Tomatillos and pysalis

[ancee]

Hmmm... These have both gone a bit rampant inside the poly tunnel and in the garden. They started off with little yellow flowers which were kindly pollinated and then turned into little green lantern shaped hollow thingies (for want of a better word!). Slowly a fruit has formed inside the lantern, I've had a gentle prod and a squeeze. But they seem to take an awfully long time to be ready! They started well before my tomatoes and cucumbers could be bothered to fruit! Anybody know how long I have left to wait until they are ready! I'm assuming i have to wait until the lanterns go brown? They are from the same family I think, the physalis in the poly were a mistake, they hid behind the tomatillos and crept up tall before I realised the were sneaking!


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[zazen999]

Yes they usually ripen off quite late however in a poly they should be fine. Mine I think didn't ripen until October but they were outside.

[veggiechicken]

No idea how long you have to wait in weeks but the Phsyalis pods turn papery and the fruit inside glows orange. The deeper the "orange", the riper it is. They tend to fall off when really ripe but they're quite safe in their papery packing.
I grew tomatilloes last year and had the same problem - not a clue when they were ripe!

[ancee]

The physalis are from you VC! They've done ever so well. I cannot wait to eat them! i can't remember if the tomatillos were purple I'll have to find the packet and then once I know the colour hopefully I'll have a better idea! It'll be a taste trial and error but hopefully not as eventful as the electric daisy taste challenge - which incidentally no one will do again - bunch of chickens my lot are!


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[veggiechicken]

Really pleased they've grown for you Ancee With luck, they'll be back next year and you'll have a bigger crop.
I think of them as winter fruit, the sort you find in the GH on a cold winter's day, and you unwrap it from its husk, and taste the summer sun, and pineapples and guavas and all things tropical and exotic. As you can tell, I like them

[ancee]

Brilliant I can't wait! I hope we are inundated are they perennial then or will they just self seed? They've done well in the garden as well as the sneaky ones that shouldn't have been in the poly tunnel!


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[veggiechicken]

Perennial in a GH (for me anyway) and they self seed if a fruit falls to the ground unnoticed! Then you'll find a little cluster of seedlings in spring, ready to be potted on.
My plant lasted about 5 years and grew a massive "trunk" in an open bottomed pot sitting on a bed no more than 3-4" deep. Tough as old boots
I'm growing new plants this year and they're just coming into bud.

[spanish_gardener]

Yes they usually ripen off quite late however in a poly they should be fine. Mine I think didn't ripen until October but they were outside.

Same here. Mines are inside the polytunel and they are not ready either.

[muddyfeet]

I've been picking the tomatilloes when the skin has just split. They are a sharper limey flavour then when still green and I prefer that. If you leave them till they are purple or the skin has gone brown, they are less acid and have a softer flavour, a bit like a very ripe tomato but lemony, if you can imagine that.

What do you think of the idea to crystallise slices of tomatillo and then dip in dark chocolate?
Might make interesting presents?

[Pineberry]

My physalis inside the polytunnel is very tall but not a single flower yet. On the allotment I picked my first inca berry though. Strange - too hot, or what?

[ancee]

I thought they were the same thing Pineberry? Just a different name, I bought Inca berries from James Wong, they failed, so VC sent me some from the seed swap (3 different varieties) and all three have thrived! Who needs Mr Wong when we grapes have got our own Ms Right!!!

[Scarlet]

Some of my cape gooseberries have been ready for a while although There are plenty more to come. They are along the back of my GH, so nice and warm!
I didn't grow tomatillos this year, I was the only one who liked them in my family..

[Alison]

You can pick tomatillos whenever you think they're big enough to use. I've never left them to go papery so not sure if they do. Mine get HUGE even outside and I've had pounds and pounds off just 3 plants. Dunno about cape gooseberries though, look nice but taste rubbish to me.

[ancee]

I'll try them then Alison, some of them are about golf ball size but still encased in their green jackets.... watch this space...

[Alison]

Golf ball size is pretty big. What have you planned for them. I use mine in chutneys, salsas and Mexican cooking.