How To Grow and Use Ground Cherries (With Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What can ground cherries be used for? ›

Groundcherries are often used as a decorative garnish in desserts. Add them to a fruit salad or dip them in chocolate for a special treat. They can also be baked into a crisp or clafoutis, and they make a great jam! Groundcherries can also be substituted for green tomatoes and used in salsa, ketchup or chutney.

Plant after the last chance of frost, once spring has warmed the soil. Space plants 24 inches apart in full sun, although they'll tolerate some afternoon shade in hot climates. Mix compost or other organic matter into the soil of in-ground gardens. Ground cherries sprout roots along the stem, so plant deep.

Ground cherries are hugely popular in children's gardens because kids love to harvest and eat them. Remarkably sweet and fruity with tropical notes and a bare hint of tomato, ground cherries are great when simply eaten fresh.

Ground cherry is closely related to tomatillo; they are in the same genus, and both have edible berries covered by a papery husk. The tart berries start out green, turn yellow, and fall to the ground. Discard the husks and make jam, jelly, or pie, or eat the berries fresh.

Ground Cherries are relatives of tomatoes, and once husked are eaten raw, in salads or desserts, dried or made into jams. Sometimes called cape gooseberries, winter cherries, or husk tomatoes, ground cherries are small yellow fruits with a papery husk.

Ground Cherries aka Husk Cherries

Some describe them as a cross between a tomato and a pineapple. Others say a mix between a tomatillo and a grape. Since their flavor profile is somewhere between sweet, sour and umami, they work well in savory dishes as well as in desserts.

Do ground cherries come back every year? Ground cherries are grown as annuals so the same plants won't come back but they reseed themselves prolifically. To prevent ground cherry seedlings from popping up all over your garden, harvest all the fruit and remove any that has dropped to the ground.

Ground cherries are part of the 'nightshade' family so practice crop rotation to reduce disease problems. Verticillium wilt can cause yellowing and wilt on ground cherries. Insects – Cutworms can chew stems of young transplants at the soil line. To discourage, place a strip of paper around the young stem.

Ground cherries produce up to 300 fruits per plant and bear nonstop until frost. Four to six plants are sufficient for the average-sized family.

It is best not to plant ground cherries with corn, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, as well as other nightshades as they will compete for soil resources and attract similar pests. Additionally, nasturtiums can attract certain pests, so plant those far away from your ground cherries as a distraction.

When to harvest ground cherry? ›

Expect ripened fruit from late summer through autumn. Usually, fruits will ripen ten to eleven weeks after transplanting outdoors. The ground cherry fruit, a berry, ripens inside its husk. Then the beige to tan papery husk holding the berry falls to the ground.

Know When to Harvest

Once the husks of your ground cherries are dry and/or drop to the ground, our experts say they're ready to harvest. "Fruits are generally sweetest when they fall to the ground on their own or when the plant is gently shaken," Cunningham explains.

All fruits in the Physalis genus are toxic when unripe, and can even be fatal if ingested in large amounts. The husks, leaves and stems are also toxic, making the plants a danger to pets and livestock.

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.

Cherry Pits

The hard stone in the center of cherries is full of prussic acid, also known as cyanide, which is poisonous. But there's no need to freak out if you accidentally swallow one -- intact pits just pass through your system and out the other end. Avoid crunching or crushing pits as you nosh on your cherries.

Once the husks of your ground cherries are dry and/or drop to the ground, our experts say they're ready to harvest. "Fruits are generally sweetest when they fall to the ground on their own or when the plant is gently shaken," Cunningham explains.

Ground cherries are perfect eating when they're ripe and raw—just husk and pop them in your mouth. A recent salad that paired late-summer Sungolds with ground cherries was a revelation to me, but they're also an easy one-to-one swap with cherries or small tomatoes in raw or cooked recipes.

Harvesting Ground Cherries and Cape Gooseberries

If the fruit is still green, it's unripe. Don't eat it. That's because, like it's nightshade kin, the stems, leaves, and unripe fruit contain things that can upset your stomach. Don't eat green fruit, they contain toxins that cause stomach upset.