Since it appears that the tomatoes are likely to pull through out on the porch this winter, I decided to try tomatillos, too. After getting this plant off to a good start in the AeroGarden, I replanted it in clay pellet grow rocks and put it out.
This particular plant is a cutting that I took off the top of another plant and then kept in a glass of water until it rooted. I put it back in the AeroGarden until it looked strong enough to be taken outdoors.
Here is a collage of photos showing my passive ebb-and-flow container and how I drain it by hand once or twice a day:
The pink handles are pipe cleaners, which work well, and are inexpensive and easy to replace if they get dirty. These are containers I stole from my SmartSpin system, but any nesting containers will do. The inner box has holes in the bottom for the nutrient solution to drain, and the outer one has both a fill line and a drain line written on it. The markings can be removed easily with baking soda and water when it is time to clean them up for use with another plant.
I "planted" the hollow PVC pipe with the plant in case a stake is needed. A small dowel will fit in it when it becomes necessary to expand the height.
The small band of green velcro is temporary, just to support the plant until it is strong enough to stand on its own.
Often when the environment is switched on a plant like this, the buds will dry up and fall off, so I meant to move this out a bit sooner. No matter, though, as if these do not make it, soon others will appear. This is what they look like now:
One of the indoor buds is starting to show some color:
This is what the plants looked like in the AeroGarden when they were three weeks old:
The little one at the left front is a lipstick pepper, and behind it to the right is a pod of green purslane, but the rest are tomatillos.
I have read some controvery online as to how whether or not you can hand-pollinate tomatillos just by shaking them, like tomatoes, or not, and whether you need more than one plant to succeed. I hope to be able to answer these questions soon from first hand experience.
