Durgan
Pro Member
Posts: 113
Joined: October 2011
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Post by Durgan on Oct 31, 2011 18:34:25 GMT -5
www.durgan.org/URL/?WXDUB 4 October 2011 Ground Cherry. (Physalis Pruinosa) aka Aunt Molly Ground Cherry Three pounds of ground cherries were picked from two plants. The cleaned weight is 2.5 pounds. They may be eaten raw or cooked. I prefer them cooked. They have a most pleasant taste similar to cooked peaches. They take a long season, so I start the seedlings indoors. They are prolific self seeders also. Any berries indicating green should be discarded, since they contain solanine. The same substance indicated by potatoes turning green when exposed to light.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2012 18:17:29 GMT -5
I have ordered Ground cherry seeds to plant this coming season. I'm glad to hear they produced good. I will have to start indoors also, I have a short growing season. I will be planting these in containers. Any more tips on growing these? When did you start the seedlings, indoors?
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Post by txdirtdog on Jan 2, 2012 19:26:19 GMT -5
Hey rumbleseatcat,
I grew them last spring. I started them when I started my maters and peppers. However, their roots grow pretty quickly, so it might be helpful to have a couple interim containers to put them in in succeedlingly larger sizes before plantout in the garden. The root structure is not like a tomato which puts out "runner" (for lack of a better word) roots. The ground cherry root is more like a ball of hairs. Also, I would not use leaves as a mulch under them. When the ground cherry is ripe, it will fall off the plant and the husk will be a tannish papery looking color and texture. It was hard to see them among the leaves.
Unfortunately I put them in new raised beds that didn't have enough organic material yet and combined with the drought we had, I couldn't keep enough water on them to get them through the summer. During the spring they did put out an astonishing amount of fruit for the size of the plant. Lift a branch and there would be tons of little lanterns.
Good luck. You're in for a treat.
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