Master Gardener: Ground cherries add another option in warm climates
I was first introduced to ground cherries a few years ago through our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I had never seen them before. That alone was enough to prompt me to learn more about them. Then friends Thelma and Linda, a mother and daughter duo who farm and garden locally, welcomed me to visit their garden patch of Ground Cherry plants.
The technical information:
Scientific name: Physalis
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Order: Solanales
Kingdom: Plantae
Tribe: Physaleae
Physalis is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, which grow in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Most of the species, of which there may be 75 to 90, are indigenous to the Americas. It is important to note that all parts of ground cherry plants except the ripe fruit are toxic to people and pets. Unripe ground cherries are sour and contain solanine and solanidine, both of which are toxic compounds. In small amounts these can cause nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. They can be dangerous if eaten in moderate to high amounts. A person can tell if a ground cherry is ripe when the inner fruit reaches its final color, which is often yellow or pale orange.
Description:
Ground cherries are similar to tomatillos in that they each have a paper-like husk, but ground cherries are much smaller. When ripe, Ground cherries have a sweet, tropical taste with a texture compared to between a tomato and a grape. Their flavor has been compared to a mixture of pineapple, strawberry, and green grapes, therefore sweet, tart, and vaguely tropical.
Ground cherries grow on a bush-like plant with bright green leaves that have toothed edges. When mature the shrub gets about 1 to 3 feet tall and wide. My friend Linda put tomato cages around her young plants to help support them. She found that in her case, the cages were not helpful as the plants grew wide and not so tall.
How to grow:
Plant ground cherries in the spring. They are annuals and complete their life cycle in one season. They can be planted in zones 4 to 8. Ground cherries require lots of sunlight (at least six hours of direct sunlight each day) and a well-drained soil, which has a slightly acidic pH. Ground cherries should be spaced at least 2 feet apart. Young plants should be planted at the same depth as they were in their previous container.
According to The Spruce, ground cherries like a fairly moist soil, requiring about an inch of water per week. Dry conditions can cause the plants to drop their blossoms without producing any fruit. Ground cherries have good heat tolerance within the given zones. They like temperatures of 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit and can cope with temperatures as high as 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is recommended to plant in soil that has been amended with compost. You can mix in an organic fertilizer specifically for fruits and vegetables when planting if you have poor soil.
Ground cherries can also be grown from seed. This method will take a while, as seeds should be sown indoors 4 to 8 weeks before the last frost. At that point, they may be transplanted to your garden site. Most ground cherry varieties take 65 to 75 days to reach maturity once they have been transplanted.
Once the ground cherries have ripened, the stem attached to the fruit starts to die off, and the fruit falls to the ground (which is how ground cherries got their name). Bountiful Gardener cautions that even if your ground cherries are dropping, make sure they have changed to their final color, because sometimes unripe ground cherries can fall off the plant.
My friends recommend laying landscaping fabric under the plants. As the ground cherries ripen and fall to the ground they are much easier to gather from the fabric. The ground cherries also stay much cleaner when the garden gets a rain shower or watering.
Fortunately, just like other nightshades like tomatoes, green ground cherries can ripen off the plant. If your ground cherries are ripe, you can store them in a paper bag in your refrigerator. Ground cherries last 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge, but sometimes can keep for a month before turning soft. You can also freeze them! Place them in a resealable plastic bag and put them in your freezer until you are ready to use them.
My friend Thelma, who is 93, remembers her mother growing ground cherries in her garden. She would like to encourage more people to try growing them. She and Linda do not eat the ground cherries raw. Their favorite way to eat them is in an Upside-down cake. Use the ripe, washed, raw ground cherries in place of pineapple (or other fruit) in your favorite Upside-down cake recipe. I am anxious to try a ground cherry salsa recipe we were given, too.
Ground Cherry Pie
(An old Mennonite recipe)
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups of ground cherries
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoons flour (I use 2-3 T. flour)
1 9-inch pie shell
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove husk from ground cherry a wash. Place into unbaked pie shell.
Mix brown sugar and 1 tablespoon flour, sprinkle over cherries. Sprinkle water over top. Mix 3 tablespoons with 3 tablespoons sugar.
Cut in butter until crumbly. Top cherry mix with crumbs.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, reduce temp to 375 degrees and bake for 25 minutes.
Traditionally served at Thanksgiving. The ground cherries freeze well, so they can be enjoyed all year.
Information for this article was taken from How To Grow Ground Cherries, by Colleen Vanderlinden, 4/14/22 thespruce.com; When Are Ground Cherries Ripe? Read Before You Eat, bountifulgardener.com; my friends Thelma and Linda Harder, and my own experiences.
Joy Ceraldi is a Master Gardener with the Sandusky and Ottawa Counties Extension Offices of The Ohio State University.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Master Gardener: Ground cherries add another option in warm climates
