Tangy tomatillos: Grow the main ingredient in salsa verde.(growing tomatillos)(Brief Article)

Tomatillos--those fruits that look like green cherry tomatoes wrapped in parchment-- may be the most trouble-free summer crop to grow in this whole hemisphere. Renee Shepherd, owner of Renee's Garden Seeds, has been growing them in Northern California for more than 20 years. She has never seen a tomatillo plant suffer from fusarium or verticillium wilt, two soil-borne fungus diseases that affect tomatoes and other members of the Solanaceae family. Nor are tomatillos bothered by insect pests.

The most common use for tomatillos is in Mexican-style salsa verde. Try Shepherd's Roasted Tomatillo Salsa above: Spoon it over tacos, enchiladas, and huevos rancheros, or try it …