Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: carlotta on June 01, 2013, 17:46
-
I have just planted out about 10 tomatillos that I started from seed.
Just wondered if anyone else has tried these before and has any advice or tips.
-
I'm growing some and I have just planted some out, and given the rest away. But it is my first time so I don't know what to expect, or whether they will survive the temperatures here.
-
Ammen that is what I was thinking re the temp and they seem a bit fragile!!
Oh well another James Wong inspired purchase.......
-
Yes! It seemed like a good idea at the time.... ;)
-
I am and cucamelon but its my first time and I was quite sowing and they are only a few inches high they seem to be thriving though fingers crossed
-
I have grown 6 plants from seed and have planted them out this afternoon, they are about 2 inches high. have covered them with individual plastic cloches. Am also growing cucamelon, but is still in PT yet. Will be pleasantly surprised if they thrive.
-
I have grown 6 plants from seed and have planted them out this afternoon, they are about 2 inches high. have covered them with individual plastic cloches. Am also growing cucamelon, but is still in PT yet. Will be pleasantly surprised if they thrive.
How is your cucamelon growing? Mine is very small has quite a few leaves but seems quite bushy and low to the ground :(
-
My Cucamelon is still in Poly Tunnel, I've got about 5 or 6 seedlings growing very slowly :(. Am not sure what to do with them?
-
I grew them a couple of years ago,some in the greenhouse & some outside I think,then had some that must have self seeded outside the following year or the seed went through the composting process. As I recall the ones in the greenhouse made quite tall plants,had lots of smallish to medium fruit. I wasn't keen on the fruit to be honest unless just didn't have the right Salsa recipe. Nice flowers & foliage though. :)
-
I grew tomatillos in the greenhouse a few years back. They grow quite large and are very prolific fruiters, but like Snowdrops, I wasn't too keen on them, so haven't grown them since. They are quite a crispy texture and have a tangy flavour.
My oddity this year is mouse melons. Sunshineband gave me the seeds and I thought they had failed. I was just about to chuck them yesterday, but when I took the placcy bag off, there were 2 tiny little seedlings. They look amazingly fragile, but I shall do my best to get them going :)
-
One thing seems very clear is that the James Wong & sutton seeds waffle about them being easy to grow and more suited to uk climate than traditional crops is not entirely true, in most cases.
-
My tomatillos are now 18 inches high and growing well. My cape gooseberries seem to have stuck at about 8 inches. They look okay nice and green but have not moved for over a week.
-
i grew green tomatillos last year and am doing purple and green ones this year. we loved them, they make an excellent chutney and salsa and we even sliced them very thinly to add a nice tang in a salad. as for growing it was easy, treat much like toms but as sturdy as a chilli plant, 5ft tall ish and prolific fruiter. yum!
-
Just to report I have some flower buds on one of the tomatillos that I planted out. I'm quite surpised as it isn't very big, only about 10 inches tall.
-
I also noticed flower buds on mine, I'm only growing one in a grow bag in the greenhouse gave all the others away
-
Mine are growing quite well and are about 6 inches high no sign of any flowers yet.
-
I picked a couple of fruits where the paper cover had split
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I1wOEWq8ZnI/Ug0BXobVHVI/AAAAAAAAEfQ/nbrgmFMqxKU/s640/IMG_1757.JPG?gl=GB)
and had a taste
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HfJ4YhNuNp8/Ug0BXNnaNiI/AAAAAAAAEfI/y_nS_3DlyG4/s640/IMG_1758.JPG?gl=GB)
and my first reaction was good. Firm flesh, sharp lemony taste. I don't know whether they are ripe though, I'll try leaving them a bit longer to see whether the taste changes.
-
They are quite zesty and lemony Annen. If you leave them the texture changes and they go softer, but I think personally they are better tastewise as you have picked them :)
As BacktoBasics said salsa and chutney are good uses for them. I didn't find them that great to eat raw in salad, but if you like them raw, happy days, as they are very prolific fruiters :)
-
I have lots of fruit on my plants and they are still flowering away.
I have picked some and quite liked the taste of a raw one. However they seem to be a good addition when making vegtable savoury rice. :)
-
Just browsing to see if anyone had posted about tomatilloes and found this thread.
I also grew tomatilloes and cucamelons from James Wong seed this year and they have both been brilliant. I planted out the tomatilloes on the allotment as he suggested and have absolutely loads but am wondering whether to wait until they have gone purple or whether you can harvest them green. I am not sure what to do with the bumper harvest as I don't know how much salsa we can eat! Any (polite) suggestions would be welcome :)
The cucamelons have also been fantastic both in the greenhouse and on the allotment but I fancy the flavour of the outdoor ones is a bit better - maybe better light? They ignored the supports I put up and just scrambled up anything in the vicinity - I am having to hunt for my tomatoes! Cucamelons are great for finger buffets and hors d'oevres and they have been a real talking point among friends and fellow allotmenteers and a couple of people have asked me if I can get them a packet of seeds when I put my horticulatural society seed order in (we get a good discount). I would certainly recommend them as an easy crop and fun for kids to grow (perhaps as a school project?)
-
I've had quite a few tomatilloes so far, but I think the blurb exaggerated when it said they are far more productive than tomatoes. Like you I haven't quite known what to do with them as we don't go much for spicy food, which makes salsa verde a bit redundant!
I usually give them to my son as he often does tex-mex.
I am trying to crystallise some with a view to covering them with dark chocolate and giving them as gifts. But I'm only on the first day so far.
-
I had far too many tomatilos to use and have pulled up the plants and composted them :wub:
I am not going to grow them next year as they were just ok... but more of an experiment really.
-
I had far too many tomatilos to use and have pulled up the plants and composted them :wub:
I am not going to grow them next year as they were just ok... but more of an experiment really.
I agree, an experiment. Unless these crystallised ones turn out brilliantly, I can't see me growing them again.