Tomatillos are fun to grow in the garden, and there are tons of yummy uses for them in the kitchen. If you’re new to growing this cool vegetable in your garden, it can be tricky to know when and how to harvest tomatillos.
Tomatillos start out as cute lanterns or balloons, and sometimes these little lanterns will grow huge long before the tomatillo inside is ready to harvest.
You might think the tomatillos look like they’re ready to be harvested, but one quick squeeze and you’ll discover that the lanterns are empty.
Don’t worry, soon it will be obvious when your tomatillos are ready to be harvested.
Tomatillos On The Vine
When To Harvest Tomatillos
There are a few ways to tell that it’s time to harvest tomatillos.
One way to tell that tomatillos are ready to harvest is that the the outer husk (the cute lantern) splits open, and it looks like the tomatillo is busting out.
The husk may turn brown and papery once it splits open, or it might stay soft and green. Either way, a tomatillo is ready to harvest once the husk splits open.
Another way to tell that it’s time to harvest tomatillos is when the husk turns brown and papery, but it doesn’t split open.
Once the husk turns brown and papery, the tomatillo is ready to harvest even if the husk hasn’t split open.
Harvest Tomatillos When Outer Skin Turns Brown
How To Harvest Tomatillos
Once you determine that a tomatillo is ready to harvest, it’s best to cut it off the plant rather than pulling it off.
But many times ripe tomatillos will come off the vine easily with a gentle twist.
Just don’t tug or force the ripe tomatillo off the plant or you could damage the stem.
Related Post: Free Garden Harvest Tracking Sheet & Guide
Tomatillos That Are Ready To Harvest
Tomatillos can also be harvested when they’re small, before the husk turns brown or splits open.
So, if a hard freeze is coming, you can harvest all the tomatillos that are left on the plant, and still use the small ones for your recipes.
Once the plant starts to get heavy with tomatillos, you will need to stake tomatillo plants in order to keep the stems from collapsing to the ground – just like you stake tomato plants.
Tomatillos take a long time to produce fruit, 70-100 days. But they are pretty cold hardy and can withstand the first few light frosts in the fall.
If you’re interested in growing tomatillos in your garden, here are some great quality seeds you can buy to get started… green tomatillo seeds and purple tomatillo seeds.
More Garden Harvesting Posts
- When To Harvest Onions From Your Garden
- Harvesting And Storing Fresh Basil Leaves
- How to Harvest Chives
- How To Harvest Lavender Fresh From The Garden
- When To Harvest Potatoes From Your Garden
Do you have any tips for how to harvest tomatillos? Please share them in the comments section below.
Mike the Gardener says
I grew tomatillos a couple of years ago and they did great. My neighbor is much better with them than I. He also makes a great tomatillo salsa that is fantastic with a whole wheat cracker.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yum, I love tomatillo salsa!!
Ellen Peavey says
This is my first year growing tomatillo’s I planted eight plants didn’t realized how big they would grow. Thank goodness I put tomato cages over all of the plants early they have already out grown those cages and wandering into the tomato plants. Now I know what to look for when getting ready to pick the tomatillo. I’m going to check them this morning thanks for the information. Ellen from Georgia
Amy Andrychowicz says
Haha, yes I had the exact same thing happen to me! They get huge!! You’re welcome, happy I could help. 🙂
LaWana Meade says
This is my first year growing tomatillas. I bought a plant from a store. I planted only that one plant. My plant probably has 200 tomatillas on the plant. Had no idea it would yield that many. If they all do not ripen before our first frost can I bring them inside to ripen?
Amy Andrychowicz says
How fun!! They are prolific plants, aren’t they? Love it! You can actually use tomatillos when they’re small too, just like you would use them when they’re ripe. They’re sweeter when they are ripe. I always harvest everything that’s on the plant before frost, and then I use them to make sauces and salsas. I freeze the sauces and either can the salsa, or eat it. 🙂 Yum!
Bruce says
Great information on when to harvest the tomatillos. I’ve always been uncertain as to whether to wait for the lantern to turn brown before harvesting. But I live in Washington State and the lanterns never seem to turn brown.
We harvest anyway and cook them like you would fried green tomatoes. Yummy!
I’m going to try freezing some of them this year. Thanks for the info.
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome! Yep, we harvest them young too, they good to eat even when they’re small. Enjoy!
Lou Beaudette says
My first year growing these little beauties! I need to add more support as The plants are prolofic producers and they are weighing down the branches. Wondering how long they will keep in my pantry before I have to start ptocessing them? Do they ripen like a tomato in the dark? Do they stay green? Need some recipes now to make some salsa and whatever else they are good for?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, they will need support for sure! I use wire tomato cages to support my tomatillo plants, they work great! Tomatillos will stay green, and won’t ripen like tomatoes. You can eat a tomatillo at any size, so in the fall I just harvest everything that’s left on the plant and use it in recipes like salsa and sauces.
Marie says
I have never grown tomatillos before but this is handy information to have. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome!
CherGoes says
Well, this is my first year ever growing Tomatillos…
Growing some in the ‘traditional’ in ground method, where
They’ve only grown to approximately 1.5 to 2 feet tall.
