You could perhaps allow them to mingle/intertwine with your tomatoes if they're the cordon/trained kind as they could kind of sprawl between. YOu wouldn't need a lot of plants, even one or 2 tomatillos can produce a good crop. Alternatively you could try a grow bag, two plants to the bag max. I'd st...

You can get tinned tomatillos mail order from The Mexican Grocer m or Lupe Pinto m and also the Cool Chile Company but they are quite expensive (and quite squishy being tinned). Fine for stews and salsa verde but not for uncooked salsas. I'd recommend trying a bottle of salsa verde as a try out. The...

A few plants is really all you need (so a packet of seeds lasts aons). Last year 4 plants produced a freezer drawer full of tomatillos plus a good few jars of salsa verde. Germination rates are generally fairly good. Not seen plants for sale anywhere yet though.

You're right about growing outside and the 'wish I'd known' bit. Its a shame that the supermarkets and grocersdon't share our enlightment on the value of these? If anyone has any good recipes (not covered in my first post) bring 'em on.

Thans for all the tips - clearly my pain is shared. We do have 2 sociable allotment cats but as they're fed by at least 15 plotters they're fat as butter, choosy about their food and have no intention of wasting valuable scrounging time on rabbits. One good bit of news, there's reckoned to be a fox ...

Can I persuade fellow plotters to start a campaign to grow and promote the green tomatillo? This Mexican treasure grows surprisingly well outdoors in my damp and miserable corner of the north west. (Start it like a tomato under glass, pot on and plant out after frosts). This 'green tomato' with the ...

Have you tried Edwin Tuckers seeds or alternatively, Robinson's Seeds (Fortan, Lancashire)? There should be contacts for both in the back of Kitchen Garden. I've not had a problem getting them from there in the past. Alternatively Vive Verde used to do them.

Over the last 3 years our allotments seem to have suffered from a rabbit plague of biblical proportions. It has built up steadily to the point that now for some plots (one of which is mine) you cannot move for fat, overfed wallace and grommit escapees giving you the were-rabbit finger. Last year th...