We’ve had ground cherries growing as volunteers on our property for more than 50 years. My mother brought the seeds with her from where she grew up. Ground cherries are in the nightshade family along with tomatoes, potatoes and peppers so it’s a good idea to let them ripen before you eat them raw or they can give you a bellyache. Native American Cherokee folklore tells us that these are medicinal as they allow us to “let go”. In other words if you are grieving or recently went through a traumatic situation these will help you let go of it.
My Dad grew these and made jam and wine,before he passed. He taught all of us how to do a lot of what people have forgotten. Thank you for bringing back some great memories. All my best and God Bless. Bobby
You are very welcome. And your comment makes me smile also :) I found your channel through Full S.S. And has with any channel I value I will always Like,Share and add to playlists. All my best and God bless. Bobby
We have these growing wild all over our property! I just gathered a bowl full and plenty more and they are wild! So glad to find this way to preserve them!
I make ground cherry salsa, so good! Sweet and hot. Ground cherries, jalapeno, onion, garlic, little salt, & lime juice. I imagine you could use whatever you want and experiment with it to your tasting.
I receive notifications when you post a new video and I am so grateful for that. You create the most beautiful, rustic and real content I have ever seen or heard here on YT , TV or radio. Thank You for that and God Bless You Always
Thank you so much for that! To be honest, I held off on making videos because I felt I really did not have as much to offer as so many of the great channels out there that I could not imagine people would actually take an interest. Your words mean so much and are very encouraging!
These are native to my country (Colombia... We have a ridiculous variety of fruits I love going) they are called "uchuva" (OOH CHOO BAH) but they are also called goldenberries (my favorite) and Peruvian ground cherries. I love them!!!! So delicious 😋 Ann's explosive in nutrition
Have them growing here. Didn't know what they were/are. Come spring I'm digging them up and moving them to a raised bed in the garden. Hope they come back, chickens really did a number on the flower bed last year. Love watching and learning. God bless
Just another plant to add to my list of I wanna try that... I've got a special book that I keep on hand for when I watch your videos... I have it sectioned off for herbs and plants, fruits, veggies... etc... so far.. I think I'm gonna need a bigger book and 300 + acres... LOL LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!!! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! And please tell Mr. Rain thank you as well for sharing his knowledge with us too.. I enjoyed his refurbish of the drill press..
Thank you so much Bass! I will pass your kind words along for sure :) Remember, I am doing all this on a 3rd of an acre, with much of it being taking up with structures. No need for a lot of land. I know you are in an apartment now, but give that container gardening a try and do not give up if you have failures, failures are just a part of the learning process
Yes, God is good all the time! 🤗. I’ve tried golden berry (physalis peruviana) and can’t quite describe the taste but is really sweet. I bought physalis pruinosa ground cherries seeds abs can’t wait to try them and see what it tastes like compared to golden berry.
So that's what ground cherries are!! we call them Cape gooseberries. I was so surprised this year when they popped up in one of my pots that I didn't plant. Turns out they came back from last year's plants that I thought had died. Unusual considering the snowy blasts we had in March. I have heard that they are perennial in warmer or more sheltered positions but truly, I didn't even know they were still in there and viable, and were fully exposed to our last winter. Who knew!?!
I had not heard or read that they were perennial but do know they self sow easily and as a result, they can pop up all over the place. However, calendula is suppose to be an annual but I had one that stayed green all through winter. It had stopped growing and much of it died back but when the weather warmed up again, it started growing and blooming again, so that was pretty cool :D
awesome video, nice ground cherries I don't think I ever heard of them before but I'm going to have to check them out, you and your husband are awesome people I hope and pray that you do get the place that you want very soon, you deserve it, I bet the cherries tasted awesome, God bless you and your family.