I am also growing 2 different varieties in just 5 gallon Root Pouches, and the ones in the bags have so far grown to almost SIX feet tall!!!! AND they’re LOADED with fruit that are just about ripe!!!
They are amazingly beautiful plants!
We have never eaten Tomatillos before… But I think that even if we don’t like them… I’m going to grow them, JUST for their beauty and the fact that they are major pollinator magnets… And SELL the fruit! Lol???
Amy Andrychowicz says
Haha, awesome idea! I think you’re gonna love them though. They’re excellent for salsa and other sauces you can make for Mexican dishes, there are tons options for using tomatillos in cooking!
Sahana says
Thank you for the tips on harvesting Tomatillos!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome, thanks for stopping by!
ida M. Cordova says
Are tomatillos good to eat when the fruit turns yellow. They seem firm and the shell is brown.
Amy Andrychowicz says
There are some varieties of tomatillos that are yellow, so I’m guessing that’s what yours are. 🙂
Dionne says
My first time growing tomatillos also. I purchased two small pots with plastic ID’s stating they were ‘Heritage Tomatoes’! The leaves looked different but I didn’t think much about that. UNTIL, they began producing these
strange little lanterns! I thought they were ‘Japanese Lantern’ plants, so just watched them in amusement until
they became so large I had to pop tall strong tomato cages (manufactured from fencing rolled into ‘tubes’) over
each plant.
Friends told me they are tomatillos, which I have never tasted before, although I have seen them in markets.
So grateful to find harvesting suggestions, I had no idea what to do with them before. There is also a site
with many recipes offered. I saved that site also because my two plants are to the tops of the cages and far
beyond, so are over six feet tall. They are both absolutely loaded with fruit, so I should be able to try all the recipes
offered. Here is the recipe site: [Note: Fresh salsa must be canned but cooked sauces may be frozen.]
Thank you for your very helpful information on how to determine when to harvest, and for advising us that ALL of
the fruit, ripe or not, may be picked and used preceding a freeze. That should save a lot of tomatillos because there must be at least 80 or 90 on each of my two plants. I plan to share a lot of them with neighbors.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome! What a surprise for sure, LOL! They are very prolific plants.
James says
I’ve been trying to grow tomatillos for a couple of years, but this is the first time I’ve actually succeeded. I have three large plants now, two in the ground in cages, and one in a container. All the plants are full of fruit, but none of them have grown large enough yet to fill the lanterns. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them yet, but they will probably get used in tomato dishes, salsa, stir-fries, curries etc.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, there are tons of great recipes that you can use tomatillos in, yum!! So happy for you that you finally have had success growing them this year! Great job.
Jay Johnson says
I’m originally from Boston, moved to Chicago and then I heard of Salsa Verde. I don’t eat hot spicy food. But I’m a hotel Controller who works with many Hispanics. You should see their eyes light up when they see me coming in with bags full of Seranno peppers, jalapeno’s, Tomatillos, Sport peppers, cucumbers, Cherakee Purple Heirloom tomatoes, Zuchinnis.
This year they also get Carolina Reapers!
They all live in apartments and don’t have gardens, so, I like to garden, they like fresh!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Fantastic, sounds like a win-win situation to me. 🙂 P.S. Tomatillos aren’t spicy at all, they’re very mild like a tomato. But maybe you were talking about the peppers being spicy.
MICHAEL NAGLE says
They are sweeter and smoother, without the tart, edge if you wait until they turn yellow. I LOVE tomatillo salsa, made with jalapenos and onions, equal amounts of all three, broiled until just charred, cooled and ground up in the blender. The best!!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Interesting, I’ve never had any of my tomatillos turn yellow before, even after they stay on the plant longer than I would normally harvest them. Thanks for adding your tip!
Aileen Noll says
Thank you for the information. I actually grew tomatillos by slicing and planting the slices in soil. I have an amazing plant. It is producing like crazy. Now I know when to harvest. Thank you.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Wow, that’s fantastic! LOL. Great to hear your tomatillo plant is going to give you a great harvest this year! 🙂
Barb M. says
Thanks for info! So, you say you pick ALL the remaining tomatillos when frost threatens? That’s including those that are only half the full size in the pod, say down to the size of large olives? I keep reading that the very small undeveloped ones are toxic, poisonous, etc.
I have a lot of them ready to pick, but also a pile of those quite underdeveloped ones that I’d like to use if safe. We don’t have a long growing season here in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. If the weather holds, it will frost Friday night (9/27) and that’s a fairly late frost for us!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Tomatillos are in the nightshade family, along with eggplants, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes, all of which contain the toxin you’ve heard about. The leaves and stems of the plant have a much higher concentration of the toxin than the fruit, which is why these vegetables are edible (but no other part of the plant is). I’ve also heard that wild tomatillos may have a higher level of the toxin than cultivated varieties, so it might be wise to do more research about those before eating them. I’ve never heard of small, undeveloped tomatillos being more poisonous than mature ones, so I can’t speak to that. However, if you have an allergy to the nightshade family, then you will likely have a problem with eating tomatillos. I will say that I harvest immature tomatillos every fall before frost, and have eaten them many times myself without any issues. I don’t pick them as small as the size of an almond. I only harvest the ones that are about 1/2 the mature size or larger.