Aussiemark, I have a part of my garden that is backed by a barn wall and surrounded with a fence which I think I will reinforce with netting as an additional windbreak, and I think that will do well (I might put a persimmon in there as well.) I will take your suggestion of a strong stake. I'll be glad to see pictures of your tree when you can. Tamarillo-dot-com is interesting; I'll have to ask around to see how many varieties are available here in Hawaii. It sounds like tamarillo really is an expensive specialty item in Australia; they are much cheaper here.
Carolyn, I knew it wasn't very directly related to tomatoes (it is interesting to learn how it got that name!), but coming from the same region as things like pepino, naranjilla, and other uncommon relatives of the wider family. I really like the taste of tamarillo--it may just be a better variety and growing conditions here, but I don't find them predominately sour (certainly not on the level of things like guava), but more sweet and with a strong sundried tomato flavor (though the first time I tried it, a few years ago, I didn't think anything of it.) I can see why it might not be practical to market the plants to people in the northeast as a "tomato."
I usually just bite off the end, and squeeze the insides into my mouth, sometimes eating a bit of the skin as well, and I find it really good that way. I've also thought of throwing them into my vitamix whole for a nice sauce/dressing.
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