By Rob Butterfield

Our favourite seed of the year is… Pineapple Tomatillo! Chelsa and I got these seeds from our dear friend Nan, who has grown them for the past couple years. Every seed was viable! We sprouted them indoors in early March and ended up with so many starts that we were quickly trading them with other islanders. The plants were far more resistant to Pill Bugs (aka Roly Poly’s, Potato Bugs, Wood Bugs) than all our different types of tomatoes.

The Pineapple Tomatillos even ripened before our tomatoes and have made for a delicious fried green tomato style salsa. The seeds aren’t very noticeable when eating and the flavour is pretty sweet with a tart finish. I guess these are very similar to Gooseberries or Ground Cherries. The fun of husking the little paper lantern-like fruit is a fun ceremony unless you lack the patience to get to the centre of the Tootsie Pop, like me.

We will definitely grow these again!