lol I planted six the first time I grew them and those six took over the entire state of Texas. I think you're in serious tomatillo trouble. I did let them sprawl. That was only a problem in the sense that the tomatillos tried to sprawl enough to cover up the entire garden. It was a very, very dry year though, so letting them sprawl did not result in rotted tomatilloes or diseased foliage.

You know, you could keep 40 for your family, and give one or two plants each to your 50 to 100 nearest neighbors, or to the entire town, whichever comes first.

Maybe the Ozark Forum has a plant swap in your area?

I am afraid the "they will not defeat me" pendulum has swung the opposite way, and you'll spend late summer and early fall trying to figure out how to process all those things. There are worse problems to have, I suppose.

Seriously? Do you have a garden fence you could tie them do like a trellis? Or, could you plant some around your chicken housing to provide shade for them? Or, plant one or two near your most monstrous tomato variety and let them slug it out to see who will be King of the Garden. Maybe plant them all the way around the perimeter of the garden to serve as a windblock or privacy fence. Maybe you'll get lucky and the deer will eat, oh I don't know, maybe 120 of the 140 of them. Have you heard of Sunflower Houses where you plant sunflowers in a square (leave a doorway!), then plant vining plants near them to create a living playhouse, clubhouse or fort for the kids? You could plant a Tomatillo House, maybe alternating tomatillo plants with sunflowers so you could tie up the tomatillo plants to the sunflower stalks as the house 'grows'.

I hope this change in your luck doesn't mean that the vegetables that have grown well in the past won't suddenly turn against you and refuse to grow.

I'm laughing with you, not at you....but I am laughing!

Dawn

I grew four last year which was plenty. They reseeded in other parts of the garden and yard well before summer was over. Why wait? I was concerned I hadn't seen reseeders this year, and forgot to start any. So I begged some off Paula. Guess what? The reseeders are here, the reseeders are here! We're both in trouble.

Here we go again.....

You have chickens? Grow 'em all and feed to the chickies! We used to feed ours all sorts of garden stuff.

(well, maybe a 140 might be a tad too many ;0) )

Lisa

The chickens might start laying tomatillos-flavored eggs!
Seedmama, the way you and Owiebrain are living such parallel lives is starting to get a little bit eerie.

Dawn

Diane, I didn't plant any tomatillos and hadn't planned to do so, but DH put two packs in my basket last week so I guess they are in my future now.

I experienced the same thing this year with tomato plants tho. I had seed packs that only had a few seeds, others were old, some I didn't know much about, etc. One night I planted them as my first planting until I had time to go through my seeds and see what I really wanted to plant. They all came up....many more than I needed. I gave a dozen to a friend, took two dozen to the swap, and I am still planting what I kept. Al just made me 10 new cages this morning so I am filling every space. LOL

Feed those chickens some red peppers and Bacon Vine and you could have pre made omelits.

A couple of years ago I lost all my tomatillo seedlings, so the next year I over-compensated, and of course they all lived to their full sprawling glory. This year I have none, so I'll have to rely on the farmer's markets for my fix.

My problem is that the fruits are always so puny - I expect nice big ones, and they just don't measure up. What varieties are you all growing?
Carol

Ooh, that's a great idea!! I'll grow them along the chicken run fence. I've already got blackberries started along what there is of the garden fence so far so that just leaves the chicken run fence which will be done in the next couple of days. Perfect place, other than the grass growing around it that I'll have to deal with.

Seedmama, how are the bees?

Carol #2, I've just got Toma Verde that I bought from the farm store last year when they were clearancing out their seeds. Lots and lots of Toma Verde...

Diane

I'm jealous! Ours have flopped two years in a row. This year I never got around to starting any.

Yesterday I checked our bees (long over due). One hive had just swarmed and had about 6 ripe queen cells and a newly hatched virgin queen. After the dust settled I had made 5 nukes (starter hives). Strike while the iron's hot!

George
Tahlequah, OK

Oh, George, how great! I'll trade ya a hundred tomatillo seedlings for a couple of nucs. ;-) We're getting ready to do an inspection on ours. We released the queens a week or so ago and we're all anxious to see how they've settled in.

