Ground Cherries, anyone?

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by berryman

At dinner parties I have dipped each berry with the husk pulled back in a loose ganache and they are super elegant and tasty.

That's a great idea! I'm gong to have to try that. These little jewels are so good. A big no-no for anyone suffering from diverticulitis but wonderful for the rest of us!

The first time I grew them was an 'Aunt Mary's' two years ago. Last year I did a 'Pineapple' but didn't see any real difference in plant habit or berry flavor. They do well in buckets or in the ground. Give them lateral elbow room. I think I used a 7 gallon for this one.



This was Pineapple last May and it didn't get a lot taller but it sure got a whole lot wider. Had to put some cardboard under it to keep the cherries from falling through the pallet slats!

In '16 I tried to find ground cherry recipes but they were few and far between. Found a few jam recipes so I made a few half pints of that. Very tasty stuff but as the jam cooled a thick layer of seeds floated to the top. You can scrape them off when the jar is opened.



Last summer I wanted to play with the recipe and somehow try filtering out the very tiny seeds to make jelly, not jam but I never got a round to it. Since then I've read that ground cherries are so thick with natural pectin that you don't need to use any Sure-Jel or equivalent. Since I did add some in that first batch, this explains why it was so very, ummm, *thick* bordering on rubbery! No more pectin.

[PhilaGardener]

Great color!

[NarnianGarden]

Looks so good! I would gladly eat the seedy portion

I had to look up the word 'ganache'... one learns something new every day.. I have dipped them in melted dark chocolate, so yummy.
Thankfully we can buy them here in a local supermarket..

No ground cherries plants (or any other Physalis) for me this year - no space anywhere... and the aphid /thrips invasion was horrible every time.

[GoDawgs]

Shame on me! I have six plants (3 Aunt Mary and 3 Pineapple) STILL in the six pack and getting leggy. I've gotta get them in the ground.... once I figure out where. It's been perfect transplant weather! ...hanging head in shame....

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

Mine never came up. Seed was fine last year so I don't know what happened.
The purple tomatillos look great!

Forgot I’d even tried these back in 2012. I’m just now trying again with pineapple ground cherries. They germinated beautifully and look amazing in a little raised bed. I also have some green tomatillos looking good.
I may start some purple tomatillos. I have plenty of room and probably plenty of time for a later crop of them. I liked them a lot but when I grew them before we were in AZ and it got too hot that year before I got many fruits.