sunnibel, I would think that tomatillos, being native to Mexico, wouldn't be not setting because of the heat. I tried my first hand at growing tomatillos last year, and they were much like my roma and cherry tomato plants: continually ripening fruits as opposed to waiting for one big set. One thing that I did do when I bought the plants is to go online and learn all I could, and I found a number of posts that said they need to be planted in at least a pair for the fruits to set. I was glad that I had purchased a pair of them, and proceeded to make what my husband now claims is his all-time favorite salsa from about mid-July on until our first frost--are you planting a single plant? I also read several gardeners who had no problem getting fruit to set with one plant (and then the funny comments that maybe there was another tomatillo plant on the bee's morning commute), but I don't recall reading any discussion about fruit setting all at once. I did have the plants in a semi-protected area--we get a lot of wind here, and they didn't get any sun until about 1:00, when it then blasted on them pretty much until the end of the day. They got what I would describe as "leggy" since they were pushing 6 feet tall, however, I think that there were several "plants" in one pot, so maybe it was competition that made them grow up more than bushing out. One thing I did notice was that flowers would drop like flies when I was putting a tomato cage around them--be sure to have any cage in place before they plants need to be trained into it, or you will lose any possible fruit from those blossoms. Wish I had more experience with these, and I hope the seed that I saved and have sprouted will return viable plants for me so that I CAN have some more experience! Good luck, and I look forward to reading posts from other GW members. As far as ground cherries go, I have no idea, and was wondering some of that myself!

Hi mish-le, Welcome to The Seed Exchange. Please see the link below for instructions on getting your Member Page email link set up so that you can most easily be reached for trading. Your addy in your post could be missed or hard to find back sometime later. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: addressing newbie and newer member issues

Hi, Sending you an email. I'd like to trade you for your Parsley Tropical milkweed Mixed zinnias White icicle radishes Purple tomatillos Ground cherries (tomatillos) Giant gray striped sunflowers Please take a look at my trade list and let me know if you want to trade. Thanks, Jen

I grew Cossack Pineapple, Aunt Molly's, Goldie and New Hanover side by side this year. Cossack Pineapple definitely tastes different from the others, but I preferred the taste of New Hanover the best. However, for yield Goldie was the clear winner. Also, New Hanover, Cossack Pineapple and Aunt Molly's all gave me lots of little pea sized fruit mixed in with larger fruit. New Hanover in particular had a huge variation in fruit size, with some fruit being large and others being tiny. Goldie was the only one that had consistent fruit size. So if you want yield and consistency, Goldie is best. For flavor, Cossack Pineapple and New Hanover were best, depending on your preference. Supposedly, Aunt Molly's is best for pies, but I didn't do any baking. I will be growing Goldie to sell at the farmer's market next year, but I might throw in a plant or two of New Hanover for myself to snack on. Cape Gooseberry is in the same family as ground cherries, but it is very different in flavor and the plant also grows differently. The berries have a really unique taste and I highly recommend putting a plant or two in the garden.