Thank you Patrick! We go back and forth on it so much. We like where we are at and are pretty content, but still would like to expand our micro "farm" out so we can have a mini cow or maybe a couple of goats for milk, or at least just to have more privacy and space. However, we are content to keep making the most of our little area and do not want to go into debt for property if we can help it. This is why we need constant prayer for guidance. Just want it to be the right choice whatever we decide to do.
didn't know about these thanks, that's my way of thinking about off grid life i am also trying to live off grid as much as i can, glad i found your channel =)
I'll have to try again! I got them up to about two feet and the heat just killed them last year. I've got more fresh seed so I'll try again. Thanks for the inspiration. :)
We had a fairly cool summer, so this could be why they did so well? But they do really throw out the fresh fruit when the sun is shining, today is a beautiful day so I expect to be gathering a LOT more in the next couple of days
This is an interesting one I want to look for. In Ohio, we have at least 69 different kinds of edible Native plants that I know of & another few introduced plants, like Bodark, Pear Cactus, Black Locust & Firethorn. Seems my Native ancestors must've eaten pretty well.
O wow! I was wondering if you were still around. This video is one of my first ones from almost four years ago. We got so many ground cherries that year I could not keep up on them all!
Rain Country We left in 2018 had to get out of the cold. I was just watching your video on body cream. So happy I found you and what a surprise to see you on TH-cam! I’m so far behind lol but catching up one day at a time. Hope all is well.
Heidi, you are such an inspiration. I love blending different fruits for butters. I was showing my husband how you grow your ground cherries in a raised bed. He said that's a good idea to allow them to trail down & not grow flat on the ground. Did you start yours from seeds or plants? Are they annual or perennial? Thank you so much! YAHUAH IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!
Thank Ellen! I grew all my plants from seed that I started in 4" pots in the greenhouse. I planted them in several different locations to see where they would grow best and be easiest to harvest and the area shown here ended up being the best so I will let them reseed and grow there. They are annuals but I have read and been told that they easily reseed
Thank you. We have a mail order seed/seed exchange company near us in Mineral, Virginia that specializes in heirloom seeds. I just looked in their 2016 catalog & they carry them. www.SouthernExposure.com. Phone 540-894-9480.
I still have yet to try them in salad, though I keep meaning to! Patrick think I should try making a salsa with them. I just may have to try that too :)
Nice! I just bought a lot of these seeds for this year. I live in the PNW and was wondering how they would do. I gave my mother a packet as well, I'll share this with her!
Very, very cool Heidi!! I've never tried to grow ground cherries before. Now you have me wondering if they will grow here where we live.............. So Heidi did you mix the ground cherries with apples or is it just ground cherry butter? Thanks for sharing and take care-Debbie.
I am growing these for the first time this year, and my plants have been producing TONS, but the problem I’m having is the husks will turn beige/brown and then fall to the ground on their own, but a lot of them are still greenish when I open them. I’ve read that green GCs are toxic, and I can’t figure out how to ripen them. Any suggestions?
just open the papery outside to check the color, if they are still green just leave the in the husk and allow to sit in a bowl or basket on your counter to finish ripening
They can be toxic if the fruit is eaten green. I often had green ones that would fall to the ground that I would still pick up but would allow to ripen on their own inside. They are pretty tasty but I have not grown much of them since this old video. I get a few but mostly just like to have them for snacking while in the garden
I read about ground cherries in the Little House books growing up, which prompted me to try , and grow them. From the research I have done, the unripe fruit is toxic. It is best to gather them, and wait until they darken, to a dark apricot color before eating for optimal flavor. You can store them in their husks, for a few weeks, freeze and dehydrate them. Did you puree, and can the apple butter, or leave it chunky?
I may be replying twice but it seems my comment are disappearing: I had not heard of them being toxic when unripe, I have eaten many that were not quite ripe and even tried one totally green out of curiosity and had no issue, but I will look into that for future reference
I'm growing these for the first time and am already getting small fruits. Does the fruit get a little sweeter as the plant matures? The small ones I've tasted are kind of bland so far. I've only tried the ones that have fallen off the plants. My plants aren't even a foot high yet.
O yes, the fruit is MUCH sweeter and better at full maturity. When they are gold, almost a bit orange in color, is when they are the best tasting. If they are still yellow or yellow-green, they are not very good
Since ground cherries are in the nightshade family, same as tomatoes, peppers and potatoes, they can give you a tummy ache if eaten when they are unripe.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest on the coast. I have a bunch on the bush that aren't ripe yet. I have been hanging my tomato plants that still have fruit in the shed. Should I do the same with the ground cherries? Should I put a heater in the shed if it gets super cold? How long will this take? Does it work well to ripen this way? Gonna put some bananas in there maybe too. It doesn't get super cold here often.
