Pineapple tomatillos are fruity tasting tomatillos instead of the regular ones that taste "flat" acidic. I have grown them, still do without planting again, and like them for fresh salsas. But, using the BWB to can them in a salsa - the fruity flavor disappears. They do though keep the acidic tang, as all tomatillos do. Worth the 2.95 or whatever you'll pay for a packet. They do come back every year, the little weeders, since I can't possibly pick them ALL and the ripe fruit drops and reseeds. Gee, is this a problem?

Nancy

I thought it was interesting the Cook's Garden catalog, where I saw them, suggested pulling back the husks, after they've ripened, and dipping them in chocolate. What's not to like about that, hey? Pineapple and chocolate.....yum. I'm glad to know they reseed prolifically. That could make me hesitate. I already go through that enough with perennials and wildflowers. I've about come to the conclusion, where flowers are concerned, that ground covers translates quickly to invasive. I don't have the energy anymore to chase after unwanted seedlings. Thanks for the input, Nancy.
jude

That tomatillo has been around a while now. I grew some about 15 years ago for my brother, and his hot sauce making. He also bet me that I couldn't grow hot peppers, he lost that bet too, and took 3 very hot pepper plants home with him.

The 'twinking stocking' was done with an animation program that animates GIF files. You make these as frames and do subtle changes to each frame. The program was part of an older Paint Shop program that will modify any kind of graphic and also change it to another type if necessary.

Here is a link that might be useful: Various tomatillos including pineapple

jude, I just saw those pineapple tomatillo's in Cook's Garden catalog and wondered the same thing. I have never tried any kind of tomatillo and think that might be a new vegetable pick for next year. Can't wait to give these a shot.

I wonder if you can make preserves from them?

Now there's a thought. I wonder if, like Nancy said about the BWB, if they would lose their fruity flavor. What about if you just froze the preserves? Come on all you knowledgable forum friends, help us out here.

jude

They are also called ground cherries, there have been several discussions about them on the vegetable growing forum. If you type 'ground cherry' in the gardenweb search box, you'll come up with several.
There was also some recipes tossed around for preserves and pie if I recall.

Here is a link that might be useful: ground cherry search results...scroll down....

I had Googled pineapple tomatillos and one website, tomatogrowers.com/tomatillos.htm showed ground cherries different from the pineapple tomatillos. I'm still interested in them and will probably order some seeds...I just hope they don't spread like crazy. One of the posters on the link above had a recipe for jam made with them that looks worthy of trying.

The link (TOMATO GROWERS) I provided above has the PINEAPPLE TOMATILLO as the second type listed on the page. The taste is just a 'hint' of pineapple and not as fully flavored as a real pineapple. It would be suitable in a salsa that contains pineapple and other green and yellow fruits and vegetables to offer you a salsa other than a red color. The plants do not produce a lot of these tomatillos, so if you need a lot, choose types that will be more abundent per plant. These are also called 'husk' tomatoes. All have a paperish shell that is easily removed once it shows up s a tan color. The surface of tomatillos tend to have a greasy sticky feel to them, unlike tomatoes, which are smooth. The only types I have seen are the green and purple types.

There was some very interesting information on pests in the link provided by mxbarbie, as well as the jam recipe. Some of the posters had problems with germination, so I've got some home work there too.

Has anyone planted the Pineapple Tomatillo from Cooks Garden? They describe theirs as tasting just like pineapple on low-growing plants that produce huge yields. Also their's are about the size of a large blueberry.

Ken, is the greasy sticky feel hard to remove?

Anyone have any recipes for salsa for them? I tried to Google that and came up empty for recipes using the actual pineapple ones.

Thanks for posting this jude31! I have learned alot already.

The greasy sticky coating on tomatillos is easily removed by rinsing them. It's not like a gum. You don't notice any of it when making something from them, just when peeling back the husk.

The pineapple tomatillo does not have an overly pineapple flavor, more of a citrus tang. Tomatillos of any color are great in any salsa recipe instead of or with tomatoes. Purple tomatillos are easiest to pick since they are the "right" color to see amongst the green leaves and splitting tan husks and are a lot bigger (for me) than a blueberry but I live in the warm South where they like the intense heat of summer. The green ones are by far the most prolific and reseed the same way - prolifically. But, it is free food after all and my garden is not the most tidy so in the walkway they are a weed, growing under my pepper plant, they are treasures. I do not grow ground cherries anymore because I don't like the taste and took more than three years to eradicate from the garden.

Please note that all tomatillos and ground cherries are poisonous when unripe, as are the leaves. Ground cherries are ripe when they fall to the ground - meaning you have to harvest several times a day to keep them in check from reseeding and taking over the world. The tomatillos are ripe when they swell enough to split their husks - the fatter they are the sweeter they are - some of my green ones get to billiard ball size.

