Description

Tomatillos are essential to a wide variety of Mexican foods. 'Grande Rio Verde' yields ripe fruit nearly all at once on compact plants (about 24″ tall), thus lending themselves to smaller spaces or containers. A shorter harvest window is ideal for canning or freezing your favorite tomatillo-based sauces, or you can simply freeze tomatillos for use later. Tomatillos thrive in growing conditions similar to tomatoes (because they are related) but will handle a lot more heat. Grow two or more plants to ensure good pollination.

Botanical Name: Physalis philadelphica
Days to Maturity: 85 Days from transplanting
Family: Solanaceae
Native: Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala
Hardiness: Frost-sensitive annual
Plant Dimensions: 24″ tall and about as wide
Variety Information: 3 ounce, green fruit inside a thin, papery husk

When to Sow Outside: 2 to 4 weeks after your average last frost date, and when soil temperature is at least 60°F.
When to Start Inside: RECOMMENDED. 4 to 6 weeks before your average last frost date. Ideal soil temperature for germination is 80° – 85°F.
Days to Emerge: 10 Days
Seed Depth: ¼”
Seed Spacing: A group of 3 seeds every 18″
Row Spacing: 36″
Thinning: When 2″ tall, thin to 1 every 18″

This packet yields approximately 80 plants when started indoors. 360 seeds.