When to Harvest Tomatillos for the Best Flavor

Tomatillos produce green or purple fruits encased in a papery husk. Distant cousins to a tomato with a tangy, slightly acidic flavor, tomatillos are ready to harvest 75-100 days after the seedlings are settled in the garden. The fruit will completely fill the husk and easily pull off the plant.

As an indeterminate plant, tomatillos continue to flower and produce fruit throughout the summer until frost. Because of the husk and green color, it can be confusing about when to harvest a tomatillo.

Follow our tips for the best harvesting results.

5 Signs Tomatillos Are Ripe and Ready to Pick

• It’s been 3-4 months since you planted. The first tomatillos are usually ready to be harvested 60 to 75 days after the seedlings are placed in the garden or settled into a container for the summer.
• The fruit is firm. If a tomatillo feels soft, it’s likely overripe and less flavorful.
• It’s reached peak color. For example, a purple tomatillo variety will be firm, purple, and no longer green when ready to pick.
• The husk changes from green to a light brown. The husk will be dry surrounding the tomatillo.
• The papery husk has not yet split. A fully-split husk means the fruit is overripe.

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When to Harvest Tomatillos

Since tomatillos are indeterminate, they will not flower and set fruit all at once. Harvesting should be done every few days throughout the growing season.

The fruit should be firm, the papery husk should be full, and a good hack to follow that tomatillos are ready? The fruit will often drop off the plant before it is fully ripened. These fruits can be gathered and stored in a cool, dry place in the husk until fully firm and ripe.

After You’ve Harvested Every Tomatillo for the Season

At the end of the season, the entire plant can be removed from the garden or container and hung upside down in a cool area. Any fruit remaining on the vines will continue to ripen and be good for several months.

During the growing season, mature fruit should be placed in a cool location immediately following harvest and can be refrigerated in the husk in a paper bag for up to three weeks. 

How to Harvest Tomatillos the Right Way

Tomatillos are easy to remove from the mother plant by hand or with pruning shears. Harvest by hand by giving the fruit a slight twist from the stem. If it does not yield easily, the fruit isn’t mature.

Keep a basket or bucket nearby to collect the fruit and place it in the container gently to avoid bruising and cracking.

6 Additional Tomatillo Growing Tips

• Always plant at least two tomatillo plants. They are not self-fruitful so two plants are needed for cross-pollination by insects.
• An individual plant may produce 64 to 200 fruits in a season.
• Tomatillos need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week and full sun to maximize production.
• Tomatillos should be staked or caged to keep the fruit off the ground.
• Since the plants often drop their fruit before it is fully ripe, provide a bed of straw under each plant to keep the fruit dry and away from the soil until you can collect it.
• The fruit will be sticky when it is removed from the inedible husk. Wash with mild soap and water before eating or processing the tomatillos.