Oh yeah you live near me. In Forks right? I'm in Ocean Shores. Will frost hurt them? I'm gonna make jam or jelly. Can u link your apple butter recipe? I've got several pounds ready in the fridge. More green ones ripening in a paper bag w a banana and a ton on the bushes. I have 5 bushes. My first year too and gonna cage them next time. Mine fell over the beds too.
I am sure you can, I have not grown these in several years (the video above is from 2016) since while we like them for snacking, I was not real crazy about using them for much else.
I believe that ground cherries are also related to Tomatillos of husk tomatoes . difference is they are sweeter and the tomatillo is more green tomato like in taste . Try either in salsas or jams. or cook with them in stews. like you would a tomato ... Bye the way love your apron. do you have a video showing how you make them . Ninette Bird- wife
Yes I live in eastern Missouri and they grow wild here I discovered them last year because they popped up in my strawberry bed. I was weeding and was about to pull them until I saw there was fruit on the plant. I read they were toxic if not ripe and I didn't know what ripe liked like so I've never eaten them.
every year I tell myself that i'm going to grow ground cherries and then I don't. Ugh! thanks for sharing your video on them. i think 2017 will be the year i grow ground cherries!
Heidi, I've never figured out if these are tomatoes or fruit? Whenever I look them up some say tomatoes and some say fruit. I've had seeds for them but was unsuccessful. I want to try again. Are they fruit or tomatoes? (I do realize that tomatoes are actually fruit.)
though they are related to a tomato, I believe that is pretty distant, the way they grow and look as a plant are more similar to a tomatillo. The funny thing about the word fruit is that can apply to any food bearing plant, while the word vegetable cannot. The fruit of the plant is the part that holds the seed. That can be squash, peppers, and so on. Now if I consider them a vegetable, no, I do not, these are sweet like berries, in fact when fully ripe, sweater than many berries.
thank you for sharing. I'm going to have to check into that. not sure if they'd grow in my colder climate. when canning for a jelly or jam do you need to mix them with other sweet fruits? I really like you winter kitchen. great idea.
I've heard of ground cherries but haven't seen any locally... Where did you get your seeds?? Are they annuals or perineals?? I'd love to grow them. I hear they are delicious!
I had to order mine online - I think I found them on Amazon because I could not find them at Baker Creek - where I by most my seeds. They are annuals but they readily self seed so I do not think I will even need to buy more. I have gathered so much more since this video and they are STILL full of tons more!
Thanks for the info!! I'll look on Amazon. Sunshine LOVES fruit so I'm trying to diversify what I grow. She'll enjoy picking up all the ground cherries next year! :D
I have a 2 year old plant, zone 9b, and get very few. I over wintered the plants inside, and put hem ut in sprig should I let them die back in the winter?
They are not perennial, so they will not come back from the root, but they do self seed abundantly, so this year I did not plant any new ones, they are coming up everywhere! By the way, this video is from last summer, the ones I have now are not bearing fruit yet. We have a late growing season as it is, even later this year than usual
The way these grow, even though they are annuals, I am thinking I will never need to plant them again! haha! I am thinking of making a sweet salsa out of some of them as per my husband's request - which is funny, he doesn't usually like the sweet salsas
The plant is of the Nightshade family, like tomato and tomatillo. Only eat the ones that fall off the plant on their own and only eat the yellow to yellowish/orange to orange ones of those that do fall to the ground. Unripe ground cherries are toxic, as are other parts of the plant, as well. I'm not sure if the wild ones you mention are the same type as these in the video, but there's a fair amount of information on different types of Ground Cherries available online.
