Tomatillo Help in Texas

[Direct Sunlight]

Originally Posted by SEAMSFASTER

My understanding is that tomatillos are very dependent upon insect pollinators, especially bees - more so than tomatoes. They also tend to drop most of their blossoms early in the season then produce like gang busters later. At least that's been my experience.

I'm raising Toma Verde and Purple. The purples are hardly producing anything, while I can hardly keep up with the Toma Verdes. I have a fair number of pollinators buzzing around, so I'm not sure why the purple is so much less productive.

Ok, I've seen bees all around the pumpkins and wasps around the tomatoes, but haven't seen too many around the tomatillos. If you're right I should expect a sudden surge of production at some point.

[Direct Sunlight]

Originally Posted by ireilly

I have 4 purples, and only one is flowering and setting fruit. It didn't start flowering until maybe a month ago. But this has been a remarkable season for many crops.

Remarkable is right. I was foolish enough to think that okra always grew well here. This year it's been just about a waste. We're breaking the record for hottest summer ever. I've uprooted some of the plants, trying to save water & didn't want to see them wither and die. I may pull the pumpkins if they don't set more fruit by next week, otherwise will feel obligated to water them.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by SEAMSFASTER

My understanding is that tomatillos are very dependent upon insect pollinators, especially bees - more so than tomatoes. They also tend to drop most of their blossoms early in the season then produce like gang busters later. At least that's been my experience.

I'm raising Toma Verde and Purple. The purples are hardly producing anything, while I can hardly keep up with the Toma Verdes. I have a fair number of pollinators buzzing around, so I'm not sure why the purple is so much less productive.

Tomatillos are not just more dependent on insect pollinators and more so than tomatoes, they must be cross pollinated b'c they are self infertile.

Somewhere at the top of the initial thread here on tomatoillos I linked to the excellent article from Purdue on all things tomatillo and it was also mentioned that almost any member of the Physalis genus can also be a source of pollen if within so many feet, which I've forgotten now, but it's in that article, and that's good to know for the persons who grow just one plant and say they get berries and then pooh pooh the info about two plants minimum being needed to get X pollination and berries.

[Direct Sunlight]

They've taken off now. Do anyone else's plants yellow in September, or just mine? One plant died, the other two are literally covered up with blooms and starting to set plenty of tomatillos. Just had to wait from the beginning of May until now, that's all.

[CatSJB]

We have a lot of plants that are blossoming right now that I assume are Tomatillos. I assume this after seeing some Tomatillo fruit for sale in the grocery store. The only problem is that the blossoms on my plants are light purple and are shaped like a five point star. The center of the blossom is yellow. The leaves look somewhat like an oak leave with pointed ends, the underside of the leaves have a thorn on them.

I've found some pictures of Tomatillo blooms that are exactly the same shape as the flowers on my plants but the pictures all show yellow flowers.

Is this a different variety of the Tomatillo? If so, are they safe to eat?

[CatSJB]

Originally Posted by CatSJB

We have a lot of plants that are blossoming right now that I assume are Tomatillos. I assume this after seeing some Tomatillo fruit for sale in the grocery store. The only problem is that the blossoms on my plants are light purple and are shaped like a five point star. The center of the blossom is yellow. The leaves look somewhat like an oak leave with pointed ends, the underside of the leaves have a thorn on them.

I've found some pictures of Tomatillo blooms that are exactly the same shape as the flowers on my plants but the pictures all show yellow flowers.

Is this a different variety of the Tomatillo? If so, are they safe to eat?

Never mind, I seem to have finally been able to find information on this plant and it seems to be a Carolina Horsenettle. The fruit looks so much like a Tomatillo when it's growing, husk and all.