If you live with short summers I'd suggest you grow them in black pots sitting on concrete with a south facing wall behind them to maximize the heat and sun they need, and don't over water them.

Nancy

Pretty much everything mentioned by Nancy is true. I doubt if they would be the size of blueberries, as most I grew were ping pong ball size. The sticky skin will dissapear once cleaned and sliced. The husks turn tan color when they split and thats also a good indication that they are ripe.

Here, I never get any to reseed for the following year. Only a very few tomatoes, dill, and my wild onions which set tiny seed balls on the tops of the stalks once the green chive-like blades die back.

Thanks for all the tips. It is good to know Ken that you don't have a reseeding problem in Z6, maybe I won't either as I am Z5.

The idea of growing them in pots might also be good in areas where they turn into a weed. What if you put plastic under the pots and lift the pot and use the plastic to harvest? If that makes sense.

I have ben using a black plastic fabric mulch in my garden. Its a 6 foot wide roll 300 feet long. I cut it to lengths, and cut small round holes to allow the direct seeds and transplants to be planted. Its lasted me 4 years now and I reapply it every year after tilling, then remove it all in the fall once the garden is gone. There are a LOT of weeds here, so I have to do something that can help keep them from showing up even through the fabric and around each planting hole. I start tomato, and all other seeds indoors that need a head start. Then they get moved to my small greenhouse so they will get used to the outside sunlight and heat. This is done for about a week to 10 days, to harden them off. I doubt if you would see any tomatillos sprouting from seeds from previous years. I might have the rare tomato plant that never matures enough, and thats about it. Dill every year will still sprout every summer, even after I have deeply tilled the soil. Thats OK though as I like dill and those surviving seeds from the previous year are usually very healthy and more than 3 feet tall. They survive the winter cold and get a good head start on growing once spring is here. Dill doesn't like transplating and in previous years mine was very puny if I planted transplants of seeds directly in the soil. One very hardy plant I started from seeds is Thyme. Its now on its third year and, I can go out right now and still snip off stems and leaves.

Thanks Ken, I am also glad that you brought up growing dill. That is going to be a must have in the garden this year. We love dill pickles, dilly beans, dilled green tomatoes, etc. Having never grown it I was wondering if I should start it inside. I THINK I remember my mom planting it at the same time as the rest of the garden and it was ready when the cukes came. The seed catalogs seem to have a wide variety of types of dill. Do you have a favorite?

The Mammoth dill is good. I also grow the normal type and the fern leaf type. They all look the same, but mammoth grows much taller wit big seed heads. When I use the seed heads, they are picked when the seeds are just beyond the flower stage and are green swelled up pods. The fernleaf type still produces seed heads, but they take a little longer to produce. Suggest that you plant dill seeds as soon as the soil can be worked in early spring. Mine sits in the cold frozen soil over the winter and will only sprout once the weather gets above 32 degrees. Dill in pots does poorly and is not good when transplanted. Same holds true with cilantro and its seeds (tiny fruits) of coriander. They too can self seed, but are not quite has hardy as the dill. This past summer, I even had a second smaller crop sprout when some of the very early dill plants had dropped their seeds. Sometimes, I plant dill 2-3 times at about 3 weeks apart. I dry the ferns and they are put in a quart canning jar where I put on a lid and pull a vacuum on them. The dill weed keeps its bright green color and flavor much longer that way.

Thanks for all the great info Ken. Yesterday was below zero with the wind chill. It doesn't seem so bad when you are snuggled up with a lap full of seed catalogs does it.

Here, I have about 40 different seed and even tree catalogs now. Most seemed to arrive in just the last week or so. I even got one from the Canadian company Richters which I like for some herb plants. I also get organic seeds from Peaceful Valley, and these are usually free with a shipment of more than about $50. You can even choose what you like from a long list they have. Now, I must wait for the weather to warm up a little so I can plant the new Pluot tree I just got on Wednesday. Its got about 4 different grafts for pluot types. Not cheap, but very healthy looking so far. I think this will be my last fruit tree order, as I have enough now that its taken over about 30% of my vegetable garden area. I only hope the next door neighbor will be getting the big pine and oak trees cut down in his back yard as they are both damaging his big shed, and also making my blueberry bushes grow sideways. This passed summer one of his birch trees fell onto my property. Another half hour and it would have crushed my new AC compressor that was to be installed that same day. The guys who installed that came by just minutes after. We had to drag out that 40+ foot birch so it wouldn't be hitting my house. I do feed the wild birds outside. So far, one sparrow and a tiny chickadee have been striken with severe cold and have not survived. I now have 5 male cardinals and four females. Nice red color on white snow. They all get plenty to eat with 7 feeders, and I even have a heated bird bath out there. Its like a wild bird Disney Land.