Goldenberries are coming in fast. I started growing goldenberries about 10 years ago and for the majority of that time they reseeded there selves. I didn’t plant these, the guy who had the spot in the community garden last year did and these where all volunteers The thing was I was planning to plant 3 types goldenberries, aunt molly, pineapple and strawberry, but they got overrun by the volunteers. The funny thing is I don’t actualy like goldenberries. Almost everyone I share them with gushes over them like there little flavor explosions. Now I cant really say I dont like them anymore the cultivars they are selling at wholefoods and stop and shop taste pretty good, and dried taste good to me. These taste the same as the ones I grew for 10 years, do they dont impress me.
Husk tomatoes
My kids adore them. Like you though, I don’t care too much for them. I stopped planting them but they sprang up all over the garden and yard this year, growing in some pretty strange places. Like out of my fire pit. I let most of them grow where they sprouted so the kids could munch them. I have a problem here where later in the season many of them get mold growth on the inside of the husk though, which is kind of off putting. They’re kind of ugly plants- if they could be trained to go up instead of sprawling and taking so much space I might like them more.
husk tomatoes, Thats more commonly used for the tomatillo. Goldenberries are the same family Physalis diffrent species, and have a substantially more sweet fruit flavor over tomato.
We always called them ground cherries.
Two weeks worth of berries, most where fallen berries after a week of cold rain.
Just over 1.5L
50/50 sugar goldenberry vodka infusion.
They were an ideal fruit when I discovered them: a disease and pest resistant high yielding annual fruit you can easily start from seed. But I’ve decided I won’t grow them next year after growing them for the past two years successfully.
It’s just too much of a bother to picking them out of the grass one at a time every 2-3 days and then shuck them only to find 50% are ripe (ones that are counter ripened just aren’t that good). IMO the only way to grow them easily would be to grow them in a ~7 gal container with a 4x4’ tarp under it.
Thats worth a shot. My prediction is you will be growing them again wither you want to or not.
We’re growing Aunt Molly’s ground cherries for the first time this year (and probably forever, now, if volunteers are as enthusiastic as people say). I love them - easy and tasty. We’ve lost a lot of stuff to disease, bugs, and wildlife this year, but these guys have sailed through. They’ve been very satisfying for my 4 year old daughter to have in her garden, because she got to see a big payoff with very little effort. They do take over, though. They’ve kind of swallowed up her pepper plants.
We’ve been enjoying them fresh, but my favorite thing is to mix them 2:1 with canned pineapple and bake in a cobbler or pie… I’ve been meaning to try putting them in salsa but haven’t gotten around to it.
I would say so. The first picture in the thread is my plot and those are all volunteer golden berries. My 3.5 year old absolutly loves them too. She screams GoldenBerries when she sees them.
Haha, you’re probably right. I’m still on the lookout for the best variety and may have found a way to increase the fruit size through selective thinning. They were a nice patio / deck plant because of how easy it was to spot the fallen fruit but now I dont have that space and growing them next to grass is not an option.
Better tasting cultivars do exist. My family loves them but I dont actualy like the ones I grow. The strain I see at Wholefoods and occasionally Stop-rite I do like. My harvest came from volunteers the previous plot owner left behind. They overwhelmed the Aunt Molly, strawberry and Pineapple cultivars I planted on purpose. I do believe I isolated a few Aunt Molly’s out of the patch and they where better. I might need to switch plots in the community garden next year to make sure I know which plant it which.
I bought my seeds from Bakers Creek. I think @Hillbillyhort grows several cultivars maybe he has recommendations.
CNN also ran a story. I’m not sure if they are talking about the groundcherries we commonly grow in the US, or something else.