Annie, I grew ground cherries for the first time last year. The ones in the ground did better and lasted longer than the ones in containers, but those in containers did fine too. I had them in 1 gal pots, which was perhaps too small.
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Which variety did you grow? How big the berries? When I was in Europe,I had ground cherries that are about the size of cherry tomatoes, the size and color looks a lot like Sun Gold tomato and taste pretty good. I can’t find similar one here
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I had both pineapple and Aunt Molly. They both tasted similar to me, and were tiny, the size of a dime or so. We made salsa with them to go with tacos a couple of times, and squirrels and hamsters enjoyed the rest. Wonder what varieties they have in Europe.
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I was growing them in a 2 or 3 gallon bucket, and took the remaining spawn and packed it into a drilled soda bottle. It was a learning experience!
Bagging the bucket during growth (opening it a few times of the day to breathe, or just leaving the top of the bag open) seemed like a decent idea to keep the humidity… but it was a terrible idea during the fruiting phase. I lost the first batch of mushrooms that way (the CO2 lengthened them, and debagging dried ‘em out). I left it unbagged afterwards, and dunked them in water for a while, and soon got the mushrooms in the pics.
Afterwards, I neglected the spawn, it dried out, then I remoistened it and mixed it up for my current 5 gallon bucket, but I’m beginning to regret it. Apparently mycelium grows old, weaker and prone to mold (I can imagine that goes double for my neglected mycelium). For fresh mycelium for new batches, it’s better to isolate the mushroom stem butts on moist cardboard in a small tupperware. I got a couple of videos off of YouTube on aging mycelium and isolating the fresh stuff, so I’ll link them here:
I got 4 new buckets that I’ll be drilling, and will soon be ordering new spawn for Phoenix, Yellow and Pink Oysters. I’ll keep the cultures alive with the stem butt method.
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We live in North Carolina so it might be the mild winters that let the ground cherries reseed so easily. Interestingly, they seem to pop up mid summer when most plants are wilting in the heat. Perhaps they need a really warm ground temperature to take off. Maybe a little plastic cover or greenhouse would work for speeding them up in your climate?
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On a trip to Ireland a few years back, I had a slice of cake garnished with what looked like an enormous ground cherry. I think I brought it home to the U.S. to start the seeds but then life got in the way and I forgot about it. I wonder if the larger ones are the Poha berry, same family just bigger fruits. Poha Berry
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Care to comment about the different strains of oyster mushrooms?
I did one of those HD oyster kits and don’t even remember what kind it was.
Scott
I got ‘em from Mushroom Mountain. I went for the Phoenix Oyster despite not being a tropical variety because it could handle the highest temps (though I’m not sure this was necessary). Goldens supposedly taste like cashews. I’ve heard elsewhere that Pinks taste somewhat like bacon, but MM reports a seafood-like flavor (which was my experience with the Phoenix). The Tarragon Oyster seems very appealing, I hadn’t seen it ‘til now.
Link: Oyster Mushroom Sawdust Spawn - (Pleurotus spp.) - 5lb – Mushroom Mountain
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It could be a poha berry. I had inca berry before but it was not as big as the one I had in Europe. The one in Europe may be some specific breed for fresh market.
If your looking at different oyster muschroom strains. For indoor/garage culture it might be worth it to hunt down a spore-less strain. For healt/allergy/asthma reasons.
If your growing on logs outside, id worry less about this.
But if seen pictures of dust filters on profesional container cultivation of oyster mushrooms. And whas shocked about the amount of pollen those shrooms kick out. Don’t want those in my longs/house.
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I read SFGate, there is a article mentioned ‘don’t amend the soil or use fertilizer’. I am wondering why? Do you know @kdegs @urbangardener @zendog @lordkiwi @Hillbillyhort
"Growth Habit
Physalis is an annual in all but U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, although it often reseeds. Cape gooseberries sprawl widely, with many branching stems, reaching 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. Tomatillo plants grow 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. Both plants are easily grown from seed. Plant seeds in full sun after all danger of frost has passed in well-drained, loamy soil. Don’t amend the soil or use fertilizer"
While I fertilize tomatoes and peppers I’ve never bothered to fertilize ground cherries, mostly because they are in another area and I’ve just never made a conscious choice to do it. They’ve grown well without it, whereas tomatoes would definitely suffer without the extra nutes. That said, I’ve been mulching the area they’re in with wood chips for several years, so there is definitely pretty good fertility already in that soil. But I don’t know why they would specifically say not to fertilize.
One thing I will note is that I read somewhere (maybe here?) about virus of other disease becoming resident in an area that takes them out prematurely and I have definitely had mine die out earlier the last two years. I like them, but they aren’t my families favorite so I haven’t really tried to get to the bottom of the issue. Sorry, not really answering your question, but maybe just adding some more…
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@IL847
Not sure why they recommend no fertilizer / amendments ?
I first encountered ground cherries in crop fields ,
Corn , tobacco , late vegetables. Etc.
They would occur as weeds , and I found them to be pleasant snacks, while harvesting these crops in the fall.
These were weeds in crop fields , so the ground was high fertility crop soil.
Later ,I would plant them intentionally, and grow some as as crop,
Giving them the same care as any other crop.
One thing that I found helpful , was to put something under the plants , cardboard, - landscape ,fabric .?
Makes harvesting the ground cherries so much easier. If they can be picked , swept up off a fabric of some sort.
Whether to fertilize or not would depend on the fertility of the soil.
Most crop fields provide adequate fertility, but Soils vary.
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Hmm, where my golden berries reseeded year after year was Washington DC and the soil was heavy red clay. In NJ in my garden soil the reseeding has been diminishing over time so I guess there is something to the not amending the soil. Compost is usually all the fertilizer you need. To much nitrogen and you will get an explosion of weak growth but then your fruits wont flower or set.
I doubt NJ is turning into Zone 7 but I found physalis growing wild in the forest behind my house
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What I’ve read about fertilizing Physalis and other weedy solanums is that they put all their energy into lush foliage and end up flowering/fruiting sparsely.
My cape gooseberries grew and bore quite well in a nutrient-poor sand patch (overlying compacted clay), and I didn’t fertilize at all.
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I have a potted bay leaf tree.
Kept as a house plant , it does good . About 3ft high,provides all the bay leafs I can use.
However ,I would like to start some more , for back up, and to give away.
I have tried rooting cuttings with no success so far.
Does anyone have a good method for propagating more of these?
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try grafting avocado to it with an approach graft.
Annie, I am not sure either why they recommend not to fertilize ground cherries. I would throw them a handful of all purpose organic fertilizer every now and then, but they were definitely not spoiled.
As far as your propagation troubles, I had no issue at all. They were a bit slow to germinate but I did not use a heating mat at the time. I simply misted the seeds and covered with clear plastic. Once they started, the germination rate was close to 100% and I ended up with way more plants than I needed. Gave some away to the neighbors and still had a lot.
The two plants in the forefront are my 1 gal container ground cherries. The ones in the ground ended up being slightly taller and about twice as wide. They are definitely spreading plants.
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Alex, picture is very helpful. I was going to plant it in a large 5~7glad pot. Maybe plant it in a smaller pot limites its foliage grows and promotes better fruits production