I love to try new plants at the allotment and for the first time this year I grew the tomatillo, or husk-tomato from Mexico. I sowed just a few seeds which resulted in three plants. Two went to the allotment and one stayed in a pot at home. The one in the pot produced beautiful flowers and looked stunning but there was no sign of fruit. I then discovered you need two plants for proper pollination. The two plants at the allotment grew large and bushy and produced lots of fruits. The seed variety I sowed is called
tomatillo violet, producing dark purple, sweet fruits. I love these sliced up in salad. I also harvested a lot of green ones (many had fallen off the plant) and with these I made chili verde (recipe to follow). These plants are so easy to grow, look pretty and exotic, need very little care, don't suffer from blight like tomatoes, are not available to buy in the shops and will make a delicious meal that you can't buy in any local restaurant. This is why I will be growing lots more next year.
I love to try new plants at the allotment and for the first time this year I grew the tomatillo, or husk-tomato from Mexico. I sowed just a few seeds which resulted in three plants. Two went to the allotment and one stayed in a pot at home. The one in the pot produced beautiful flowers and looked stunning but there was no sign of fruit. I then discovered you need two plants for proper pollination. The two plants at the allotment grew large and bushy and produced lots of fruits. The seed variety I sowed is called tomatillo violet, producing dark purple, sweet fruits. I love these sliced up in salad. I also harvested a lot of green ones (many had fallen off the plant) and with these I made chili verde (recipe to follow). These plants are so easy to grow, look pretty and exotic, need very little care, don't suffer from blight like tomatoes, are not available to buy in the shops and will make a delicious meal that you can't buy in any local restaurant. This is why I will be growing lots more next year.
I am always thinking about growing these husk tomatoes but haven't taken the leap yet. I'm not sure why as they sure are beauties. I'm glad to hear they taste good too~! The flower almost looks like a pansy flower.
ReplyDeleteTry them, they would look great in your garden. I was sure they would be a hit with children, but so far the few I have tried have turned their noses up. The texture is a bit odd. It might just be that it's something new to them.
ReplyDeleteI grew them again this year for the first time sice we moved south. The didn't ripen well enough outside. The ones in the greenhouse did better. I put them in chutney.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky that it was very warm and dry this year. Not sure how they would do outdoors in a very wet summer.
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