No, the flowers are yellow, it would be difficult to eat the seeds in these without eating the fruit as the seeds are very small. The fruit, in size and texture is similar to a cherry tomato or a very small tomatillo.
my fruits had a body when the seeds weren't ripe, but i was collecting them just before the winter - just for their seeds. So when I opened the fruit - it was full of seeds - there was no 'body', just packed with seeds (like a fig, just not sticky). So for me it was easy to taste the seeds, because there were only seeds and they taste exactly like inca berries. But I guess, my variety is not edible. I've read that unripe fruits are poisonous.
I am pretty sure they will, probably even better. The crazy thing is I have not been able to get them to grow as good for me since (this video was from summer of 2016)
Someone gave me a tiny plant this spring, and the darn thing got to be probably 2 1/2 ft wide on all sides (it's actually pretty square - and very flat. Different than hers) Anyway, it is huge and very productive, and I live in Northern CA...
Never seen or heard of them. Are they similar to the Physalis (Chinese Gooseberry) or is the only similarity te papery husk? P.s. I like your hair all gathered off your face like that.
I am not familiar with the Chinese Goosberry myself so I cannot say for sure. I do know these grow like crazy however I did learn in my area, it is best to start them in the green house first, then transplant. They do self seed easily but when I allowed mine to do that and just grow on their own this last summer, I got very little production out of them
Well, it does not hurt to eat a green one or two but they taste best when they turn golden in color. This video is nearly 4 years old but there were lot of green ones I picked up from the ground. They will continue to ripen when left in their husks
OLD video but talking and explaining is a part of teaching. Good thing it cost you nothing for that which you were not interested in. Also, following up a statement of gratitude with an insult is not gratitude
We’ve had ground cherries growing as volunteers on our property for more than 50 years. My mother brought the seeds with her from where she grew up. Ground cherries are in the nightshade family along with tomatoes, potatoes and peppers so it’s a good idea to let them ripen before you eat them raw or they can give you a bellyache. Native American Cherokee folklore tells us that these are medicinal as they allow us to “let go”. In other words if you are grieving or recently went through a traumatic situation these will help you let go of it.
My Dad grew these and made jam and wine,before he passed. He taught all of us how to do a lot of what people have forgotten. Thank you for bringing back some great memories.
All my best and God Bless.
Bobby
You are welcome and thank you, this made me smile!
You are very welcome. And your comment makes me smile also :) I found your channel through Full S.S. And has with any channel I value I will always Like,Share and add to playlists.
All my best and God bless.
Bobby
Very much appreciated!
We have these growing wild all over our property! I just gathered a bowl full and plenty more and they are wild! So glad to find this way to preserve them!
I make ground cherry salsa, so good! Sweet and hot. Ground cherries, jalapeno, onion, garlic, little salt, & lime juice. I imagine you could use whatever you want and experiment with it to your tasting.
Do you have a recipe you can share? I don’t recall ground cherry salsa in my Ball canning book
God is good indeed, just found your channel and glee realising I have 8 yrs to catch up on. Thank you lovely 🌻
A plant has never made me so happy! Highly recommended. One plant is enough, two would be heaven, if you had room. They get huge!
I receive notifications when you post a new video and I am so grateful for that. You create the most beautiful, rustic and real content I have ever seen or heard here on YT , TV or radio. Thank You for that and God Bless You Always
Thank you so much for that! To be honest, I held off on making videos
because I felt I really did not have as much to offer as so many of the
great channels out there that I could not imagine people would actually
take an interest. Your words mean so much and are very encouraging!
These are native to my country (Colombia... We have a ridiculous variety of fruits I love going) they are called "uchuva" (OOH CHOO BAH) but they are also called goldenberries (my favorite) and Peruvian ground cherries. I love them!!!! So delicious 😋 Ann's explosive in nutrition
Thank you so much for telling us how to pronounce it.
Have them growing here. Didn't know what they were/are. Come spring I'm digging them up and moving them to a raised bed in the garden. Hope they come back, chickens really did a number on the flower bed last year. Love watching and learning. God bless
I never knew there was such a thing as ground cherries. Another on my list to try growing. Thanks for sharing.
I got some seeds, trying it out this spring!
They spread quickly and and keep blooming till frost here in east TX.
Yes, and all the time, God is good! I just tasted a ground cherry for the first time and loved it. Good video!
