Tomatillos in Containers

angelique · February 23, 2006

Hi All,

Do you think that 2 tomatillo plants would do okay in a 12 or 15 gallon container?

Cheers,

Angelique

chilhuacle · February 23, 2006

I think so. I had 3 plants in the ground about that close together and they did great. Just give them something to climb on and you should have great production.

Bruce

sacratomato70 · March 5, 2006

Hi Angelique,
Two should work fine in a 12-15 gal container. They are vinelike in nature so you might want to stake or cage them, but can go unsupported and be allowed to sprawl. The green ones I have grown get to about 3 ft tall. They love hot weather so if you start them from seed now, you should do okay. Last year I started mine in February and that was too early. They grow fast in about 6 weeks and do not need 8-10 weeks to establish themselves. Never grew them in a container but it will be interesting to hear about how well they turn out. Good luck

Sorellina · March 7, 2006

Ciao all,

I think I can speak to this a little. Last year, I wanted to grow tomatillos for the first time so I asked a lot of newbie questions and learned from Carolyn that planting 2 plants of the same variety is necessary for fruit production. So my plan was to put 3 plants of each variety into a 15 gallon IKEA bucket of its very own. No one told me and I didn't think to ask how FAST tomatillo seedlings grow. It's way fast, it's faster than December when you don't start your Christmas shopping until the last minute. And they are FRIABLE little critters too, so when it comes time to pot up, their stems will snap off very easily. We didn't have lights last year and I figured I'd start the tomatillos when I started the tomatoes..the weekend before Easter. They got way leggy by the time it came time to pot up to their 15 gallon buckets and I lost quite a few seedlings. I was left with 6, so I planted the entire works into one 15 gallon bucket. I had Verde, Giant Yellow, and Purple growing happily, albeit cramped together. This picture was the result. Sorry you can't see the container, but this is the only picture of my tomatillos that I've labelled. THAT bit of work is on my 'to-do' list and I'm hugely respectful of any of you who manage to keep up with the labelling on all of their pictures. Ok, see if this works:

Emaewest · March 7, 2006

Quote:

Do you think that 2 tomatillo plants would do okay in a 12 or 15 gallon container?

Absolutely! I've grown them in 8" pots and they produced dozens of fruit, though the plants only got to be about 2 1/2 to 3' tall. As long as you have at least two for pollination, you should have no problems at all. They grow like weeds!

angelique · March 7, 2006

Hi All,

Thank you all for your advice. I think that I might be brave and put 3 tomatillo plants in a 12 or 15 gallon container.

I only have 3 seedlings growing. They are quite leggy. I think that I should probably start some more.

Cheers,

Angelique

travis · March 9, 2006

Julianna,

You grew tomatilloes in Canada, right?

Do you think a person could grow tomatilloes directly seeded into containers say March 21 - April 15, and still get a decent production in terms of DTM? I'm in zone 6a, Southern Indiana.

I think the seeds I have (saved from a grocery store tomatillo) are Cisineros or something very similar. The tomatillo was huge, green and shown in TGS catalog to be 75 days to maturity.

I've run out of space for starting seedlings, but I could direct seed to 5-gallon containers and set them in and out of the garage on warm days beginning in the next few weeks.

PV

February 23, 2006	#1
angelique Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Rocklin, California Posts: 501	Tomatillos in Containers Hi All, Do you think that 2 tomatillo plants would do okay in a 12 or 15 gallon container? Cheers, Angelique

March 5, 2006	#3
sacratomato70 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Sacramento, CA Posts: 19	Tomatillos in Containers Hi Angelique, Two should work fine in a 12-15 gal container. They are vinelike in nature so you might want to stake or cage them, but can go unsupported and be allowed to sprawl. The green ones I have grown get to about 3 ft tall. They love hot weather so if you start them from seed now, you should do okay. Last year I started mine in February and that was too early. They grow fast in about 6 weeks and do not need 8-10 weeks to establish themselves. Never grew them in a container but it will be interesting to hear about how well they turn out. Good luck

March 7, 2006	#4
Sorellina Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 300	Ciao all, I think I can speak to this a little. Last year, I wanted to grow tomatillos for the first time so I asked a lot of newbie questions and learned from Carolyn that planting 2 plants of the same variety is necessary for fruit production. So my plan was to put 3 plants of each variety into a 15 gallon IKEA bucket of its very own. No one told me and I didn't think to ask how FAST tomatillo seedlings grow. It's way fast, it's faster than December when you don't start your Christmas shopping until the last minute. And they are FRIABLE little critters too, so when it comes time to pot up, their stems will snap off very easily. We didn't have lights last year and I figured I'd start the tomatillos when I started the tomatoes..the weekend before Easter. They got way leggy by the time it came time to pot up to their 15 gallon buckets and I lost quite a few seedlings. I was left with 6, so I planted the entire works into one 15 gallon bucket. I had Verde, Giant Yellow, and Purple growing happily, albeit cramped together. This picture was the result. Sorry you can't see the container, but this is the only picture of my tomatillos that I've labelled. THAT bit of work is on my 'to-do' list and I'm hugely respectful of any of you who manage to keep up with the labelling on all of their pictures. Ok, see if this works: __________________ Grazie a tutti, Julianna

February 23, 2006	#2
chilhuacle Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Concord CA z9b, just west of Tomatoville Posts: 415	I think so. I had 3 plants in the ground about that close together and they did great. Just give them something to climb on and you should have great production. Bruce

March 9, 2006	#7
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	Julianna, You grew tomatilloes in Canada, right? Do you think a person could grow tomatilloes directly seeded into containers say March 21 - April 15, and still get a decent production in terms of DTM? I'm in zone 6a, Southern Indiana. I think the seeds I have (saved from a grocery store tomatillo) are Cisineros or something very similar. The tomatillo was huge, green and shown in TGS catalog to be 75 days to maturity. I've run out of space for starting seedlings, but I could direct seed to 5-gallon containers and set them in and out of the garage on warm days beginning in the next few weeks. PV