Re: Ground Cherries

**llama momma** 2/7/2017, 8:52 am

Whoo hoo way to go countrynaturals!

countrynaturals 2/7/2017, 10:41 am

llama momma wrote:Whoo hoo way to go countrynaturals!

Starting Saturday, we're supposed to have 5 beautiful days of spring before it starts raining again, so I'm going to let them play outside for a few hours each day to build up their strength. Wink

CapeCoddess 2/7/2017, 12:10 pm

countrynaturals wrote:
countrynaturals wrote: llama momma for the great info. I came here after I had already planted my seeds, so I couldn't soak them, but I now have them on the heating pad and I will mist instead of pouring water on them. I have the perfect place for them when they're ready to leave the nursery, where they can wander and reproduce 'til their hearts' content.
YEE-HAH! They're up already! I see what you mean about how fragile they are to start out with. This is a single Jiffy Pellet -- I guess about 1.5" across, so you can see how dainty they are.

Awww...she's so cute! I love you

**sanderson** 2/9/2017, 2:22 pm

CapeCoddess 2/10/2017, 12:16 pm

I know they store well on the counter, but has any one tried freezing them until processing time? If you know, pls advise how they can and dehydrate.

CC

countrynaturals 2/10/2017, 12:34 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:I know they store well on the counter, but has any one tried freezing them until processing time? If you know, pls advise how they can and dehydrate.

CC

Hmm, that made me wonder, do they have pits like regular cherries or just those tiny seeds, loose? In other words, can you eat the whole thing or do you have to work for it? geek

CapeCoddess 2/10/2017, 12:41 pm

Eat the whole thing. No pits, just itsy bitsy seeds.

BeetlesPerSqFt 2/10/2017, 2:05 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:I know they store well on the counter, but has any one tried freezing them until processing time? If you know, pls advise how they can and dehydrate.

CC

Haven't tried freezing - I bet thawed would work fine for canning, skeptical on dehydrating thawed ones.
Here's a link for freezing instructions:
http://www.linnacresfarm.com/2014/09/freezing-ground-cherries.html

Dehydrating (not from frozen): ~3cups, all cut in half, 6 trays, about 7 hours gave a nice barely chewy texture (on that particular day - i.e. no idea what the humidity etc. was); smaller fruits are better cut only most of the way through so the small halves don't just fall through the trays.
Ground Cherries - Page 2 Img_3310

Canning (not from frozen) - I made (delicious!) Citrus Chai Ground Cherry Jam per
http://rcakewalk.blogspot.com/2012/09/its-called-ground-cherry.html
Ground Cherries - Page 2 Img_3810

countrynaturals 2/10/2017, 2:07 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:Eat the whole thing. No pits, just itsy bitsy seeds.

**trolleydriver** 2/10/2017, 3:36 pm

Beetles ... that Citrus Chai Ground Cherry Jam sounds great.

We had a few ground cherry planst (mostly voulunteers) last year but did not get enough fruit to really do anything with them. The squirrels seem to like them.

countrynaturals 2/24/2017, 12:01 pm

Help! My poor sad little ground cherries are all leggy, but have true leaves, now. Can I transplant them into new containers and bury the stems like I would do with a leggy tomato start? Then transplant them again into the ground if it ever warms up? Rolling Eyes

Ginger Blue 2/24/2017, 1:44 pm

countrynaturals wrote:Help! My poor sad little ground cherries are all leggy, but have true leaves, now. Can I transplant them into new containers and bury the stems like I would do with a leggy tomato start? Then transplant them again into the ground if it ever warms up?

In my experience, yes, you can, but the seedlings won't grow much until they're in the ground; then there's no stoppin' 'em! That's what happened for me, others may have had different results.

I'm so pleased to hear the seeds are doing well! Ground Cherries - Page 2 3170584802

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Ginger Blue 2/24/2017, 1:57 pm

Beetles, that chai jam recipe looks AMAZING! drooling

Last year was the first time I grew ground cherries. No one around me had ever heard of them before, so everyone had to try some and there weren't any left to preserve. This year I'm planning to grow enough to have fun with - at least a pie and a couple of jams (including the chai one!).
I can hardly wait! hyper

countrynaturals 2/24/2017, 2:06 pm

Ginger Blue wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:Help! My poor sad little ground cherries are all leggy, but have true leaves, now. Can I transplant them into new containers and bury the stems like I would do with a leggy tomato start? Then transplant them again into the ground if it ever warms up?

In my experience, yes, you can, but the seedlings won't grow much until they're in the ground; then there's no stoppin' 'em! That's what happened for me, others may have had different results.

I'm so pleased to hear the seeds are doing well!
Save

YAY! I don't care if they're slow as long as they're happy. I love you

Thanks, Ginger Blue.

Ginger Blue 2/24/2017, 2:19 pm

BeetlesPerSqFt 2/24/2017, 5:32 pm

countrynaturals wrote:
Ginger Blue wrote:
countrynaturals wrote:Help! My poor sad little ground cherries are all leggy, but have true leaves, now. Can I transplant them into new containers and bury the stems like I would do with a leggy tomato start? Then transplant them again into the ground if it ever warms up?

