Purple Tomatillo Seeds

Days to Maturity: 95 from direct sow; 70 from transplant

Everything about this exciting tomatillo is an improvement over plain green varieties. The fruit is larger and sweeter; the plant sports purple-tinged leaves; the flavor improves dramatically the longer you leave the fruit on the plant. If you are looking to add tomatillos to your vegetable garden—or simply want to try something a bit new in the tomatillo family—give Purple a whirl this season.

A mainstay of Mexican cuisine, tomatillo can be eaten fresh, right off the plant, or roasted to bring out its sweet, tart, complex flavor. It's a nice addition to salsa, relishes, garnishes, and sauces, too. Purple earns its name with violet tones that go right through from the skin to the flesh of the fruit, which can reach the size of a baseball but is more commonly a bit smaller. Even the leaves on this plant sport purple veins and streaks.

The secret to growing Purple Tomatillo is patience. The fruit can be picked green if frost threatens, but is best left in its tan husk to ripen. At some point, the husk will split, and then the green fruits will really turn purple, acquiring a deeper and richer flavor as they do so. If you can hold off eating them until this occurs, you will really taste the difference.

A sun and heat lover, tomatillo should not be transplanted into the garden until the soil is thoroughly warm and all danger of frost is past. Keep it watered until harvest time, then let it dry a bit between watering's. You will love the gourmet flavor and unusual appearance of this veggie.