Tomatillos not fruiting

14 years ago

Here is my story. I grew two tomatillo plants last year from seed and got an abundance of fruit. Some fruit fell and this spring I got a zillion volunteer plants. I gave a bunch away to friends and transplanted two. Everyone else whom I gave plants to has fruit. My plants are huge with a zillion flowers and very contented bumblebees. I've had flowers since I transplanted the seedlings in mid-May and they continue to flower. I have exactly one husk with a fruit in it. No other husks. All other plants in my garden are doing perfectly well - well within reason. I've harvested over 300 Roma tomatoes, for example. So I don't think I have nutrient issues. The two tomatillo plants are right next to each other so cross-pollination should not be an issue.

Do you think I could have ended up with two seedlings from the same fruit? Would that have made them genetically identical and therefore not able to cross-fertilize? Then why did one fruit set?

I'm happy to say this was a year for the bees and not for me, but I really would like to know what I should do differently next year. Anyone heard anything like this?

My 13-yr old is confident that the plant will simply produce late, but honestly, they've been flowering for a couple of months now and (out of the plant's earshot) I'm not that confident any more.

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Comments (4)

jimster
14 years ago
Has the weather been hot in Maryland? :-) Tomatoes don't pollinate above a certain temperature and I suspect thet tomatillos, which are a similar plant, may not either. Of course, that doesn't explain why your tomatoes are producing but the tomatillos aren't. Hmmm...

I agree with your 13-year old. In my experience it is common for tomatillos to produce late, and abundantly when they do. I don't think any of the other suspected causes are the reason. Two plants are not required for pollination, for example. That is myth.

Jim
hcoon
14 years ago
All I know is that this is my third year growing them and usually they don't fruit until very late for me. This year I am growing them in 2 locations, and in one I am starting to get lots of tomatillos -- for the first time ever!
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briggszilla
14 years ago
Hey sab -

I posted a thread like this a few weeks ago, and just posted an update (finally having success in Rhode Island)! I say just leave them alone (treat like weeds) and wait it out, and they'll probably start producing for ya.

Here is my update:

An update:
My plants are finally beginning to fruit!

Some things have changed since I last posted...

- It has been slightly cooler lately (mid-high 80's most days)
- I started treating the plants like 'weeds', stopped watering them, the only water they get now is from rain.
- It seems like bees are starting to take more notice of them. Up until the last few days, I had never seen a single bee come up to them (I've sat and watched multiple times). But for some reason lately, there are bees pollinating them almost every time I look!

Here's a pic of my biggest fruit so far: http://imgur.com/pvtcp

I still have blossoms dropping, but now there are some fruiting at least!

Here is a link that might be useful: My thread
flatlander_blues
14 years ago
I say wait it out too. I grew tomatillos for my first time this year. Used 3 starters after a conversation w/ a friend of mine who grew 1 last year and ended up with empty paper husks all season. Mine took a while to fruit, then when they did, it's been remarkable. I am harvesting 20-30 every 3 days or so now, and will be for some time to come from what I can see. One thing that I tried from seeing online is picking off flowers from one plant and gently rubbing them on flowers of the other plant to help with pollination. Once I did that, mine really took off. Could be coincidence, but I was ready to try anything! Another vote for your 13-year-old!

Unfortunately mine seem to have an affliction now that I posted about a few days ago (see link below). Still waiting to hear from anyone who has grown them before. If anyone can help I greatly appreciate it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomatillos yellowing