Vegetable · Solanaceae
Tomatillo
Physalis philadelphica
Plant two together for fruit, give them full sun, and you'll be pulling tart green husks all season.
Full sun
Every 4–7 days
59–86°F · 15–30°C
60–100 days
Overview
The tomatillo is the tart green fruit behind a good salsa verde, grown inside its own papery husk. It belongs to the nightshade family alongside the tomato, but it's a separate plant, Physalis philadelphica, with a sharper, brighter flavor and firmer flesh. People have grown it across Mexico and Central America for centuries, and it ripens while the fruit is still green.
It grows fast and easy as a warm-season annual, sprawling into a big branching plant that needs a cage or stake to stay upright. The one quirk worth knowing up front is that a tomatillo will not crop well alone. Plant two or more together so they can pollinate each other, and the husks fill out instead of hanging empty.
Give it full sun, steady water, and room to spread, and a single pair of plants can outpace a small family's appetite. Harvest once the husk turns tan and starts to split, and pick the fruit firm rather than soft.
Care
The short version: full sun, rich well-drained soil, and about an inch of water a week, with at least two plants set close together so they pollinate and actually set fruit.
Light
Tomatillos want full sun, with as many hours of direct light a day as you can give them. Skimp on light and you get a leggy plant that flowers and fruits poorly.
Water
Give about 1 inch of water a week and keep the soil evenly moist for the best, most uniform fruit. Established plants shrug off a little drought, so water deeply once or twice a week rather than often and shallow. Keep the spray off the leaves and water at the base to hold disease down.
Soil
Plant in rich, well-drained sandy or silty loam with plenty of organic matter, and steer clear of heavy, wet clay. A pH of 6.0 to 7.0 suits them well.
Temperature
They grow best in the warm range of 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C). They take no frost at either end of the season, so set them out only after the cold has truly passed.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity is fine, so there's no number to hit. Good airflow matters far more, since crowded, damp foliage is where most disease starts.
Feeding
Feed lightly at planting in spring and go low on nitrogen, adding phosphorus and potassium only as a soil test calls for. Too much nitrogen grows a leafy plant that drags its feet on flowering and fruit.
Pruning
Tomatillos generally aren't pruned. Stake or cage the sprawling, indeterminate plants and strip off the lower leaves that touch the soil to keep disease down, but skip any heavy cutting.
Size & spacing
Plants reach 3 to 4 feet (90 to 120 cm) tall and spread about as wide, so give each one 3 to 4 feet (90 to 120 cm) of room. That spacing lets air move through and keeps the heavy, branching plants from crowding each other.
When to plant
Tomatillos need warmth and won't take any frost. Start the seeds indoors in late winter, set the plants out once the soil has warmed in late spring, and harvest from midsummer into fall as the husks fill and split.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost
- Plant: After all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed (late spring)
- Harvest: Harvest about 60-75 days after transplanting, when fruit fills the husk and the husk turns tan and begins to split
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–11
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Most tomatillo trouble shows up as empty husks, chewed leaves, or stems flat on the ground. Catch these early and they're easy to turn around. Match what you see below and act while it still helps.
Husks fill out but stay empty or hold tiny fruit
This is almost always a pollination problem, not a soil one. A tomatillo needs a partner, so a lone plant sets few fruit and you end up with papery husks and nothing inside. Grow at least two plants close together, ease off the nitrogen, and bring in bees with nearby flowers.
Fix:
- Grow at least two plants, ideally two different varieties, for cross-pollination
- Encourage pollinating insects
- Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizer
Leaves chewed ragged or stripped to the veins
Several pests go after the foliage, chiefly the three-lined potato beetle, along with tomato hornworms, cutworms, and flea beetles. The good news is that the papery husk shields the fruit even while the leaves take a beating. Pick the beetles and caterpillars off by hand on a small planting, crush any egg masses, and keep scouting so an early infestation never gets ahead of you.
