When to plant tomatillos in Oregon and Washington

In Portland: Start tomatillos from seed indoors Mar 15–29, then plant the young plants in the garden May 10 – Jun 7. In Bend: Jun 9 – Jul 7. Find your city below.

Difficulty: Easy
Sun: Full sun
Spacing: 3 feet apart
Planting depth: Bury the stem up to the first leaves, like tomatoes
Frost: Killed by frost
First harvest: About 75 days after planting

Easier than tomatoes in cool summers, but you need at least two plants: one plant alone rarely sets fruit.

Tomatillos planting dates

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Portland, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Eugene, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Spokane, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Bend and Redmond, OR	Apr 14–28	Jun 9 – Jul 7
Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29

Find your town

Portland area, OR 6 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Gresham, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Oregon City and West Linn, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Portland, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
St. Helens and Scappoose, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Wilsonville and Canby, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7

Willamette Valley, OR 5 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Corvallis and Albany, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Cottage Grove, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Eugene, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
McMinnville and Newberg, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Salem, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7

Southern Oregon, OR 4 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Ashland and Talent, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Grants Pass, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Medford, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Roseburg, OR	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7

Oregon Coast, OR 5 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Astoria, OR	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Brookings and Gold Beach, OR	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Coos Bay and North Bend, OR	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Newport and Lincoln City, OR	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Tillamook, OR	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17

Central Oregon and the high desert, OR 6 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Bend and Redmond, OR	Apr 14–28	Jun 9 – Jul 7
Burns, OR	Apr 16–30	Jun 11 – Jul 9
Klamath Falls, OR	Apr 14–28	Jun 9 – Jul 7
Lakeview, OR	Apr 9–23	Jun 4 – Jul 2
Madras, OR	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 25 – Jun 22
Prineville, OR	Apr 6–20	Jun 1–29

Columbia Gorge and eastern Oregon, OR 9 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Baker City, OR	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 25 – Jun 22
Enterprise and Joseph, OR	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 25 – Jun 22
Hermiston, OR	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Hood River, OR	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
John Day, OR	Apr 2–16	May 28 – Jun 25
La Grande, OR	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Ontario, OR	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Pendleton, OR	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
The Dalles, OR	Mar 6–20	May 1–29

Seattle and Puget Sound, WA 6 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Everett, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Olympia, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Seattle and Tacoma, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Shelton, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7

North Sound and the islands, WA 5 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Anacortes, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Bellingham, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7

Olympic Peninsula and coast, WA 6 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Forks, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Port Angeles, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Port Townsend, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Sequim, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7

Southwest Washington, WA 3 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Centralia and Chehalis, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Longview and Kelso, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7
Vancouver, WA	Mar 15–29	May 10 – Jun 7

Wenatchee and the Okanogan, WA 5 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Chelan, WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Leavenworth, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Omak and Okanogan, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Wenatchee, WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Winthrop and Twisp, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17

Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin, WA 8 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Ellensburg, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Ephrata and Quincy, WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Goldendale, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Moses Lake, WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Walla Walla, WA	Mar 6–20	May 1–29
Yakima, WA	Mar 13–27	May 8 – Jun 5

Spokane and eastern Washington, WA 3 towns

City	Start seeds indoors	Plant in the garden
Colville, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Pullman, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17
Spokane, WA	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 17

How to grow tomatillos

Start seeds indoors on your city's dates in trays or small pots under a grow light or in your sunniest window. Or skip this step and buy young plants (starts) at a garden center.
Harden off the young plants: about a week before planting, set them outside for a few hours a day, a little longer each day.
Plant them in the garden on your city's dates, 3 feet apart. Bury the stem up to the first leaves, like tomatoes.
Water deeply once or twice a week rather than a little every day, and mulch once the soil is warm.
Harvest: Pick when the fruit fills and starts to split its papery husk. Stored in their husks in the fridge, they keep for two weeks or more.

Key numbers

70–85°FSoil to sprout
Nights above 50°FPlant out when
At least 2Plants needed
Fruit fills the huskRipe when

Growing notes

What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.

Why you need two plants

Tomatillo flowers can't pollinate themselves, so pollen has to come from a different plant, carried by bees. A lone plant blooms happily but sets few or no fruit, leaving empty papery husks. Plant at least two, close enough for bees to visit both. Toma Verde, Grande Rio Verde and Purple all cross with each other.

Tomatillos handle cool Northwest summers better than tomatoes, setting fruit in weather that would stall a tomato.

Planting and support

Start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before your last frost, and plant out once nights stay above about 50°F. Like tomatoes, they root along buried stems, so plant deep. Plants grow wide and floppy, often 3 to 4 feet tall and across, so give them the full 3 feet of spacing and a large cage or sturdy stakes.

Average garden soil with some compost is enough. Too much nitrogen grows leaves at the expense of fruit.

Harvest and use

Pick when the fruit fills the husk and the husk starts to split or turn papery. Green types are best slightly underripe for tart salsa verde; purple ones turn deep purple and sweeter as they ripen.

Tomatillos keep two weeks or more in their husks in the fridge, and they freeze well whole after husking and rinsing. Fruit that drops and rots in the bed often leaves volunteer seedlings next spring, so clean up fallen fruit if you don't want them.

Common questions about growing tomatillos

Why are my tomatillo husks empty?

The flowers weren't pollinated, almost always because there's only one plant, or because bees were scarce. Grow at least two plants near each other and the husks should fill.

Why are tomatillos sticky inside the husk?

That's a natural coating on the fruit skin. It's harmless; just rinse it off under warm water after removing the husk.

Can you freeze tomatillos?

Yes. Remove the husks, rinse off the sticky coating, dry them and freeze whole on a tray before bagging. They soften when thawed, which is fine for salsa and sauces.

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