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How do you know when they are ready to pick? They grow in seed cases like chinese lanterns, but do the cases change colour when the tomatilloes are ripe? Think they must be related to physalis, but the cases on those turn orange when ripe. HELP!!!!
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No, they don't go orange, but they do go a slightly different colour (lighter i think) and start to split open sometimes. When we grew them last year, we used them in River Cottage Chutney recipe so it didn't matter if they were slightly unripe...! They do grow to about tomato size (Gardeners Delight up to Moneymaker-ish) so if they aren't that big, then they probably aren't ripe. Sorry to be so vague, but the green ones never really look ripe! -
I grew the purple ones this year. As they begin to swell the paper covering splits as it doesnt seem to grow along with the fruit (if you know what i mean) and you can then actually see the colour. Don't know about the green ones but mine certainly felt somewhat softer when they were ripe. Hope this is some help.
And when your back stops aching,
And your hands begin to harden.
You will find yourself a partner,
In the glory of the garden.
Rudyard Kipling.sigpicComment
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Are they faffy to grow? More importantly, are they worth the faff!Whoever plants a garden believes in the future.
www.vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated March 9th - SpringComment
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They make nice chutney!Comment
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They aren't hugely faffy, the main problem I had was that they got too big for the greenhouse, and they had to be pollinated by hand to begin with as the bees didn't find them til later. They also are oddly sticky under the paper-husk, which I didn't like much...Originally posted by Flummery View Post
The flavour of them is something like a cross between a tomato & a grapefruit. OH liked them, but most ended up being used in chutney, so haven't bothered with them this year - we always have plenty of green tomatoes left for chutney!Comment
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SarzWiz is right that they are a bit sticky which I didn't expect. I grew the green ones, all outside in the flower border. They were very easy, bee pollinated etc and only needed the occaisional water and a bit of staking. I grew mine to make salsa for Mexican cooking and did a very nice meal the other night and have frozen so more for later in the year. Only grew about 5 plants this year as they were an experiment but will definitely grow more next year, am thinking of trying some of the purple ones also.
Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.
Which one are you and is it how you want to be?Comment
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