Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand November/December 2018 | Page 33

by Dr. Lynette Morgan
H
ydroponic methods and indoor gardening allow
a world of exciting cuisines to be experimented
with by growing a diverse range of popular and lesser
known ethnic crops. By dialling up just the right climatic
conditions, nutrients, and some cultural know-how,
some popular as well as slightly more unusual fruits,
herbs, and vegetables can be grown. Mexican cuisine
crops are ideally suited to warm, brightly lit indoor
gardens and can bring an aromatic and spicy punch to
many dishes. With a base of succulent tomatoes, fiery
chilies, exotic tomatillos, combined with familiar herbs
such as cilantro and the more acquired tastes of epazote
and papalo, Mexican crops are both exciting and highly
productive to grow hydroponically.
MEXICAN FRUITING CROPS
Mexicano
Por Favor!
How to Grow Mexican
Favourites Hydroponically
Mexican cuisine crops are well-suited
to growing successfully in hydroponics.
Dr. Lynette Morgan explains how to
grow these flavourful products while
maximising their taste.
The mainstay of many Mexican dishes are of course
tomatoes, which are native to South America, but to
maximise flavour, the selection of tomato variety is
important. Mexico produces both red tomatoes and green
tomatoes (tomato verde) for local markets, and both have
different culinary uses, with green tomatoes usually
cooked and most often fried during preparation. Green
tomatoes are simply unripe fruit that haven’t gone through
any colour change, however, there are a few heirloom
varieties that remain green when ripe (such as green
zebra). Vine ripened red tomatoes most commonly utilised
in Mexican cuisine are “meaty” types with high levels of
solids, such as beefsteak varieties. The sweet cherry types
are also popular and perform particularly well under
hydroponic production.
TOMATILLOS
Tomatillos (Physalis philadelphica), also known as
Mexican husk tomato, and Mexican groundcherry produce
small greenish yellow or purple fruit inside a papery husk
and are a staple of Mexican cuisine. Tomatillos have been
cultivated in Mexico since pre-Columbian times and are
the main ingredient in salsa verde. While green toma-
tillos may look a little like an unripe tomato, the flavour
is completely different. Young fruit are often quite tart,
but as they ripen, a more fruity, savoury, and completely
unique flavour develops with a firm, if somewhat seedy,
flesh. Tomatillos can be grown alongside tomatoes and
chilies in the same nutrient solution as these all prefer
similar warm temperature conditions with an optimum of
26°C and moderate to high light levels. There are several
tomatillo varieties to select from with the most produc-
tive for hydroponics being Toma Verde, which produces
almost golf ball-sized green fruits. A number of smaller
fruited, heirloom, purple-skinned types also exist which
are slower to mature but highly decorative to grow. While
the green-skinned tomatillo varieties are fairly tart in
flavour, the darker purple types are sweeter and high
in pectin and may be used to make preserves and jams.
Maximum Yield
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