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Tiffany has had these tomatillos volunteer every year after first planting in 2019, and appreciates them for making her life easier, as it’s one less plant to worry about starting/planting. The plants produce pretty well in part-shade and in areas with shallow/poor soil, so it usually pops up in my less-than-ideal growing areas, along walk-ways, outside of garden beds. Tiffany makes tons of fire roasted salsa with these tomatillos (also adding AGSCs Italia Pepper and Cold Hardy Cilantro!). She can collect bucketfuls of fruit at a time and process a few large batches with hot water bath canning throughout the growing season to have salsa verde all throughout the year. Add a jar of this salsa to the slow cooker with some chicken thighs for a simple protein for dinner, or add it to ground meat and some beans for a quick chili.
Sow seeds at a depth of about ¼ inch, lightly covering them with soil once soil temperatures remain steadily above 60°F. Tomatillos are self-incompatible, so at least two plants are needed for cross-pollination and good fruit set. 70-80 days to harvest. Plants are bushy with sprawling vines, typically reaching 3-4 feet in height, and they bear prolifically from midsummer through frost. The blooms are small and yellow, eventually producing medium-sized (usually 1"-2") fruits encased in papery husks that split open as the fruit matures. The fruit skin is sticky and thin, and the flesh is crisp, juicy, tangy, and mildly sweet when fully ripe. With full-sun exposure, this variety tends to have purple venation on the husks and fruits ripens to purple. Each plant can easily set 50-100 fruits, and each tomatillo can contain over 100 seeds, so as some fruits drop throughout the season, it readily self seeds and tends to come back every spring.
Support with a trellis or tomato cage. Grow in full sun for the most purple coloring, otherwise will grow in part-shade and produce green fruits with purple blushing when mature. Leaves are susceptible to flea beetle damage but do not affect fruit set - sticky traps help. Keep an eye out for holes in the husks for signs of slugs/caterpillars/worms eating the fruit inside. Pick regularly throughout the season!
Fireroasted Tomatillo Salsa Recipe
~50 tomatillos
1 green pepper, cored
4 jalapenos
1 onion, halved
6 cloves garlic
salt
Juice of 1 - 2 limes
1 bunch cilantro, rough chop
1. On a large sheet tray, place peppers (skin side up), onions (cut side up), and garlic. Fill remaining space with tomatillos (or halved tomatoes, skin side up)
2. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt
3. Place sheet pan under broiler on high
4. Cook until skins start to blister, rotating pan as needed for even charring
5. Remove from heat and let cool slightly
6. Remove pepper (and tomato) skin if desired by peeling/rinsing off under running water
7. Place all ingredients + lime juice & cilantro in a blender or food processor and pulse until desired texture, adding more lime juice/water as needed.
Tiffany Shultz, Spiderweb Acre, Leicester, NC
Spiderweb Acre is a one-acre permaculture homestead just outside of Asheville, growing a variety of culinary, medicinal, and multipurpose grain/fodder crops. As both Chef and Farmer, Tiffany focuses on building community resilience through creating & sharing herbal folk remedies and delicious & nutritious locally-grown food.