In my experience, yes, you can, but the seedlings won't grow much until they're in the ground; then there's no stoppin' 'em! That's what happened for me, others may have had different results.

I'm so pleased to hear the seeds are doing well!
Save
YAY! I don't care if they're slow as long as they're happy. Thanks, Ginger Blue.

My experience, too! They are like goldfish - they grow to the size of their 'tank.' Little pot indoors, little plant. Big raised bed, big plant. And I too have planted them with buried stems like tomatoes. I think I did it with my tomatillos, too (but not the peppers or eggplants.)

countrynaturals 2/24/2017, 9:04 pm

Thanks Ginger and Beetles. Here are the before and after shots. I had an awful time transplanting them -- they're so frail. I felt so clumsy. After their surgery, they were limp and wilty and some of their little leaves curled up. I thought I had killed them fer shure, but I waited a couple of hours and they all came back to life. cheers

They are now in 1 quart containers. It will be interesting to see how big they get before our nights are warm enough to plant them out.
Ground Cherries - Page 2 Ground10

Ginger Blue 2/24/2017, 9:36 pm

Awwww, they're beautiful babies, Suz! okay

I grew all my ground cherries in containers last year, and will have to this year, as well. Though they may have been smaller than if they were in the ground, all of the plants were very healthy and productive - and so pretty I just had to give a plant to each of my gardening neighbors (none of them had never heard of ground cherries).

This gardening stuff sure is fun! clap

countrynaturals 2/24/2017, 10:50 pm

Ginger Blue wrote:Awwww, they're beautiful babies, Suz!

I grew all my ground cherries in containers last year, and will have to this year, as well. Though they may have been smaller than if they were in the ground, all of the plants were very healthy and productive - and so pretty I just had to give a plant to each of my gardening neighbors (none of them had never heard of ground cherries).

This gardening stuff sure is fun!

I may have to revise my plans, too. They seem to be as fussy as cukes about cold nights and we only have about 2 months of nighttime temps above 50. Maybe I'll hedge my bets and plant some in containers and some in the ground. It should be an interesting experiment. geek

Pretty? Did you say pretty? Ooooo, now I really can't wait. bounce

**sfg4uKim** 2/25/2017, 9:58 pm

This is my first year growing Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries.

Started them on 2/19 and they're already up. Used a heat mat initially then as the instructions on the packet said, "Seed are covered only slightly to allow light which sometimes assists germination. Do not allow the soil to dry out. Containers are held in warm conditions until sprouts appear which ma take anywhere from 3-10 days. Move sprouted plants immediately to bright light conditions (south-facing window or under a grow light).

Hope they do well.

BeetlesPerSqFt 2/25/2017, 10:52 pm

sfg4uKim wrote:This is my first year growing Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries.

Hope they do well.

Yippy, another recruit! We'll all be rooting (haha! roots...) for them/you! I feel they are not as domesticated as many fruits/vegetables and still have that hardy, weedy, wildness to them that makes them pretty easy to grow. I had a few two years ago that I didn't have room to transplant and left on the deck in small pots. They wilted all the time because they didn't have enough soil to hold much more than a day's worth of moisture - but most of them survived and they still made tiny little fruits.

elysia 2/26/2017, 9:29 am

ground cherries are one my favorite things to grow! have found them over the last 4 years to be somewhat hardy and usually end up producing for me until the bitter end! Cool

they are great in salsa!

BeetlesPerSqFt 2/26/2017, 9:47 am

elysia wrote:ground cherries are one my favorite things to grow! have found them over the last 4 years to be somewhat hardy and usually end up producing for me until the bitter end! they are great in salsa!

Hi Elysia! Cheers to awesome ground cherries! Ground Cherries - Page 2 3170584802

Do you have a recipe or link to a recipe for the salsa you make?
Maybe put it here?:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t8119-how-to-save-ground-cherry-harvest

(Hm. I should put the link to the jam there, too!)

countrynaturals 2/26/2017, 11:27 am

sfg4uKim wrote:This is my first year growing Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries.

Started them on 2/19 and they're already up. Used a heat mat initially then as the instructions on the packet said, "Seed are covered only slightly to allow light which sometimes assists germination. Do not allow the soil to dry out. Containers are held in warm conditions until sprouts appear which ma take anywhere from 3-10 days. Move sprouted plants immediately to bright light conditions (south-facing window or under a grow light).

Hope they do well.

Next year I'll wait until the middle of Feb to plant mine, too. I can keep them warm enough, but my lighting system isn't good enough for them. When Mother Nature doesn't cooperate with some sun coming in our south-facing windows, these poor babies really struggle. Sad

**sfg4uKim** 2/26/2017, 6:17 pm

I use a shoe rack with every other "shelf" removed. This puts a nice tilt to the seed flats in front of the south-facing glass door. It's on wheels so it's easy to move.

Ground Cherries - Page 2 Shoe_r10

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