Maturity:
85 Days
Difficulty:
Easy
TOMATILLO - Ground Cherry or Husk Tomato
Approx. 2,500 seeds per oz/28 gr
CULTURE: Start seed indoors Apr. 1st in individual 2.25 in/6 cm peat pots or sow thinly in rows, just like tomato or eggplant seed. Germinate at 70°F/21°C soil temp. for 10 days. Press seed into the soil surface and cover seed lightly with soil. Transplant seedlings 5 weeks after seeding into flats or thin pots to the strongest seedling. Transplant outdoors in late May or early June after danger of frost. Plants are quite bushy and should be spaced 20 in/51 cm apart in 4 ft/122 cm rows. They grow about 16 in/41 cm tall.
HARVEST: Eat fruit fresh or pick for preserves just as it turns yellow. The small yellow cherry-sized tomatoes are rather soft, quite seedy and can be used several ways including fried, baked, stewed, dessert sauces, preserves and meat dishes. Husk tomatoes are used extensively in Latin American dishes as a sauce ingredient (chilis rellanos).