Tomatillos are a great plant to grow – they look a lot like their similar-sounding cousin the tomato, and they are just as simple to grow. If you’ve been wondering how to grow tomatillos, then this is the read for you! Let’s learn all about how you can make the most of this crop.
How To Grow Tomatillos
These plants are relatively easy to grow and produce their distinctive fruit, but they do (like all plants) have certain conditions that they prefer.
- Choose an area that receives full sun, as these plants like to be kept warm – they are native to Mexico, so they like it hot!
- Ensure that your soil is rich and well draining. It is always a good idea to dig in some good compost before you plant out your tomatillos.
- Plant the seeds indoors, a couple of months before the last frost in your area. Use good quality potting soil to give them the best start.
- Once the weather starts to warm up, harden off your tomatillo plants outdoors so that they can build themselves up to the outside world.
- Plant them in their prepared bed, about 3 feet apart and with 3-4 feet between rows, as these plants can get pretty big.
- Keep the soil moist during the growing season, but be careful not to overwater – about an inch a week should be perfect.
- Pinch out the new shoots as they grow, if you do not want your tomatillo to turn into a Triffid and take over your garden.
- Harvest at the end of the summer, when the fruits are just about to burst out of their papery shells.
- They are not too susceptible to pests, but it’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for nibbled leaves!
Can I Grow Tomatillos In The UK?
In short, yes you can! These plants like to be kept warm, granted, but there is no reason why you can’t grow them in the UK.
If you live in a colder part of the country then you would be better off growing them in a greenhouse or polytunnel – as long as they are warm and get some sun, they should do just fine.
Tomatillos like a full sun position, so if your garden is south facing and warm, you can happily plant them out into a prepared bed.
These great plants will also be happy in a pot – as long as it is big enough, as they are very good at growing very big!
They will need a good solid 6 hours of sunlight a day, so make sure they are in the warmest spot in your garden.
You may have to keep an eye on your plants if there is a particularly wet summer, but in general outdoors, even in chilly Britain, is fine for these easygoing plants.
How Long Do Tomatillos Take To Grow?
All plants take time – some longer than others – to get from seed to seedling to full grown plant to fruit stage.
Tomatillos can vary, but in general they are not too long in getting themselves off the ground and growing well.
They start to sprout, on average, 12 days after they were sowed. They will continue to grow and gain leaves as the season goes on, culminating in their fruiting.
You should start your seeds indoors, 6-8 weeks before the last frost in order to give them a good long growing season.
The time between that first sprout and fruiting time is between 75 and 100 days for a good, healthy tomatillo plant.
As you can see, you won’t have to wait too long before you are harvesting your own delicious tomatillos and all your hard work pays off!
Can Tomatillos Be Grown In Pots?
If you have not much garden space, or you want to keep your tomatillos from taking over, you can happily grow them in pots.
All you need is:
- A big pot (the bigger the better, to allow these tasty creatures room to spread!)
- Good potting soil. Adding some quality organic potting compost to ordinary compost will help immensely.
- Sunshine. These plants do need some good warm sunshine on order to thrive!
A big pot is essential, partly because they need space, and partly because a larger pot will allow better water retention.
Drainage holes are also very necessary, because that water needs to drain out or you’ll end up with rotted roots and no fruit at all!
Tomatillos can grow pretty large – up to 4 or 5 feet tall – so you will need to make sure you have a large space to place your large pots.
You can always use stakes or trellises, as you would with ordinary tomatoes, to help keep them stable and prevent the plants falling and damaging themselves.
This helpful video shows you how to grow tomatillos in pots, from start to finish:
Will Tomatillos Come Back Next Year?
This easygoing plant is very keen to survive, and such it will spread its seeds freely around the place.
If you are happy to have a patch of tomatillos the year after your first patch then feel free to enjoy them as they pop up again.
If, however, you weren’t planning on growing them again then you will have to thoroughly clean the area as they are quite tenacious.
Although this is a perennial plant, in agriculture it is generally grown as if it were an annual, to ensure a strong crop.
Final Words
As you can see, it is super easy to grow this wonderful fruit – it is just about as simple as growing a tomato, and they’re very forgiving plants to grow.
If you fancy stepping away from the standard veg you usually grow, why not branch out into tomatillos? You won’t regret it!
