Home Garden
# Home & Garden >> Plants, Flowers & Herbs >> Growing Vegetables

How Often Should You Fertilize Tomatillos?

Frequently used in Mexican cooking, tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica) have a tangy flavor and firm flesh. Tomatillos look like a small, green tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) with a papery husk and are a close relative to the tomato. When you peel off the husk, you can feel a sticky residue on your fingers. Rinse off the sticky residue and use tomatillos for sauces and salsas, or fry them up. Like tomatoes, tomatillos are annuals suitable for all growing regions.

  1. Pre Planting

    • Before you plant tomatillos, prepare the soil and increase nutrients by adding fertilizer to the planting bed. Use 1/2 to 1 pound of 10-10-10 granular fertilizer for each 100 square feet of garden area. Sprinkle the fertilizer evenly onto the soil and then dig it into the top 4 to 6 inches. Soak the area with water after fertilizing until the garden bed is damp 8 inches deep.

    Growing Season

    • Wait to fertilize tomatillos until the first set of fruit develops. At this point, in mid-season, fertilize each tomatillo plant with 1/2 cup of 5-10-10 fertilizer. Sprinkle the fertilizer around the base of the plant and gently scratch it into the top of the soil. Water deeply right after fertilizing to release the nutrients. After the first, mid-season fertilizer application, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of 5-10-10 fertilizer to the soil at the base of each plant every 10 days.

    Container Growing

    • Prepare the container by adding a slow-release fertilizer to the potting mix before you plant. Mix 2 1/2 tablespoons of 10-10-10 or 14-14-14 fertilizer for each five-gallon container. Tomatillos need a minimum of a five-gallon container to grow well. Once the tomatillo plants start producing fruit, fertilize once a week through harvest using a water-soluble 15-30-15 or 20-20-20 fertilizer. Mix 1/2 teaspoon with 1 gallon of water and pour the diluted fertilizer over the soil in the container.

    Using Fertilizer and Other Care

    • While tomatillo plants need nutrients to grow well, over fertilizing can burn the roots and damage the plants. Tomatillos need about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water a week. Containers dry out more quickly than the soil in a garden bed. During hot, dry weather, check the soil in the planting pot daily and water when the top 1 inch dries out.

      Fertilizer concentrations vary by manufacturer. If the package label indicates a specific application amount, follow the directions on the package label to get the best results.

Previous:

Next:

Growing Vegetables
  1. How Often Should You Fertilize a Dwarf Orange Tree?
  2. How Often Should You Water Cineraria?
  3. How Often Should You Feed a Cactus?
  4. How Often Should You Water Phaseolus Vulgaris?
  5. How Often Should You Fertilize the Average Home Lawn?
  6. How Often Shoud You Fertilize Grass?
  7. How Often Do You Fertilize Parsley?
  8. How Often Should You Fertilize Mint?
  9. How Often Should You Fertilize Lettuce in a Container?
  10. How Often Should You Fertilize a Tillandsia Plant?
  11. How Often Should You Water Mums?
  12. How Often Should You Fertilize Knock Out Roses?

Home Garden © https://www.98905.com