Pineapple Ground Cherry seeds
The Pineapple Ground Cherry (also known as the pineapple tomatillo) is delicious beyond belief. Like the Peruvian groundcherry, this plant sheds enormous amounts of berries every day. It's not common to go outside every morning and have enough berries for oatmeal, smoothies, or just snacking. The Pineapple Ground Cherry has a distinctive flavor that is suggestive of a bite of juicy pineapple with a subtle hint of vanilla, while its cousin, the Peruvian Ground Cherry has a more tropical melon-type flavor. These are also great for preserves and dehydration.
Since ground cherries are open-pollinated, they self-pollinate. If you have a bee shortage, fret not, these will do just fine. These do get very large, so you will need real estate for these to grow. The trail along the ground can act as ground cover. These can also be trimmed back if they become unruly. You can grow these in a container, but you want to use a fairly large container. If you use a smaller container this will grow, but it may result in smaller berries and not as many.
These will grow around 12 - 18 inches high. These thrive in full sun but can grow with some partial shade. Berry production increases with larger amounts of sunlight, however. These can take up to 30 days to germinate, patience will be key in enjoying these golden beauties.
Seed count: 50
Botanic name:
Physalis pruinosa
Plant spacing:
3-4'
Color:
Bright green foliage with yelow colored berries
Sowing depth:
1/4 inch
Sun requirements:
Full sun / part shade
Utilization:
Outstanding eaten fresh from the plant. You can also transform these into jams, and preserves, put them in salads, or bake them into pies and tarts.
Frost hardy:
No
Maturity days:
75-80 days
Life cycle:
Perennial
Can I start indoors:
Yes
Container friendly:
Yes, the bigger the container, the better
Other names:
Pineapple tomatillo, Inca Berry, Golden Barry, Cape Goose Berry