Can anyone describe the flavor of ground cherries? Are they very sweet or are they more acidic like tomatoes and tomatillos?
Also do they need another plant for cross pollination like tomatillos do?
Ground cherries
I grew 2 plants of one variety and they were quite productive. So separate varieties are not necessary.
I believe I grew Cossack Pineapple. Another variety is Aunt Molly's.
If you've ever had a gooseberry then that might help you to know the flavor. They can be sweet, sour, not really what I would call tomatoey. It can taste a bit like pineapple, thus the variety name.
Ground cherries should be picked when the husk surrounding the fruit get papery, indicating that the fruit is ripe. Otherwise, green fruit may have residual alkaloids which are poisonous.
I strongly advise growing ground cherries in a container on an inorganic surface, such as a concrete patio. Each ground cherry fruit has thousands of seeds which will readily propogate.
I found Pineapple ones to be much sweeter than tomatillos, but still tangy. The flavor is hard to describe, but I adore them. I haven't planted any for a couple of years (and mine didn't self sow, so maybe that's a southern thing), but I am determined to have a couple in the garden this year.
I've grown at least 2 plants (same variety) in the past, but as far as I recall the plants are self-fertile. ?
I grow Aunt Molly's ground cherries and they self seed readily, but are easy to remove. They keep quite well after being harvested and are a really good snack food. I have made jam with them, when I used to eat jelly & jam, and mixed with crushed pineapple is very tasty.
donna
Myself, my kids, and people at the market love these. But they take forever to gather up & get all dirty if you don't put something under them so they're hard to take the time to pick enough to make money. But they are great and keep their place in the field.
There are a number of named varieties of ground cherries. I have grown a number of them, but now rely on self-seeding to keep them going. Ground cherries drop fruit early if they do not have sufficient water. I cannot recommend picking them-it is better to wait until they fall to the ground. In general, I will let them stay on the ground for about a week before harvesting as this apparently helps the flavor (they are not bothered by insects here, probably due to the berry wrapper). After picking them up, any that have any green tinge are discarded. Only the ones with a uniform golden color are worth trying to eat. Flavor is typically sweet with hints of pineapple and is quite good.
There are two major types that correspond to two different species that are commonly grown. The common ground cherry has a shorter growing season and is suitable for zone 4-6. The other kind, often called cape gooseberry, needs a longer growing season. I suspect that in Georgia you will be able to grow both kinds. I can get a few ripe fruits of the Cape Gooseberry types if I start the plants inside early and cover when frost approach. Cape Gosseberry has woody, brittle stems that tend to break whereas the other common ground cherry is spreading and more vegetative.
Both of these are Physallis, and you can find references to them on the web and plantfiles. I think they belong in any garden and think they are great for kids, as long as they know how to tell when they are ripe. Keep in mind that not all Physallis species have edible fruit, and many of the plants themselves are considered poisonous. If memory is correct, there are hundreds of native Physallis species (to the US)and some of them are toxic pests, so be sure you know what you have before eating it.
The ground cherry that thrives in my garden is likely Goldie, which is the one I started out with. It produces fruit up to about 3/4" although most are about 1/2". It is quite good. My initial seed came from Thompson and Morgan. I also have a Cape Gooseberry overwintering in front of a window, in hopes that I can get early fruit from it this summer. Cape Gooseberry holds onto the fruits a lot better than the common ground cherry. Both kinds are well suited to seed saving as well.
Yes, good reminder about those poisonous natives... I have one that comes up around here, let one grow in the garden one year thinking it was a volunteer 'Pineapple'... nope! LOL