Tomatillo and Tomato problems
Posted by Denise in vegetables, tags: tomatillos, tomatoes, vegetablesI have had several people asking about tomato and tomatillo crop problems.
photo credit: sleepyneko
Most problems seem to be relating back to the weather. Many places have had irregular weather, either too hot and dry or cold nights.
Without seeing a photo I can only guess but here are a few of the more common tomato and tomatillo problems
1. If few flowers are forming on your tomato plants or the flowers drop before setting fruit, possible causes include:
· Excess nitrogen
· Too little sun
· Nighttime temperatures above 70 degrees F or below 50 degrees F
· Drought stress
Stress seems to cause more problems to the tomato family than other problems and it’s easy to over look. Here are a few possible solutions to your problems.
Avoid soil amendments with soluble nitrogen and make sure plants get a full day of sunlight. Keep the soil evenly moist throughout the season. Mulch covers on top of the soil around your tomato plants with help keep soil moisture even.
At planting time, use a balanced, granular fertilizer that’s made for tomatoes. During the growing season, treat your plants to a water-soluble fertilizer. I use a compost tea for my tomatoes. If you don’t use compost tea, you can ask for advice at your garden center
2. Dark, concentrically ringed spots that cover the lower leaves and stems are a sign of early blight. To control the spread of blight, you can use an organic Garden Dust, available in most garden centers. It’s also important to not get water on the leaves when watering and not handling plants when they are wet. This will also cause early blight to spread.
3. Water-soaked patches on fruit that turn brown, dry and papery are a sign of late blight. The stems might also have blackened areas. To control late blight, spray plants with compost tea, or follow the same program of control as for early blight.
4. Cracks in fruit are usually caused by uneven watering. This tends to happen the most in late summer if you have a dry hot spell that changes to a cool spell. If you use mulch to keep the soil evenly moist you should not have this problem.
5. Yellowed, distorted and curled leaves are usually a sign of an infestation of aphids. Check for signs of aphids on the undersides of leaves or on new growth. Aphids are easily combated with a strong jet of water or an application of neem oil will get aphids under control
Distorted leaves could also be tobacco mosaic virus. This virus causes young growth to be narrow and twisted. The leaves become mottled with yellow. If your plants have tobacco mosaic virus they will need to be removed and destroyed.
Note: do not add infected plants into a compost pile. It’s best to burn them.
Tomatoes and tomatillos are favorites in many gardens but they do tend to have disease and stress related problems. 
photo credit: bhamsandwich
Keep them evenly watered, add fertilizer during the season and keep weeds down around the plants. With a watchful eye, they should grow and produce well.
For more information on how to grow the tomatillo check this link: Garden tips: How to grow the Tomatillo, the Tomatoes cousin
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I love tomatillos Denise! To me, tomatillos have a much stronger tomato taste. Yes, they are in the tomatoes family, but maybe because tomatillos are much smaller, I find that they have a unique tomato taste.
Don’t grow them here in Florida, because as you mentioned, tomatillos are diseased prone. We do have plenty of local farmers that do grow then so I am able to get them all the time.
Great article!
Diana
Diana´s last blog ..Tips for a Safe Florida Summer Vacation
I’m wondering if my Tomatillo plant has that virus (mosaic, I think). The leaves have yellow splotches and many of the flowers have fallen off, in fact so has much of the fruit. The tomatillos themselves are not always a nice spherical shape either. I have pictures but do not know how to include them in this message.
It definitely sounds like your tomatillos have a virus. Take a small section of the plant down to a garden center or a home extension office if you have it and have them look at them.
Unfortunately there is no way to include a photo. Denise
my tomatillo plant has lots of blossoms and “husks” no fruit appears to be in the papery husk. Will they still form or is it too late in the season?
I have the same question as Beverly — I have a robust tomatillo, with lots and lots of blossoms and husks (gorgeous paper lanterns) but they are not filling up with fruit. They have been like this for weeks, and it grows like crazy and produces more blossoms and more husks, but no filled ones.
Help!
This is a common problem this year, one I have never experienced.
Hopefully someone else has the answer. Denise
I just read an article about growing tomatillos where there is no fruit. It said you must plant another tomatillo close by in order to get any fruit. That a single plant alone will not produce fruit. My plant is strong and tall and lots of blossoms, but no fruit either!
I have alot of yellow fruit, are they under ripe or over ripe. will they ripen like a tomato does off the plant? My first time growing them, what a jungle I have in Montana.
They are probably about right when it comes to being ripe. They will ripen a little more off the plant but I personally like them to ripen on the plant. I think they have a richer taste that way.
Hi, I am about to plant 2 Tomatilloes- I was planning on one green (Grande Maje) and one purple (De Milpa) plant. Can I expect them to pollinate each other?
Also. I was going to put them both in a 25cm (10″) square plant pot with a tomato frame to support vertical growth. Is this viable? I recognise it will constrain growth, but there are only 2 people who will be eating them and we are planting on a balcony (Sydney, Australia).Thanks, Ian.
Yes, the two different varieties of tomatillos will pollinate each other.
If you could do a planting just a few inches bigger it would be better health wide for the plant. Have you thought about having one in a pot and hanging one if you have room to hang plants. Tomatillos do very well in a hanging planter. Denise
I am planing tomatillos for my first time. If I put two hanging planters about a foot apart will they pollinate each other? I am new to gardening and so know very little about any of this.
Thanks for your time,
Robyn
Yes, you should be fine. Denise
Maybe you can help me with a problem I’ve been having. I have grown tomatillos for years (or I should say “planted”). The plants do well, they flower and produce fruit, the only problem is is that the fruits never get big, or even average size (even the gigantes). Do you know what I can do to get average size fruits? I just pick them and throw them away, then finally pull up the plants out of frustration, when I say small, I mean barely bigger than a pea. I live in the tulsa area, zone 6B or 7 depending on the chart you view. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I had decided not to grow them this year, but really do want to.
Thanks,
Pam