Ground Cherry: Tropical Taste in Zone 3

More fruit in the garden? Yes please. It might be challenging to find this little tropical tasting fruit in a greenhouse, but many heirloom seed companies carry ground cherry seeds. And once you have them, they will self seed themselves. Forever.

Some say ground cherries taste like pineapple. I say that’s an odd pineapple, but with some imagination, and a gently acquired taste, they are quite satisfying. By that I also mean, once you start eating them, they are so tasty you can almost feel your body absorbing the vitamins.

In fact, they are so flavourful, I could imagine them in heaven, not like the produce that is bred to travel, bred to grow large and fast, not bred to taste, and indeed, does not taste like much of anything beyond a mild sweetness, if you’re that lucky.

Growing Ground Cherries

Ground cherries are in the tomato family (and would likely be found in that section of a garden centre). They grow inside husks, like tomatillos and Chinese lanterns.

Once ripe, the husks turn brown and fall off the mother plant (sometimes vise versa), hence the name, ground cherry. They grow to be about 1cm in diameter, and are mature when they are golden yellow. (perhaps the size of a sour cherry…)

I tried to ripen some in husk on the counter, but failed. They did not ripen further for me. Green ground cherries are quite sour.

Yes, we do harvest them off the ground, as long as the fruit is not split, it is fine.

If you start ground cherry seeds indoors, in hopes of an earlier harvest, start them at the same time as tomatoes. Here in Manitoba, that is in March, about 8 weeks before May Long Weekend, even though I only plant them out in June.

Planting seeds in a grow mix (the ones with peat moss, vermiculite, and white beads called perlite) prevents stem rot because the surface dries out quickly, and the plants don’t sit in soggy soil. For this same reason, check seeds and seedlings every day or two to see if they need watering.  A plastic cover or wrap helps keep them moist till they sprout.

Tomato type seeds do not need light to sprout, but get the light on them immediately once they peek through the soil, a bright window or grow light with blue or full spectrum light, otherwise you risk leggy seedlings.

Two weeks after seeds sprout, and every two weeks thereafter, fertilize seedlings with a weak fertilizer. That grow mix you planted the seeds in does not contain a lot of nutrients.

Harden off seedlings outside before planting them out. They are babies, in need of babying! Place them in a sheltered, shaded spot outside for increasing numbers of hours over the course of a week.

Without hardening off, these babies may fry and die of shock. Ask me how I know. Our little sun is very powerful.

After all risk of frost is past, plant out the seedlings. Here that is in June, usually the first or second week.

Like tomatoes, ground cherries appreciate consistent moisture to grow well, and prevent cracking of the ripe fruit.

However, since my ground cherries come up on their own, wherever in the garden, between rows, they may or may not get much watering. They seem to do fine.

Like wonderberries, this prolific reseeding may be why they fell out of favour with gardeners (though I find it a degree less invasive than said wonderberries). When my dad tasted them again, he said it was like going back in time sixty years. My grandparents are also familiar with groundcherries.

More likely, farmers incurred problems with harvesting on a large scale. Instead, we can now buy similar fruit grown in Columbia and shipped around the world, bought at a king’s price. (So my sister informed me the other day).

Now that we’ve given the ground cherries time to ripen, as we’ve philosophized, let’s get back to business.

As we said earlier, once the husks dry to brown, and the ground cherries turn from green to golden, they are ready to be harvested from the plant, or more likely, the ground.

Remove the husk, and discard cherries that are too green, or cracked. They may sit on the counter (beware of fruit flies) or in the fridge for a few days. They may be stored whole, in the freezer in freezer bags.

I have made jam with them on several occasions. I have made it without sweetener, though I recommend just a bit. I will make some again this year, if they don’t disappear into smoothies first.

I may even try making a crisp. A dusting of flour or corn starch may be in order for these juicy berries. Bring on the ice cream!

These tropical tasting ground cherries are a treat amid the staple apples in our fridge. Have fun growing these easy plants, and enjoy the fruits of your labour, and try substituting other traditional fruits and berries with these golden fruit.

Try these gardening articles:

Wonderberry: Is this Success or Failure?

Summer Squash Success

Grow Montreal Market Melons