Undercover Tomatillos in the Keyhole Garden

A volunteer purple tomatillo in the keyhole garden

Clearing out the spent plants I was pleased to find several tomatillos in there quietly doing their thing. Now that they have some extra sun they’re really starting to fruit and flower.

I haven’t actually planted any tomatillos in years, so these are volunteers from previous seasons. Because I let both purple and green varieties cross-breed, it’s a bit of a crap shoot as to what each year’s offspring will be. But once they start to fruit you can easily tell.

Green tomatillos hiding in the shade

Green varieties (the type used in salsa verde) have a light green husk with deep green veins. Purple ones, which are sweeter, have a green husk with purple veins. This year, as you can see in the photos, we have both.

Fresh salsa is just a few weeks away!

Green and purple (and combo) tomatillos from earlier years

Are you a ‘clean slate’ gardener or do you let the volunteers take over like I do? Tell me in the comments the best surprise plant that’s ever popped up in your beds!

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