I fancy trying my hand at growing cape gooseberries but I'm not sure how can you get fruit from plants stated by seed or do you need to by plant/ bush?
Any help and advice on caring for them would also be much appreciated :wave:
I got seed here http://www.seedparade.co.uk/products/Cape_Gooseberry_100_seeds-273-0.html and will plant in Feb to get them going early.. I love these as they are a great berry/fruit to eat raw and make fab jam..
They are quite easy to grow from seed and are best grown under cover.
I have also found that they are best grown in soil that is not too high in nutrients as they tend to make a lot of leaf growth and then there isn't enough time in the season for the fruit to ripen!
I find growing them in two gallon buckets is best as you can control the feeding better,but you have to keep them from drying out.
This link should help;http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Cape%20Gooseberry/Cape%20Gooseberry.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Cape%20Gooseberry/Cape%20Gooseberry.htm)
Thanks for replies.
I am glad I can start from seed much prefer that and can't wait for a different jam to make my neighbours will love a :happy7: change
Do the experienced growers have favourite varieties they recommend for next year?
There are several species of Physalis grown by gardeners in the UK.
The one you see in the shops with deep orange berries the size of a cherry tomato is the perennial Physalis peruvianus - and as the name suggests it doesn't really like our climate - to get fruit in the first year you need to grow it under cover and even then it needs a pretty good summer (forget the last 6 and hope for next year). You would need an absolutely fabulous summer like '76 for first year fruit outside.
Obviously you can overwinter it and be pretty sure of getting fruit the next year but it's a big plant and it isn't foolproof - my only real overwinter success was growing it in a rich greenhouse border followed by one of the mildest winters in living memory (and I'm in London).
I would try growing it in a big pot I could bring indoors - except I don't really like the taste - it is so aromatic that more than 6 fruits give me a headache - and I much prefer the other species with a lighter taste - though the berries are smaller and dark yellow rather than dark orange.
The big advantage of the ground cherries P.pruinosus etc. is that they reliably fruit outside in the first year in any reasonable summer (a bit of a struggle this year - only my polytunnel plants cropped).
To confuse matters there are supposed to be some dwarf varieties of P.peruvianus that is better at being annual - but it's very hard to tell which is which from the seed catalogues.
Cheers.
Thanks, that was useful.