Just another plant to add to my list of I wanna try that... I've got a special book that I keep on hand for when I watch your videos... I have it sectioned off for herbs and plants, fruits, veggies... etc... so far.. I think I'm gonna need a bigger book and 300 + acres... LOL LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!!! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! And please tell Mr. Rain thank you as well for sharing his knowledge with us too.. I enjoyed his refurbish of the drill press..
Thank you so much Bass! I will pass your kind words along for sure :) Remember, I am doing all this on a 3rd of an acre, with much of it being taking up with structures. No need for a lot of land. I know you are in an apartment now, but give that container gardening a try and do not give up if you have failures, failures are just a part of the learning process
Yes, God is good all the time! 🤗. I’ve tried golden berry (physalis peruviana) and can’t quite describe the taste but is really sweet. I bought physalis pruinosa ground cherries seeds abs can’t wait to try them and see what it tastes like compared to golden berry.
So that's what ground cherries are!! we call them Cape gooseberries. I was so surprised this year when they popped up in one of my pots that I didn't plant. Turns out they came back from last year's plants that I thought had died. Unusual considering the snowy blasts we had in March. I have heard that they are perennial in warmer or more sheltered positions but truly, I didn't even know they were still in there and viable, and were fully exposed to our last winter. Who knew!?!
I had not heard or read that they were perennial but do know they self sow easily and as a result, they can pop up all over the place. However, calendula is suppose to be an annual but I had one that stayed green all through winter. It had stopped growing and much of it died back but when the weather warmed up again, it started growing and blooming again, so that was pretty cool :D
Loved these as a child. They would come up wild somewhere near the garden.
I have never heard of these! They look sooo good. I have got to look into them. As always, great video. Thank you so much! Have a blessed day!
Thank you Moonridge! Praying for you, your request in the chat this morning truly touched me.
awesome video, nice ground cherries I don't think I ever heard of them before but I'm going to have to check them out, you and your husband are awesome people I hope and pray that you do get the place that you want very soon, you deserve it, I bet the cherries tasted awesome, God bless you and your family.
Thank you Patrick! We go back and forth on it so much. We like where we are at and are pretty content, but still would like to expand our micro "farm" out so we can have a mini cow or maybe a couple of goats for milk, or at least just to have more privacy and space. However, we are content to keep making the most of our little area and do not want to go into debt for property if we can help it. This is why we need constant prayer for guidance. Just want it to be the right choice whatever we decide to do.
Very interesting, I have never heard of these. Thanks for sharing.
didn't know about these thanks, that's my way of thinking about off grid life i am also trying to live off grid as much as i can, glad i found your channel =)
Thank you!
I'll have to try again! I got them up to about two feet and the heat just killed them last year. I've got more fresh seed so I'll try again. Thanks for the inspiration. :)
We had a fairly cool summer, so this could be why they did so well? But they do really throw out the fresh fruit when the sun is shining, today is a beautiful day so I expect to be gathering a LOT more in the next couple of days
Thank you very much for your good advice
This is an interesting one I want to look for. In Ohio, we have at least 69 different kinds of edible Native plants that I know of & another few introduced plants, like Bodark, Pear Cactus, Black Locust & Firethorn. Seems my Native ancestors must've eaten pretty well.
Dont forget the Pawpaw!
i taste peach/watermelon! thank you for the video, i just ate my first one from my garden and I'm in love!
Now I am going to have to try one and see if I can taste peaches and watermelon! haha
Thanks for sharing! I have never heard of ground cherries before.
Hi Heidi! Just found your video while looking into Ground Cherries. We’re down in AZ now but I think they’d do well here too.
Hope all is well there.
ps This is Kathy, just realized it comes up under Rons name
O wow! I was wondering if you were still around. This video is one of my first ones from almost four years ago. We got so many ground cherries that year I could not keep up on them all!
Rain Country We left in 2018 had to get out of the cold. I was just watching your video on body cream.
So happy I found you and what a surprise to see you on TH-cam! I’m so far behind lol but catching up one day at a time.
Hope all is well.
