Winter is now here and my Tomatillos aren’t fully ripe, there’s fruit, but not outgrowing their husky. Can I harvest them now? I read that it wouldn’t taste the same, but we’re expecting snow in a week. Not sure what to do, or if I can repot them and put them when snow wouldn’t fall on it.
If anybody has any suggestions for me, please.
Tomatillos are very frost-tender, so harvest them before it freezes.
They can either be used for recipes calling for green tomatillos, or you can hope they ripen a bit off the plant, though it's never quite the same as fully ripened on the plant. But it's better than frozen mush that ends up in the compost, which is what leaving them out will do.
I doubt, from personal experience with simply moving already potted husk cherries, (closely related to tomatillos) indoors there's any use in digging them up and potting them (thus adding transplant shock) to move indoors, unless you are also going to spend a lot on running serious plant lighting for them. Mine did not ripen any fruits after moving inside (with large south window light, but no plant lighting) and died after a few months anyway. I don't know if they would simply have died regardless or if grow lights would have helped them live longer. I assume grow lights would have increased the odds of ripening fruit. I've had tomatoes make it through the winter in pots inside, but not husk cherries (I don't grow the larger tomatillos in pots.)
And leaving them outside subject to enough cold to snow is not going to work, whether or not snow falls on them. They are the only plant that I've grown that I've ever found to be more sensitive to frost/freeze than basil, which is quite tender. For potting them to re-plant in spring, I'd advise starting new ones rather early, but not now if you're expecting snow in a week, so frost-free date is probably many months away. Mid-February or March, perhaps.
I read that it wouldn’t taste the same... pick one and taste it