Photo: Michael Wolf — CC BY 2.5 · source
Survives zone 8 through 9
Sweet, juicy, mild flesh eaten fresh as a dessert fruit — a cross between melon and cucumber; skin and soft seeds edible. Care: Winter protection — mulch, fleece, or a warm wall.
- Hardiness
- Zone 8 to 9
- Habit
- Herb
- Edible part
- Seed, Fruit
- Ripens
- Summer–autumn
- Mature size
- Mostly EXCELLENT in containers
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6.0–7.0
- Environment
- Montane
- Status
- Cultivated
- Years to fruit
- 1 yr (annuals) / 2–3 yrs (goji)
- Pollination
- Mostly self-fertile (tomatillo needs 2 plants)
Growing guide
Fertilizing. Benefits from fertile soil enriched with well-rotted manure at planting, plus a balanced fertilizer such as 5-10-10 during the growing season; overly rich soil pushes leafy growth at the expense of fruit.
How it spreads. Sprawling, shrubby habit that stays in a loose clump (spreading roughly 4 feet wide) rather than spreading by runners or self-seeding; often trained on a trellis or grown in a hanging basket.
Growing tips. Frost-tender: established plants are cut back by temperatures near -3°C (27°F), though a well-mulched root crown can resprout in mild winters. Very easy to propagate from stem cuttings, the standard way to overwinter stock indoors. Watch for whiteflies, aphids, and spider mites.