Heidi, you are such an inspiration. I love blending different fruits for butters. I was showing my husband how you grow your ground cherries in a raised bed. He said that's a good idea to allow them to trail down & not grow flat on the ground. Did you start yours from seeds or plants? Are they annual or perennial? Thank you so much! YAHUAH IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!
Thank Ellen! I grew all my plants from seed that I started in 4" pots in the greenhouse. I planted them in several different locations to see where they would grow best and be easiest to harvest and the area shown here ended up being the best so I will let them reseed and grow there. They are annuals but I have read and been told that they easily reseed
Thank you. We have a mail order seed/seed exchange company near us in Mineral, Virginia that specializes in heirloom seeds. I just looked in their 2016 catalog & they carry them. www.SouthernExposure.com. Phone 540-894-9480.
Southern Exposure is another good place to order from. I usually get my seed from Baker Creek but they did not have the ground cherry seeds.
Guess I'm not the only one who has never heard of ground cherries. Thanks for sharing ((hugs))
Thanks for watching! :D
They look so pretty
I love ground cherries . I haven't cooked with them yet though I usually eat them in salad .
I still have yet to try them in salad, though I keep meaning to! Patrick think I should try making a salsa with them. I just may have to try that too :)
Nice! I just bought a lot of these seeds for this year. I live in the PNW and was wondering how they would do. I gave my mother a packet as well, I'll share this with her!
As you can see, they do great! Even in our very wet climate and even through our wetter than normal summer we had this past year :)
Very, very cool Heidi!! I've never tried to grow ground cherries before. Now you have me wondering if they will grow here where we live..............
So Heidi did you mix the ground cherries with apples or is it just ground cherry butter?
Thanks for sharing and take care-Debbie.
I am growing these for the first time this year, and my plants have been producing TONS, but the problem I’m having is the husks will turn beige/brown and then fall to the ground on their own, but a lot of them are still greenish when I open them. I’ve read that green GCs are toxic, and I can’t figure out how to ripen them. Any suggestions?
just open the papery outside to check the color, if they are still green just leave the in the husk and allow to sit in a bowl or basket on your counter to finish ripening
Wait.
This is native in my country but we were told this are poisoned. Damn. The regrets. They grow like grass during my childhood.
They can be toxic if the fruit is eaten green. I often had green ones that would fall to the ground that I would still pick up but would allow to ripen on their own inside. They are pretty tasty but I have not grown much of them since this old video. I get a few but mostly just like to have them for snacking while in the garden
I read about ground cherries in the Little House books growing up, which prompted me to try , and grow them. From the research I have done, the unripe fruit is toxic. It is best to gather them, and wait until they darken, to a dark apricot color before eating for optimal flavor. You can store them in their husks, for a few weeks, freeze and dehydrate them. Did you puree, and can the apple butter, or leave it chunky?
I may be replying twice but it seems my comment are disappearing: I had not heard of them being toxic when unripe, I have eaten many that were not quite ripe and even tried one totally green out of curiosity and had no issue, but I will look into that for future reference
nice video, I may try them next year, thanks for sharing
I'm growing these for the first time and am already getting small fruits. Does the fruit get a little sweeter as the plant matures? The small ones I've tasted are kind of bland so far. I've only tried the ones that have fallen off the plants. My plants aren't even a foot high yet.
O yes, the fruit is MUCH sweeter and better at full maturity. When they are gold, almost a bit orange in color, is when they are the best tasting. If they are still yellow or yellow-green, they are not very good
Since ground cherries are in the nightshade family, same as tomatoes, peppers and potatoes, they can give you a tummy ache if eaten when they are unripe.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest on the coast. I have a bunch on the bush that aren't ripe yet. I have been hanging my tomato plants that still have fruit in the shed. Should I do the same with the ground cherries? Should I put a heater in the shed if it gets super cold? How long will this take? Does it work well to ripen this way? Gonna put some bananas in there maybe too. It doesn't get super cold here often.
Oh yeah you live near me. In Forks right? I'm in Ocean Shores. Will frost hurt them? I'm gonna make jam or jelly. Can u link your apple butter recipe? I've got several pounds ready in the fridge. More green ones ripening in a paper bag w a banana and a ton on the bushes. I have 5 bushes.
