DibbleGrowing tomatillos: from seed to harvest
Grow tomatillos like tomatoes, but start seeds indoors only about 5 weeks before planting out, and transplant once nights stay warm. Plant at least two for pollination. The fruit is ready when it fills and splits its papery husk.
Planting dates for tomatillos by zone
| Zone | Start seeds indoors | Sow or transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May 6 | June 10 | August 24 |
| Zone 4 | April 28 | June 2 | August 11 |
| Zone 5 | April 18 | May 23 | August 3 |
| Zone 6 | April 12 | May 17 | August 1 |
| Zone 7 | March 31 | May 5 | July 16 |
| Zone 8 | March 5 | April 9 | June 21 |
| Zone 9 | February 4 | March 11 | May 24 |
| Zone 10 | January 10 | February 14 | May 4 |
| Zone 11 | August 8 | September 12 | March 17 |
Each date is the start of the best window from the same climate engine the Dibble app uses, run at typical places in each zone. Dibble tunes them to your garden's own location and lets you adjust frost dates for your own yard.
Companion plants
Good neighbors for Tomatillo:
Better kept apart:
Family and rotation
Tomatillo is in the nightshades family. Heavy feeders and disease-prone. Rotate so nightshades don't return to a bed for 3 years. Learn about crop rotation.
Related crops
Tomato
When to plantPepper
When to plantPotato
When to plantEggplant
When to plantHot Pepper
When to plantOnion
When to plant
Questions
When should I plant tomatillos?
It depends on your zone. Tomatillo is a tender crop, so the timing follows your last spring frost. Look up your zone in the table below for exact start, sow, and harvest dates, or open Dibble and set where your garden is to get your own calendar.
How long does it take to grow tomatillos?
About 75 days from transplant to the first harvest, with a picking window of roughly 60 days after that.
What grows well with tomatillos?
Good companions include Pepper, Basil, Marigold. Keep it away from Fennel.
Plant at the right time this season
Dibble builds your calendar in under a minute. Free to start, no account needed.