Topic: Cape gooseberries

[banksy]

Me again  ;D

Is anyone here growing cape gooseberries, I tried my first one this weekend and thought it was delicious, the rest of the family have been eating them for years.

Is it worth trying to grow our own?

Are they more suited to a tunnel/greenhouse?

Any advice welcome.

[saddad]

You need a big greenhouse... the plants get massive in that environment...  :-X

[realfood]

Try the dwarf type instead planted in a growbag on greenhouse staging. Still benefit from the higher temps in a greenhouse.

[banksy]

Ah yes I see there are two types now.... Something like this?


http://www.simplyseed.co.uk/oriental-veg-seeds/cape-gooseberry-little-lanterns.html

[gavinjconway]

Hi Banksy - I'm from Zimbabwe and they grew like a weed.. Great fruit to eat in the garden or to make jam.
Also used to make jam and cake tarts with a layer of them (stewed)

So i'm growing them for the first time here now that I have an allotment. I have some germinated already and are about 1/2" tall. I'll soon pot them up. i'm going to have some in the GH and try some outdoors. I believe they will need a GH ot tunnel to grow. I think they may also need a long season. Just have to wait and see how they turn out.. 

I'd be interested to see if anyone else does them...

[banksy]

Hi Gavin,

Seeds ordered i'll let you know how they get on - just hope I am not too late.  I will grow them in the tunnel.

[goodlife]

I grow them every other year...and I prefer the taller type that make BIG berries. They are very easy to grow and don't need any fancy care..but do prefer growing undercover (GH, polytunner) as they don't start ripening up until later on the season and often happily hanging on and perfectly edible over the winter..that's if they don't freeze.
I tent to run rope from one end of the GH to other in about waist height to keep the plants back abit so I can walk by.
Other than that..water and occasional bit of general feed or splash from  watering can that is destined to tomatoes and you'll be soon harvesting loads and loads.. ;D
I don't prune mine..unless some branch out grow far too much and gets on my way, that gets chop..otherwise I let them go 'jungle like'.
I did some last year so this year I'll be needing the space for something else... ::)..have to cut back with something.. ::)

[Alex133]

Find they grow very well under cover but do get huge unless roots restricted - grow in large pots if you don't want them taking over. (Don't think they'd be any good outside unless we get a glorious summer).

[banksy]

Hopefully going by the description I have bought a smaller bush type , is that even possible ???

Seems the advice is to grow in a container, I have a few large ones and I am sure one of those will be suitable.

[Alex133]

You may already know but they're actually perenial if kept frost free - I tried one year, cutting right down in the autumn, but they were just too massive to cope with the next year. They grow easily from seed anyway.

[antipodes]

They tend to be late ripeners - helps them if you can shelter them with plastic at the end of summer to ripen up the fruit. Never eat the fruit unless it is perfectly orange.

[kippers garden]

I've grown them inside and out.  The plants were much bigger when grown in the greenhouse and i got a good crop, but I did get an ok crop from outside too.

I save the seed each year and sow again the following spring.

[gazza1960]

They are a fun plant that grows well in the GH,but outside if there is strong winds the fruits do have a habit of falling off too early and dont tend to ripen in the husk,that said,when in the GH once the fruit husks are yellowing nicely I put a piece of clean plastic sheet under each pot as once the husks drop they can land on a clean surface and continue to ripen.,I collect them and find a sunny window ledge....the last piccy I did pop those too early really as they are sour as hell when green.
Blitzed and spread over fresh vanilla ice cream is a fav..... :D

Weve now gone for the bush type too and it will be fun to grow a couple in the Polly this season as im lead to believe the fruits are lovely and large.

we got the Giant bush ones from here............

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cape-Gooseberry-GIANT-Physalis-peruviana/dp/B0025VTHDS

Happy growing

Gazza

[banksy]

Hi Gazza,

Thanks for the pictures, that gives me some idea of what to expect, I have a place reserved now in the tunnel for this year.   ;D

I will see how they perform and then take a look at the giant bush type for next year.


Iain.