Physalis pruinosa (Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry)

http://GroundC.notlong.com 31 May 2007

http://Gcherry.notlong.com 2 June 2007 One fruiting body.


These are pictures of my three plants of Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry. This is my first experience with this cultivar. The fruit drops when ripe, hence the landscape fabric to catch the harvest. One fruit fell off yesterday, and I promptly ate it and found the sample of one quite tasty. The small cherry sized fruit is encased in a delicate structured membrane. Seeds from Vessey's were started about 6 March in the greenhouse.

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Beautiful! Those are the kind I enjoyed from our family garden as a young boy. They are tasty and the harvest could not be easier - just rake them up! They make great pie/preserves.

 

How many plants does one need to have an abundence? So far there is not a lot of fruit bodies.

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Would Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry be the same as what is known as Cape Gooseberry ? This is also something I enjoyed as a youngster - they are available now at T&T Supermarkets. Would like to try growing my own next year.

 

Try this link. Both are new to me, so I cannot contribute anything from experience.

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/ground_cherry.htm

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Physalis pruinosa and P. peruviana have similar fruit. Cape gooseberry usually refers to P. peruviana, I think.

As to the abundance, it seemed to vary quite a bit depending on the year. Some years we would literally rake up bushels of fruit, other years we would get few. They like the warmth of summer and produce until frost once they start fruiting.

My mother found them difficult to transplant, so we just let them grow wherever they came up in the garden.

I grew up in Ohio, Durgan, just a little south of you.

 

http://Gcherry.notlong.com 2 June 2007 One fruiting body.
One fruit ripened today so I took a picture, and my wife ate it. She rather liked the taste. I am hoping for a bumper crop. The weather seems to be accommodating.

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4 June 2007. Today I purchased a half pint ( 20 fruits) of Product name: Physalis, in Fortino Supermarket (Loblaws) for $2.69 Canadian. They taste exactly like the few I have tasted from the three plants that are growing in my garden. The Ground Cherry (Physalis) is imported from Columbia. It appears each berry costs about 13 cents each.

Physalis pruinosa (Probably the type in my garden http://GroundC.notlong.com 31 May 2007)- Dwarf Cape Gooseberry, Strawberry Tomato, or Ground Cherry. This is the most popularly grown variety because at 18 to 20 inches high and 2 to 3 feet wide, it is smaller and more manageable than P. peruviana. The fruits are a lot like those of P. peruviana in flavor and size, but the husks are tight fitting and they curl back to expose the ripe fruits.

http://www.botany.com/physalis.html Detailed information about the plant.

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As a child I knew them as Barbados Gooseberries - guess they may have all sorts of common names. A few years back I grew them myself and as I recall they were rather straggly plants but I got quite a few fruits off of them . . . .

Anne

 

http://loozi.notlong.com/ 24 June 2007 Pictures indicating growth in 32 days.

The plants are loaded with fruit. Only a few have ripened, ripening is indicated when the covered fruit fall off the bush. The plant is very healthy and has spread over a larger area.

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http://wuthu.notlong.com 13 July 2007 Ground Cherry plants (3) indicating growth.


Each Ground Cherry plant is about two meters in diameter and are loaded with fruit. No diseases or bugs are evident.

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http://meino.notlong.com 25 July 2007 Physalis pruinosa (Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry)

This is the first picking of the fruit. The cherries were picked off the ground under the plants. There are numerous fruiting bodies on the plants.

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This is my first season growing these as well. Although I'm sure my plants aren't as mature as yours (short season here in NWT) my plants are loaded with berries which have started to mature and drop to the ground. Mine are growing in containers in my greenhouse and are growing better than expected.

Shaun

 

http://aicah.notlong.com/ 25 August 2007 Main picking of the Ground Cherry harvest. This quantity was picked from the ground under the plant simply by scooping the fruit off the ground. There will be a second picking when the remaining fruit ripens. This is only from three plants. URL to the full season--- http://www.durgan.org/Blog/2007_05_01_archive.html The quantity of fruit is quite remarkable.

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