In some places, tomatillos are considered an agricultural weed. I hope so, that means they should thrive quite well on my neglect.

Mine are not growing as quickly as a weed, but still respectable. Better than a couple of my peppers...

I got three of them plus a tomato that snuck in the packet somehow. More tomatoes are not what I need so it was culled. I will probably plant all three of them, for pollination sake.

Good luck with yours, I'm putting mine in some large pots with tomato cages, just like my peppers. Hopefully it works out, we shall see.

And I do believe that husk tomatoes and tomatillos are synonymous.

Steve, I use a large standard tomato cage with my tomatillos, and it's usually enough to keep them upright. I typically get 36-40 inches of height on mine, and the plants are very bushy without any pruning or topping.

I love my tomatillos! Even when everything else is having a disappointing year, they go wild. They MUST be a weed!!!!! I always grow two for pollination (although this may not be necessary....conflicting info on that). They produce so much that I use lots, freeze lots, and still give away grocery bags full.

Better start construction on your road side stand now.

Ya know, this reminds me of the time I grew bulb fennel ...

Big plants, that I had only the vaguest notion of what use they could serve! In this case, I have experience with salsa-making but the plants may make my garden transit more difficult.

Some of my decisions on locating will depend on DW. Committed to tomato sprawl, while trying not to end up flat on my face personally, DW is the one to venture into the patch for harvesting. I prowl the perimeter, picking there and in charge of buckets.

Last week, the neighbor was telling about her husband and his salsa-making ... I'd still see the plants nearly every day! I'm guessing that I would have to make arrangements so that I could get enough to take home and cook up ... if the plants made unappreciated trouble for her ..? I wonder why I had the idea that they were small plants ..!

Steve

The bigger of the two I have is close to 4' tall and probably a solid 3' wide. The other is not far behind.

Yup, these things are weeds. But that's okay, many of my other plants are not doing so swell so it's nice to have something going gangbusters on me.

i have volunteers coming up annually. they had not come up for a decade and a half. my seeds are offspring of plants i bought 20+ years ago, when my daughter was a youngster. i have not purchased any since then. they are prolific and will lay dormant until the opportunity knocks. not related to the tomato at all (some people think they are) but are the base for great salsa verde! i just replanted several volunteers between my aligned furrows and every one survived. they are quick massive and rather gorgeous plants. have fun! (i am in Los Angeles area, perfect climate)

We have some wild Physalis (tomatillo genus) that grow around here. They are everywhere at work, furthering my belief that these are in fact merely weeds that are yummy. Like I said, I don't care. I use them in both salsa and chili verde. I also use them in pico de gallo. This is the first time I've ever grown my own however, and they are residing in some big pots. Well, I THOUGHT they were big when I first planted these guys in them....

They are in the same family as tomatoes, both being nightshades, along with eggplant, peppers, potatoes, and tobacco. Not to mention a myriad of non-edible plants and weeds (one that instantly jumps to mind is the violent buffalo burr that has leaves like a watermelon and covered in spines like a cactus, actually a pretty cool plant).

My tomatillos are doing well, already at least 3 1/2 feet high - I have them confined in a large tomato cage having experienced their "sprawl" last year, my first year of growing them. Last year by the time they began to produce it was so late in the season that I didn't get many mature fruits before the first frost felled the plants. I am hoping to have better luck with that this year. If all goes well I will have all the "parts" so that I can make some good salsa by the end of the summer - actually have a "sauce" tomato growing this year (San Marzano,) another first for me, just for that purpose. Not that I am an expert salsa maker, but I plan to learn!

Holly

Ha! First learn how. Then, learn better.

Two plants are planted together and I looked at them this morning. They are tall and healthy!

I saw no fruit ...

Steve