My first year too and gonna cage them next time. Mine fell over the beds too.
I am sure you can, I have not grown these in several years (the video above is from 2016) since while we like them for snacking, I was not real crazy about using them for much else.
@@RainCountryHomestead yeah I was thinking of doing a lemon jelly. The apple butter looks good too. Some ppl don't like the seeds. Thx
I believe that ground cherries are also related to Tomatillos of husk tomatoes . difference is they are sweeter and the tomatillo is more green tomato like in taste . Try either in salsas or jams. or cook with them in stews. like you would a tomato ... Bye the way love your apron. do you have a video showing how you make them . Ninette Bird- wife
I will be making an apron making video in the near future :D
Again,another great video.
Thank you Wendy!
Is there any benefit to the ground cherry leaves tea?
Do you think these would grow well in Southwest Missouri?
I really cannot tell you for sure as I know nothing of that climate but I do know they are easy to grow and heavy producers
Yes I live in eastern Missouri and they grow wild here I discovered them last year because they popped up in my strawberry bed. I was weeding and was about to pull them until I saw there was fruit on the plant. I read they were toxic if not ripe and I didn't know what ripe liked like so I've never eaten them.
every year I tell myself that i'm going to grow ground cherries and then I don't. Ugh! thanks for sharing your video on them. i think 2017 will be the year i grow ground cherries!
:D
Did you grow any
Heidi, I've never figured out if these are tomatoes or fruit? Whenever I look them up some say tomatoes and some say fruit. I've had seeds for them but was unsuccessful. I want to try again. Are they fruit or tomatoes? (I do realize that tomatoes are actually fruit.)
though they are related to a tomato, I believe that is pretty distant, the way they grow and look as a plant are more similar to a tomatillo. The funny thing about the word fruit is that can apply to any food bearing plant, while the word vegetable cannot. The fruit of the plant is the part that holds the seed. That can be squash, peppers, and so on. Now if I consider them a vegetable, no, I do not, these are sweet like berries, in fact when fully ripe, sweater than many berries.
Wow! That is so exciting! I hoped they were more like fruit because it would give us an option here in our soil. Thank you very much!
thank you for sharing. I'm going to have to check into that. not sure if they'd grow in my colder climate. when canning for a jelly or jam do you need to mix them with other sweet fruits? I really like you winter kitchen. great idea.
Annette, I am in a cold, wet climate and they grew great for me. I was thinking they might not because of my area but it was clearly not an issue.
I think a state next to you but not sure. I'm going to have to look into this.
I've heard of ground cherries but haven't seen any locally... Where did you get your seeds?? Are they annuals or perineals?? I'd love to grow them. I hear they are delicious!
I had to order mine online - I think I found them on Amazon because I
could not find them at Baker Creek - where I by most my seeds. They are
annuals but they readily self seed so I do not think I will even need
to buy more. I have gathered so much more since this video and they are
STILL full of tons more!
Thanks for the info!! I'll look on Amazon. Sunshine LOVES fruit so I'm trying to diversify what I grow. She'll enjoy picking up all the ground cherries next year! :D
That will be perfect for her as they are low to the ground and easy to gather!
I love that apron. Where did you get it!?
I made it :)
Rain Country I figured! Absolutely gorgeous!
What do u do with the cracked ones?
Never heard of these. I wonder if they'd grow nicely here in Ohio.
I would guess they would
Nicole Sweetz they will I've been growing them in northern Maine, I just have to start them indoors early the same way I have to for tomatoes
What's the recipe for ground cherry apple butter?!
You did not show how you store... can you freeze? How long does it last?
This video was not about storing but yes, you can freeze
Meant the “Butter”...
You can it
I have a 2 year old plant, zone 9b, and get very few. I over wintered the plants inside, and put hem ut in sprig should I let them die back in the winter?
They are not perennial, so they will not come back from the root, but they do self seed abundantly, so this year I did not plant any new ones, they are coming up everywhere! By the way, this video is from last summer, the ones I have now are not bearing fruit yet. We have a late growing season as it is, even later this year than usual
Thank you so much!
