I have a gardening success.
A HUGE gardening success.

I have effectively mastered the art of growing Tomatillos.

Last year I tried to grown them and I failed miserably.  Out of the three plants that were lovingly placed in the ground, 2 died and the third one grew and grew and grew and put forth masses of flowers and continued flowering like it was the last flowering plant on Earth.

But not one Tomatillo developed.
I was devastated.
OK, not really, but it was rather upsetting.

Reason being, Tomatillo plants need another Tomatillo plant beside them in order for the flowers to be pollinated.  No other Tomatillo plant….no pollination….no Tomatillos.    Simple as that.  Mother Nature sure loves to toss curveballs to gardeners.  I don’t try to understand her mysterious ways, I just accept them.   So this year, I tried again, and successfully planted 3 together in one spot.   I babied these things so much hubby was jealous.

This is what they look like now.

The combined plants are over 4 feet tall, with a spread of at least 4 feet across the top.  I have tried to reign them in with stakes and twine, plus giving them regular haircuts, but they are totally out of control.    Tomatillos will give mint a run for the money in the fastest growing/spreading category.  Taking the gold medal and making the mint sulk in the corner of the garden with second place.

Every main branch continually divides itself and shoots off more branches, like a Kardashian family tree, until there are so many branches full of flowers and fruit, you can’t possibly think it will sprout any more.  But it does.  Like the Energizer Bunny…it keeps on going.

There are hundreds of these little green *paper* lanterns hanging everywhere.  If you gently squeeze the husks, you can feel the tomatillo growing inside.  Kinda cool, but they are smothering my pepper and tomato plants in the process.  Next year, they will have a huge area all to themselves to manufacture their tart little green gems en masse.

I arrived home from the Northern Homestead yesterday to find a dozen tomatillos ready for the picking…yippee!!

I have a feeling I will soon be up to my ears in tons of tomatillos.  Good thing I have some recipes to toss them in.  Like fresh or cooked salsas as well as my favourite Mexican dishes like my skinny girl Chilaquiles, Chicken Enchiladas and Black Bean & Wild Rice Enchiladas.

I have created a Monster…and I love it.