Physalis......HUH???

Alpinejs · July 18, 2011

My daughter in So. Germany is raising Physalis in her garden and loves them.
I understand they are 2nd cousins to tomatoes. Has anyone raised them and
does anyone know a seed source? If you raised them, did you like them?

kath · July 18, 2011

They are part of the plant family Solanaceae, as are tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, etc. Physalis is a genus of plants that include the tomatillos used in Mexican cuisine (Physalis ixocarpa), which I've not grown, but I am growing "Goldenberry" (P. peruviana), which is supposed to be a cultivar of Cape Gooseberry, and Aunt Molly's groundcherry (P. pruinosa) and a couple other groundcherries this year.

Not sure which kind your daughter is growing, but I'm liking these if I let them get really ripe. So far I've just eaten them raw as a snack, but I'm going to try to make jam later on. I'm finding them a bit hard to harvest as they grow very close to the ground and drop the fruits when ripe- not all at once. Maybe I planted them too close together.

I'll got my seeds through trades, but I know that Aunt Molly's is pretty widely available. Thompson & Morgan sells them for sure and I think Pinetree and Johnny's carried them, too.

July 18, 2011	#1
Alpinejs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Alpine, Calif. in winter. Sandpoint Lake, Ont. Canada summers Posts: 850	Physalis......HUH??? My daughter in So. Germany is raising Physalis in her garden and loves them. I understand they are 2nd cousins to tomatoes. Has anyone raised them and does anyone know a seed source? If you raised them, did you like them?

July 18, 2011	#2
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	They are part of the plant family Solanaceae, as are tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, etc. Physalis is a genus of plants that include the tomatillos used in Mexican cuisine (Physalis ixocarpa), which I've not grown, but I am growing "Goldenberry" (P. peruviana), which is supposed to be a cultivar of Cape Gooseberry, and Aunt Molly's groundcherry (P. pruinosa) and a couple other groundcherries this year. Not sure which kind your daughter is growing, but I'm liking these if I let them get really ripe. So far I've just eaten them raw as a snack, but I'm going to try to make jam later on. I'm finding them a bit hard to harvest as they grow very close to the ground and drop the fruits when ripe- not all at once. Maybe I planted them too close together. I'll got my seeds through trades, but I know that Aunt Molly's is pretty widely available. Thompson & Morgan sells them for sure and I think Pinetree and Johnny's carried them, too.