Sounds like horse nettle Solanum carolinense which is indeedy a member of the nightshade family and is most definitely NOT edible! You can remove the plant but take the opportunity if your daughter is small, to teach her that all plants are not edible first. In fact, some like horse nettle, are poisonous. Showing a poisonous plant makes the lesson more real and it tends to sink in much deeper. Remember that you can not remove every poisonous plant in the world so the learning of plant safety is important. FataMorgana

One year we had a batch of left over green cherry toms - that would not ripen due to cold weather. I made a simple fermenting type brine, packed them in a jar with garlic and half of a dried Thai pepper. They were topped with the usual brine bag to shut out invading molds, etc., and allowed to ferment. I ground the resulting finished product in my processor, using it mostly for hamburger relish. It was great. While it wasn't quite the same as a tomatillo type relish, it was close. Bejay

I have done just one jar of green tomato pickle, by Lacto Fermentation. Started on 11/11/14. Now is getting ready. In a few days it needs to be kept in a cool place( like garage, refrigerator). It is easy and simple how to make it. Not any different from pickling cukes. Here is how: -- dissolve 2 to 2.5 TBS of sea salt (pickling salt) in one quart of water. Use distilled water as chlorinated water will kill the bacteria that would do fermenting. -- add pickling spices (your choice, conventional) ;; add any flavoring like dill sprig , few garlic cloves, Pack your jar with green tomatoes;; leaving a couple inches empty. --Pour the brine until fully covers the tomatoes . -- you can put few marble balls in a clean zipper bag and put it on top, to prevent floating. _ Mark , date : wait 2-3 days. You should see some white scum forming on top. Remove it once a day or so.. Then you will see some gases bubbling up. That is CO2. -- You can put the lid/ring on the jar loosely so the gases can escape. -- in about 10 to 15 days the process should be almost done. It is like making wine. The older it gets the better it gets. You should be able to taste one at this point. Should taste like, well just pickle. That is all there is to it this the old fashion old world pickling with out any acidification and/or BWB. However, at the end of process you might choose to add couple of TBD per quart. This will further help preserve longer and impart a more sour taste. You can, of course , get recipes from many sources, if you wish but the principle of Lacto Fermenting is an age old know matter.

I've transplanted fully fruiting large indeterminate plants several times. Just don't water immediately before you do this transplant. That's to make sure the roots and growing medium (mix) can remain together and not crumble away. Get some help to tend to the stems and foliage while you do the heavy work. Here's what I'd do. Go back to that Home Depot and look around the garden supplies for a ~15 gallon container. They used to sell a blue tub for about $6.00 and it had rope handles. Drill some holes in the sides about 2 to 3 inches above the bottom. Don't drill directly into the bottom. Now, place the tub in its final assigned position. Put about 3 to 4 inches of fresh potting mix into the tub. Now, take a flat piece of wood or metal (the small paint paddles work fine) and make sure the plant's root ball and mix is not stuck to the sides of the 5 gallon bucket. Grab the tomato plant's stem way down close to the top of the growing medium in the 5 gallon bucket and gently lift the plant out of the bucket. Place the plant's root ball into the center of the new tub and stand it up. Now add new potting mix all around, filling the new tub up. Pack (tamp) it in to firm up the whole thing. Now water it in, reinstall any support systems, and you're done. Depending on how much foliage you have to deal with, you may need someone to help support the branches while you remove the plant from the bucket and set it into the tub. I've done a Yellow Pear before. The last plant I did was a Cherokee Purple. Ted