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Vegetable Gardening

Tomatillos not filling out before dropping.

Charlesanne Rabensburg

6 years ago

Hello All,

I have two tomatillo plants that are flowering fine, and the husks begin to grow fine, but the large majority of them fall off before ever reaching maturity. I've opened some of the ones that have fallen, and the little fruit is nowhere near maturity.

I've read the other posts about this (most are pre 2014) and it doesn't seem like anyone had any ideas...

Help!

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Comments (3)

byrd2park
6 years ago
lack of pollination is them problem
digdirt2
6 years ago
Agree that is the most likely cause - incomplete or insufficient pollination. The plant aborts them. Same thing happens with most any of the blooming fruit like peppers, squash, tomatoes, etc. It is primarily weather related but without knowing your location or at least your garden zone we can't tell if that is the cause. You can try hand pollination - there is a FAQ here about how to do it - or just wait for the plants to adjust.

Dave
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My tomatillos don't seem to be making it to maturity. They are still dropping at a steady rate. The few that have matured are currupted by a worm. :( I have dusted with Bt with the hope that will help, but I haven't ID'd the worm yet so who knows. Any other thoughts why the fruits aren't making it to maturity? I have an insane number of plants.... planted a full seed packet thinking germination might be a problem. Obviously it wasn't. Could overcrowding be an issue? Lack of sunlight in the interior of the tomatillo jungle?
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Beautiful!
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HU-627010794
3 years ago
I'm not sure incomplete pollination is the problem. My tomatillos are doing the same thing and we have three hives of honey bees nearby. I am also perplexed.

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