurseries around here start selling peppers, tomatoes and tomatillos, that I will be able to find a tomatillo plant of one variety or another. I could feasibly start a couple more from seeds, but part of me doesn't want to bother with that, given the availability of plants within the next couple of months. (I'm in northern Ohio, so most nurseries in this area don't have plants out, or only have trees and bushes so far.) My question is regarding the potential compatibility between determinate and indeterminate types - since I don't really know what kind mine is and I don't know what kind(s) the nurseries will be offering just yet, the chances of my picking up one that just happens to be the same variety as mine seems to be slim. It seems likely that determinates would be compatible with other determinates, but are they also compatible with indeterminates? Another thing is that my current tomatillo plant is already over a foot tall, so if I started something from seed now, it seems the flowering cycles of each might be off from each other.

What are your thoughts? Start a new one from seed now? Wait and purchase a plant when they're available? And what about compatibility between determinate and indeterminate? ie - I could purchase one of each (if each is even available), and that way I would at least have two producers.
 
tomatillo's are related to peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes. they should be able to pollinate themselves with no problems.

i too have been having trouble starting plants. either they die coz it was my fault. lol. or it's some pest eats it. or it just dies. =(

germination was also a problem for me with this.
 
All the research I've done indicates that tomatillos are not effective self-pollinators. You don't need a male and female plant, like with some plants, but you do need at least two of them.
 
You don't seem to be understanding what I'm saying. It's not getting the pollen to the stamen in and of itself that is the issue. I'm not concerned about the method of pollination at all - we have TONS of different types of bees (and various other flying, stinging bugs) every summer here. From what I've found in my research, you can get a TON of pollen to the stamen, but it won't produce fruit unless that pollen comes from a different tomatillo plant. For all intents and purposes, you can think of it as being very similar to needing a male and female plant - if you don't have at least 2, you won't get any production. In other words, they're not really self-pollinating in the same manner that peppers are, even though they are in the same family.
 
I grew them last year, for different reasons I some how ended up with four different age plants I noticed that once the early one's flowered they kept on flowering even with fruit on them all year. the newer plants grew and flowered when they were ready and also set fruit. hope the answers your question of course I have different growing conditions
 
That is good to know, HawaiiAl - my peppers seemed to flower in cycles last summer, and I wasn't sure if tomatillos would flower in a similar pattern. Think I'll start some more seeds now.
 
I've never heard of determinate and non- determinate tomatillos. I've grown 3 or 4 types and they all grew fairly short and flimsy.

Be aware that once you grow them in a garden, you may never get rid of them. I haven't planted any in over 5 years and I still have them coming up.
 
POTAWIE said:
Be aware that once you grow them in a garden, you may never get rid of them. I haven't planted any in over 5 years and I still have them coming up.
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Yep - the research I did also indicated some of them are considered to be invasive, as their root systems are rhizome-like. I plan on growing in pots only, because of this.
 
Tomatillos are closer related to gooseberries than tomatoes. So, following the growing patterns of gooseberries (or ground cherries as they're also known) might help. A type of gooseberry grows on the mountain here and we saw it two years ago. But last year, it did not return.

If you're looking for seeds, you can't go wrong getting them from here:

http://www.nativeseeds.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_38&osCsid=3rcvd4r1vks3m6s1137me552a3
 
Thanks. I have plenty of seeds though. Was thinking about purchasing some plants locally, which is what my question was about. However, I did start seeds Saturday night, and they sprouted yesterday already - speedy little buggers!
 
Man I planted 40-50 purple tomatillo seeds and I had 100% germination (ot at least very close). I'm glad I found this thread I didn't know some were invasive. I think I'll plant in pots too. If all goes well I plan to make some salsa with purple tomatillos and bhuts ;)
 
Nice, Peppakid. I was thinking that if all goes well this year, I might try the purple the following year. Please post pics once you get some harvested!
 
geeme said:
All the research I've done indicates that tomatillos are not effective self-pollinators. You don't need a male and female plant, like with some plants, but you do need at least two of them.
Click to expand...

That is correct, they are highly self-incompatible, you definitely need at least 2 or you'll get little if any fruit. I think you should be fine starting from seed late, those things grow like nobody's business. Mine have gone from seed put in the potting mix to a foot tall in about 3 weeks. It's a good thing I waited so long to start them because in another week they're gonna have to go outside, I have to move the lights up several times a week. I wish chinenses, or any chile for that matter, grew like that. :eek:

I love tomatillos, I have 5 kinds growing, one small green kind, two large green kinds, a purple variety and a yellow variety.

I could be wrong, but I believe they're all indeterminate. I have never grown a determinate variety or seen anything about indeterminate vs. determinate...
 
Thanks for the info, AB. Right now I'm wondering if I have a tomatillo curse.... if such a thing existed. One of the new sprouts is fine, and growing like a weed. The other? I'm not so sure about it. No big deal, but it did come out with 3 cotyledons. But two of them look like something is going after them. The damage, if it is damage, looks somewhat similar to the damage caused by broad mites, but it is on the edge of the cotyledons, while broad mite damage usually occurs in more mature leaves and somewhere in the middle. Another thing is that broad mite damage results in transparent "holes" in the leaves - they're not really holes, but skeletal-like remains of the leaf where the cell contents have been sucked out. On the tomatillo, the damaged area appears thinner than the rest of the leaf, but it still has color and is not transparent. The cotyledons are still too small for my camera to get a decent pic at this point. At any rate, part of me thinks it is yet another kind of bug, but part of me thinks it might just be a mutation of sort of the cotyledons. If the damage is worse tomorrow, I'll definitely be tossing it and starting again. Hooray for plants that grow like weeds.....
 
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