[CH] Invasion of the Killer Tomatillers

JeffJCOA@aol.com
Sun, 25 Jul 1999 08:06:06 EDT

A word to the unwise about growing these little beauties....

If you have a few tomatillo vines in your garden this year, don't be 
surprised next season when 14 billion (count 'em!) little volunteer tomatillo 
plants start sprouting up. 

My tilled garden was fairly weed free early in the season, then I noticed all 
these little "weeds" sprouting up.  A week or so later, after the leaves 
developed some more, I realized what they were.  The fact that they popped up 
within a few feet of last year's tomatillo plant location made it even easier 
to identify them.

I had tomatillos in the basil, tomatillos in the peppers, tomatillos in the 
beans, tomatillos in the tomatoes, and tomatillos in the tomatillos.  These 
little guys are prolific!

After a massive slaughter (perhaps you read about it), I've got 3-4 decent 
size tomatillo plants left.  Based on my experience from last year, that 
should be enough to feed a small 3rd world country (or 1 CH).

Next year, I might not bother starting any tomatillos from seed alng with the 
peppers.  A few tomatillo fruit left on the ground to rot at the end of the 
season should do quite nicely.

Jeff Johnson
Germantown, OH