Heidi, awesome video. do you start from seed or roots? thanks again. Lajuana
I started mine from seed - VERY easy to grow! :)
Miss great video question do you have a problem with spider mites?
Only on the peach tree when we had it in the green house
Im guessing ground cherries don't grow in zone 6? Just wanting to know if these can hold up in Maine.
Since they are an annual, I would guess they would grow there. We have a short growing season and they can do pretty well here.
Growing them in zone 3
We’re do you live I’m in California is the first time I see that tape of way to cook
Is good to make a one in my house in case blackout
i have those growing wild here. thought they were poisonous
The way these grow, even though they are annuals, I am thinking I will never need to plant them again! haha! I am thinking of making a sweet salsa out of some of them as per my husband's request - which is funny, he doesn't usually like the sweet salsas
The plant is of the Nightshade family, like tomato and tomatillo. Only eat the ones that fall off the plant on their own and only eat the yellow to yellowish/orange to orange ones of those that do fall to the ground. Unripe ground cherries are toxic, as are other parts of the plant, as well. I'm not sure if the wild ones you mention are the same type as these in the video, but there's a fair amount of information on different types of Ground Cherries available online.
Hi Heidi,
This looks so good. I have a question. Where did you get your manual from processor?
I am glad you asked! I keep forgetting to add the link to that in the description box. I will go get that now and add it in.
Thank you Heidi.
You are very welcome Patty! :D
are the flowers purple/pink? I had a plant like that and liked the taste of it's seeds, but I wasn't sure wether it was edible.
No, the flowers are yellow, it would be difficult to eat the seeds in these without eating the fruit as the seeds are very small. The fruit, in size and texture is similar to a cherry tomato or a very small tomatillo.
my fruits had a body when the seeds weren't ripe, but i was collecting them just before the winter - just for their seeds. So when I opened the fruit - it was full of seeds - there was no 'body', just packed with seeds (like a fig, just not sticky). So for me it was easy to taste the seeds, because there were only seeds and they taste exactly like inca berries. But I guess, my variety is not edible. I've read that unripe fruits are poisonous.
woow .so many
I live in California, do you think it’s ok to grow?
I am pretty sure they will, probably even better. The crazy thing is I have not been able to get them to grow as good for me since (this video was from summer of 2016)
Someone gave me a tiny plant this spring, and the darn thing got to be probably 2 1/2 ft wide on all sides (it's actually pretty square - and very flat. Different than hers) Anyway, it is huge and very productive, and I live in Northern CA...
Never seen or heard of them. Are they similar to the Physalis (Chinese Gooseberry) or is the only similarity te papery husk? P.s. I like your hair all gathered off your face like that.
I am not familiar with the Chinese Goosberry myself so I cannot say for sure. I do know these grow like crazy however I did learn in my area, it is best to start them in the green house first, then transplant. They do self seed easily but when I allowed mine to do that and just grow on their own this last summer, I got very little production out of them
Think these would be awesome in a cherry-apple butter Heidi....
The fruit butter with the coconut sugar and vanilla has a rather caramel taste - I love it!
I kinda wish things would crash so we can go back to living like this
I thought you weren't supposed to eat these green?
Well, it does not hurt to eat a green one or two but they taste best when they turn golden in color. This video is nearly 4 years old but there were lot of green ones I picked up from the ground. They will continue to ripen when left in their husks
I was wondering if you could eat them wild
As long as you are certain they are ground cherries, there should not be any problem
Yes thank you the shell is what makes it farmilier
I'm making a pie out of them
Look like gooseberries
There's nothing you can't do!😀
Am also growing
Green ones are poisonous... same as the leaves, wait.
You are correct. Green ones that are picked from the ground can be allowed to ripen on the counter though
Pie?
Yes, you can make pie
First of all thank you for doing videos!
However YOU TALK TO MUCH!!
Just SHOW US and put the recipe on the screen..
OLD video but talking and explaining is a part of teaching. Good thing it cost you nothing for that which you were not interested in. Also, following up a statement of gratitude with an insult is not gratitude