I'm in just for a few to soak up some a/c after being out in the garden for a while. It's in the low 90s here and beautiful! Rain coming in tomorrow and the next day so I'm going to get some transplants in this afternoon.

Diane

I got behind, checking hives, and one swarmed. But I got in there in time to capture a virgin queen and about six queen cells, which were in the process of hatching. So I split them all up and made nukes.

Trust you bee venture goes well!

I was off yesterday and about worked myself "under the table". ;)

George

Yesterday's inspection didn't thrill us. The Italian hive is doing well and we spotted the queen. The Carniolan hive, however, we couldn't find the queen and there were supercedure cells. Trying to do some reading to find out what the best course of action is.

On the tomatillo front, I've spent the morning outside, removing sod around the chicken fence and planting & mulching tomatillo seedlings. I've only gotten about halfway around the fence. I decided to be a mere mortal and take a break for lunch.

Diane

Diane,

Our Russian bees are doing well, according to Seedpapa. He mentioned at some point the Queen had been released. He says that's good, so I trust him.

George,
The best way to get some rest is to go back to work. LOL Missed seeing you at the Fling.

Seedmama

If I'm Carol#2, I have new toma verde seed, but it'll have to wait till next year. Does it yield a bigger tomatilla for you?

Sorry, Carol. In my head, I have to label people with the same names. Soonergrandmom is Carol #1 in my head. I usually just think the numbers but I guess one slipped out of my fingers. Don't worry, I number my kids, too. LOL

I've no clue about the Toma Verde since this is the first year I've not killed the snot out of them. I might have to pay attention next year to varieties if I actually get to taste & like them.

Diane

Diane, Carniolans tend to supersede a lot. My bees have a lot of Buckfast, which is derived from Carniolans. Generally, Carniolans build up rapidly. They swarm more than Italians. Yet in spite of that they produce quite well. Sometimes they will "supersede" and for weeks they will actually have TWO laying queens!
BTW tomatillo flowers are highly favored by honey bees.

George

Thanks, George. I stayed up reading on it into the wee hours last night and came to the conclusion that it's not at all uncommon in new hives and not necessarily something to fret over.

Good to know about the tomatillos and the Carniolans! And two queens? That's cool! I had no idea. So much to learn. (I hope I never run out of exciting things to learn!)

Diane

chop the fruit up, boil with sugar and the juice of one lime = the best jam ever!

Thanks, John! I'll keep that in my notes. We're not big jam/jelly eaters, though. We only go through a total of maybe 2-4 jars each year and that's not a lot considering we have six kids.

Salsa, on the other hand.... Oink!

Diane

Hi All,
I'm new to this forum, although I've been reading your posts through the winter. This is my fifth summer in OK--I moved up from Louisiana, and I'm still learning how to garden in a place with so little rain and such intense summer heat. It's definitely a different world from the Gulf Coast! I grew tomatillos in LA, but I'd been told they wouldn't grow here. I'm excited to learn that they will, but is it too late to start seeds? Is there some place I can get 2 or 3 plants?
I appreciate all the posts. I have learned so much over the past few months. Maybe I'll get the hang of gardening here yet!
Tabatha
Tahlequah

Welcome Tabatha, both to living in Oklahoma and to the forum. Actually, you may be surprised that in Tahlequah you receive much more rain than most of the State but most of us do get intense heat. Owiebrain no longer lives in Oklahoma, but is still one of us.

I don't have any plants to offer and don't normally grow tomatillos, but obviously my husband thinks that I should and put two packs in my shopping basket the other day. I have seen them some years with the plants in the big box stores, but I haven't noticed this year. Hope you find some, but wanted to say 'Welcome' anyway. Carol

Hi Tabatha,

I wanted to say "welcome" as well.

It certainly is not too late to plant tomatillos. I have planted them in June or July in zone 8 in Texas and still havested plenty. I probably wouldn't plant any later than mid-June here, though, just to ensure the crop has time to mature before frost arrives in the fall.

Sometimes you see tomatillo plants at stores that carry Bonnie Plants, and normally I see them in nurseries as well. They usually have the plants in stores in April and May.

Dawn