Ground Cherries

Mrs TD harvested some of her ground cherries today.

Nice!  Mine are orange...

I read through all 5 pages of this thread and these guys sound very interesting.   Do you guys think I could plant one in the middle of two squares (both on the end and one of which is on the corner) and get away with that or is that still not enough space?  Also, can seeds be found locally fairly easily or would they need to be ordered?

Scorpio Rising wrote:Nice!  Mine are orange...

The green ones are not ripe enough.

brianj555 wrote:I read through all 5 pages of this thread and these guys sound very interesting.   Do you guys think I could plant one in the middle of two squares (both on the end and one of which is on the corner) and get away with that or is that still not enough space?  Also, can seeds be found locally fairly easily or would they need to be ordered?

We avoid growing them in the SFG. You may be able to train them to grow over the sides of the SFG bed if you don't want them to spread to other squares in the SFG bed. We buy transplants in the Spring but have also had them reseed themselves from a previous year.

trolleydriver wrote:

brianj555 wrote:I read through all 5 pages of this thread and these guys sound very interesting.   Do you guys think I could plant one in the middle of two squares (both on the end and one of which is on the corner) and get away with that or is that still not enough space?  Also, can seeds be found locally fairly easily or would they need to be ordered?

We avoid growing them in the SFG. You may be able to train them to grow over the sides of the SFG bed if you don't want them to spread to other squares in the SFG bed. We buy transplants in the Spring but have also had them reseed themselves from a previous year.

Ok. Thank you! I do think I would like to try to grow at least one. After reading the thread, curiosity has gotten the better of me. I think that I will go ahead and try one in a container. Maybe I will get lucky and find one I can transplant, rather than having to start from seed. Thanks again.

brianj555 wrote:

trolleydriver wrote:

brianj555 wrote:I read through all 5 pages of this thread and these guys sound very interesting.   Do you guys think I could plant one in the middle of two squares (both on the end and one of which is on the corner) and get away with that or is that still not enough space?  Also, can seeds be found locally fairly easily or would they need to be ordered?

We avoid growing them in the SFG. You may be able to train them to grow over the sides of the SFG bed if you don't want them to spread to other squares in the SFG bed. We buy transplants in the Spring but have also had them reseed themselves from a previous year.

Ok.  Thank you!  I do think I would like to try to grow at least one.  After reading the thread, curiosity has gotten the better of me.  I think that I will go ahead and try one in a container.  Maybe I will get lucky and find one I can transplant, rather than having to start from seed.  Thanks again.

They make beautiful container plants. They do take a long time to produce, however -- at least out here.

This has been a bad year for my ground cherries.  Last year, I grew Aunt Molly's and enjoyed them so much I decided to try as many other varieties as I could find. This year I grew two dozen or so plants from seed, at least six varieties (but no Aunt Molly's).  So far, I've only gleaned 9 teeny, tiny lanterns from the lot of 'em.

All of the plants are small (when compared to the Aunt Molly's from this time, last year), but healthy.  Most have a few developed lanterns, but the Cape Gooseberrys are just starting to flower. It's been a disappointing season. I guess I'll just have to try again, next year.

Hi Ginger Blue!! I hope you get at least a few more fruits for taste comparison purposes.

Not a good year for my ground cherries either. I tried Cossack Pineapple this year. They were less prolific than what I grew last year but I think that's half due to weather (too cold - most of my summer vegs have had a bad year) and half not enough sun in my garden in general and their area in particular rather than the variety. More importantly I think the previous variety was slightly better flavored - I'll go back to that unnamed variety next year.

I plant ground cherries checkerboard style (one every other square) and have been experimenting with what to grow in the alternate squares. Nasturtiums and purslane both grew too low and it was hard to see cherries that rolled under them. Mustard was too big, and is pretty much done before the ground cherries even go in anyhow. Kale is ok, but makes too much shade...and I couldn't bring myself to remove them. Beets were a bit dense but an improvement. And spring-sown carrots are PERFECT - they aren't shading, and I can easily see and reach between the plants to retrieve the ripe, fallen fruits. (Onions might work, too... though not for me as I will need to keep mine undercover due to an emerging invading pest.)

I grew Aunt Molly's in my SFG last year, and they are still self seeding out there!  Too low to the ground to see them to harvest well.  This year, I put 3 transplants that I started in a 18" diameter container on my patio table, and they did great.  I too have had a rough year with the cool temps, but they have produced well.  I will double that amount next year, or at least add 2 more plants in another container.  Having them up on a table has been a godsend.  

Also, I think they are heavy feeders, I only did fish emulsion once this summer and I think my containers suffered a bit.  

I ordered mine from Pinetree Seeds, Brian.  And I have to tell ya, even on heating pad they take a WHILE to germinate....but worth it, yes!  I would send you some but I am gonna have to order next year!  Lots of seed companies carry them, I have never seen starts around here.

brianj555 wrote:Do you guys think I could plant one in the middle of two squares (both on the end and one of which is on the corner) and get away with that or is that still not enough space?  Also, can seeds be found locally fairly easily or would they need to be ordered?

I planted 2 starts in the 2 center sqs at the side of this box (bottom of photo):


My plants are started from my own seeds, originally saved from fruit purchased at a farmers market years ago.  I don't know what variety they are but they have never grown 'up' or spread out much, preferring to stay low to the ground.  (However my starts DO grow huge in my neighbors garden  - about 3x4 at least.  She doesn't do SFG.)

This is the first year I planted the starts in the SFG and I'm getting a far better crop than I ever did when I planted them in the ground, but as you can see in the photo, they are still small plants.  This is not normal but it's working for me.

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:Hi Ginger Blue!! I hope you get at least a few more fruits for taste comparison purposes.

Hi Beetles!   Unfortunately, my plants got jumbled together when relocating them to my neighbor's garden, so when I harvest I don't know which bush the fallen fruit came from. When we get a house and I'm able to have my own garden space again, I'll grow all the varieties I have and keep better track, then.


Brian, if you want to try growing ground cherries, I have plenty of "Aunt Molly's" seeds to share; send me a PM if you'd like some. They're a fun, unique, and very pretty plant to include in your garden.

Save

I am tempted to grow some this year, if there are plants at the nursery.

Thank you, sanderson, for telling me about this thread!  I'm starting from seed with plans to transplant them into a very large planter.  With the information I found here, I'll start the seeds in pre-heated moist soil on a heat mat.  The seeds I have are Aunt Molly's.

Can others who recently posted about ground cherries also post the info here? I hate for good info to get buried.

I am trying to start some ground cherries from seeds I got in a seed exchange. A few have germinated but they are so tiny I almost need a magnifying glass to see them. I doubt I will get transplants from them so I will end up buying transplants as usual. I wouldn't bother growing them except Mrs TD loves them.

I grow them from seed starts, I got the seeds from Pinetree, Aunt Molly’s.  They take forever to germinate for me.  The plants are so low, that I actually grow them in a planter on a table on my patio.  Otherwise, just too low to see and harvest well.  

They are a hot weather plant, and I start them when I do my tomatoes.  The seeds are super tiny, TD!