Fix:
- Handpick beetles, larvae, and hornworms on small plantings
- Remove and destroy egg masses
- Scout plants regularly
A big leafy plant that flowers and fruits poorly
Too much nitrogen pushes a tomatillo into all leaf and little fruit. The plant looks deep green and vigorous, yet the flowers and fruit lag well behind. Stop the high-nitrogen feed and add only the phosphorus and potassium a soil test calls for.
Fix:
- Stop applying high-nitrogen fertilizer
- Apply phosphorus and potassium per soil test only as needed
Sprawling stems that flop and lie on the soil
Tomatillos grow as big, branching, indeterminate plants, and once the fruit piles on, the stems bend down to the ground. Cage or stake them and tie the main stems up as they climb. Set the support in at transplanting, before the plant gets too large to wrangle.
Fix:
- Stake or cage plants for support
- Tie up main stems as they grow
Toxicity
The ripe, husked fruit is good to eat, but the rest of the plant is not. Leaves, stems, and unripe green fruit hold a natural compound called solanine that upsets the stomach. Keep the green parts away from pets, livestock, and curious children, and only the firm ripe fruit belongs in the kitchen.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Caution
A cat that nibbles the leaves or an unripe fruit may drool, go off its food, and get an upset stomach. The green parts hold solanine, so keep the foliage out of reach.
Dogs Caution
Chewing the foliage or green fruit can bring on drooling, vomiting, and a flat, tired dog. Most cases are mild, but the leaves and stems are not something to let a dog graze on.
Horses Caution
The green plant parts can leave a horse drooling and off-color with a sour stomach. Watch grazing horses around any stray plants at the edge of a paddock.
Rabbits Caution
Solanine in the leaves and stems makes the foliage a poor choice for rabbits. Skip the greens entirely rather than risk a digestive upset.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep can react to the solanine in the foliage and unripe fruit with gut and nervous-system trouble. Fence them away from plants and cull stems and husks they might chew.
Birds Caution
The green parts are best kept away from poultry and pet birds, since the same alkaloid affects them. A bird is far safer with a piece of the ripe, husked fruit.
People Ripe fruit safe
The ripe, husked tomatillo is a kitchen staple and safe to cook and eat. Leave the leaves, stems, and unripe green fruit out of the pot, since those hold solanine.
The ripe, husk-filled, firm fruit is safe to eat and is the harvested vegetable. Only the leaves, stems, and unripe (immature) fruit are the concern; keep pets and children from chewing green plant parts and discard unripe fruit and husks.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Tomatillos come in a handful of dependable types, from early green pickers to large-fruited and purple selections. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Toma Verde
A popular early pick that ripens flat, apple-green fruit with a bright, tangy bite.
Purple de Milpa
Bears smaller fruit that blush purple and carry a sharper, more intense tartness than the green types.
Grande Rio Verde
A green tomatillo bred for heavy yields of large, sizable fruit.
Gigante
A vigorous grower that puts out notably big green fruit.
How to propagate
Tomatillos are easy to raise from seed, started indoors much like tomatoes, with the one rule that you sow more than one plant.
SeedEasy
Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost; transplant after frost danger passes and soil warms · Transplant-ready in roughly 6-8 weeks; fruiting begins about 60-100 days after transplanting
Start tomatillos from seed indoors, much the way you would tomatoes, about 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. The seedlings are ready to set out in roughly that same window, once the frost danger has passed and the soil has warmed. Sow two or more plants so they can cross-pollinate, and look for the first fruit around 60 to 100 days after transplanting.
Myths
Tomatillos are just unripe green tomatoes.
They are a different plant altogether, Physalis philadelphica, grown inside a papery husk a tomato never has. They ripen while still green and stay firmer and far tarter than any tomato.
A single tomatillo plant will give you a full crop on its own.
One plant sets almost nothing, because tomatillos rely on cross-pollination. Grow at least two together, ideally two varieties, and the fruit follows.
The whole tomatillo plant is edible, the way the fruit is.
Only the ripe, husked fruit is safe to eat. The leaves, stems, and unripe fruit carry solanine-type alkaloids and are poisonous, so they stay out of the kitchen and away from grazing animals.