Purple Tomatillo
Purple Tomatillo is an electric violet heirloom that transforms your summer garden into something truly spectacular. Unlike the green tomatillos most gardeners know, this variety produces large, glowing purple orbs with sweet, fruity flavor that can be eaten straight off the plant. Growing 30 inches tall with an indeterminate sprawl to 36 inches wide, it reaches harvest in just 70 days from transplant and thrives in zones 5 through 8. The vibrant purple color intensifies with full sun, creating not just a productive plant but a visual showstopper that yields abundantly through the season.
Full Sun
High
5-8
30in H x 36in W
Annual
High
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The deep purple color that runs throughout the entire fruit is what first catches your eye, but the real revelation is the flavor. Sweet and tangy with none of the sharp bite of green varieties, these tomatillos can be eaten fresh or turned into stunning salsa verde that literally blushes purple. Because they're highly productive and indeterminate, these plants sprawl like small trees, generating enormous quantities of nutrient-dense fruit packed with phytochemicals and flavonoids that rival tomatoes for mineral content. The ornamental husked fruits hang like jewels among shiny foliage, giving you both abundance and beauty in the same garden space.
These tomatillos excel in salsas, where their purple color and sweet-tart character shine. They're spectacular roasted or grilled, turning their flesh into concentrated sweetness. Many gardeners also eat them fresh off the plant once ripe, skipping the cooking altogether. The nutrient density and unique flavor profile make them excellent candidates for home canning and preserving, whether as salsa or standalone preparations.
Sow seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before your average last frost date in trays, planting them 1/4 inch deep. Maintain soil temperatures of 80 to 85°F for optimal germination. Once the first set of true leaves appears, transplant seedlings into 3 to 4 inch pots. Keep them under strong light with cooler temperatures between 60 and 70°F to prevent leggy growth.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after your average last frost date when soil temperature has reached at least 60°F. Space plants 18 inches apart, with 30 inches between rows. Harden off seedlings gradually before moving them to their final location.
Direct sowing is not recommended for this variety; starting seeds indoors and transplanting is the preferred method.
Harvest when the papery husk has dried, folded back, or completely enveloped the fruit, revealing the plump purple fruit beneath. The fruit should feel firm to the touch when ripe. Don't leave fruit on the plant too long after ripeness, as it becomes watery and soft. Ripe fruits develop the characteristic deep purple color throughout and can be picked when they reach 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.
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