Toma Verde Tomatillo

Physalis philadelphica 'Toma Verde'

vegetable

Toma Verde is an early, productive tomatillo bearing tart, bright-green fruit wrapped in papery husks, the essential base for salsa verde and green enchilada sauce. The sprawling plants are vigorous and heavy-bearing, ripening fruit in roughly 60 to 80 days, and because tomatillos are largely self-incompatible you must grow at least two plants for them to set fruit.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Peppers — Shares warm-season conditions
• Basil — Repels aphids and thrips
• Sweet Alyssum — Draws hoverflies that eat aphids
• French Marigold — Suppresses root-knot nematodes

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Three-lined potato beetle →

  Handpick adults, larvae, and eggs from the foliage

• Aphids →

  Encourage ladybugs and hoverflies with flowers; rinse colonies off

• Tomato hornworm →

  Attract parasitic wasps with dill and borage; handpick at dusk

🌾 Harvest & storage

Harvest when the fruit fills out and splits the papery husk and the husk turns from green to tan; ripe fruit often drops to the ground on its own. Pick green tomatillos firm for the brightest tartness, before they yellow and soften, and store them in their husks in the refrigerator for several weeks.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Tomatillos are low in calories and provide vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium, along with unique antioxidant compounds called withanolides that are being studied for their health benefits.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Eat the ripe fruit only, with the husk removed. The leaves and very underripe fruit contain solanine-type compounds and should not be eaten.