Growing Cape Gooseberry, also Golden Berry, Inca Berry

Physalis peruviana : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
              S S S S S
                T T T T
              P P P P P

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in Australia - temperate regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 50°F and 77°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 39 - 59 inches apart
  • Harvest in 14-16 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Will happily grow in a flower border but tends to sprawl over other plants.

Your comments and tips

Post a comment or question Display Newest first | Oldest first, Show comments for Australia | for all countries
24 Oct 18, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Rhubarb leaves are poisonous to humans too, so don't spray onto something you are going to eat.
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22 Oct 18, Kerri Hingston (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Where can you buy plants from
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23 Oct 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Try a seed selling company on the internet. i doubt any nursery would sell seedlings - not a common plant.
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02 Sep 18, Margaret Doro (Australia - temperate climate)
You can buy cape gooseberry seed from www.edenseeds.com.au
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25 Aug 18, Dorothy (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi. Can anyone help. I live in the Redlands and can grow cape gooseberries beautifully but Pest love them. I get about three different types of insects and a grub. Incesticide doesn’t help much, tried clay dust, all sorts... I have heard about boiled up ruhbarb leaves works against bugs. Can anyone help please. Dorothy
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27 Aug 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Have you tried tomato dust or try yellow sticky paper/traps on eBay or buy from Bunnings or the cheap shops.
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27 Aug 18, Mike (Australia - temperate climate)
Go to Gardenpatch Organics Seeds and Plants on the internet. Click garden products and garden netting - vegie netting. 3.5 ($4/m) or 6m ($7.50/m) wide. Buy 2 meters. Put a few stakes in and hang the netting up on it - like an A frame. It will keep all insects and bugs out.
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31 Aug 18, Jane (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Do you mean cover the entire frame so nothing enters? If so then how are things eg tomatoes, pollinated? Thnx.
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11 Nov 18, Jonathan (South Africa - Humid sub-tropical climate)
Most of these plants are wind pollinated too. Just a little shake gets them pollinated.
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03 Sep 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Cover the whole frame - tomatoes pollinate by the wind mainly. If you want to keep insects out then you need to use vegie netting, If birds - bird netting. Vegie netting means you can have rows approx. 9' long and 3.5 meter wide will go around both side of the plants. I put two stakes in the ground about 8-9' apart. A steel rod between them to keep them apart. 1200mm high 150mm x 150mm wire mesh between the posts tied to the posts. You wind the tomato plant in and out of the 150mm sq holes and can use bale twine or whatever to hold the plants to the mesh. Put some thin poles out about 12-18
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Showing 71 - 80 of 393 comments
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Hi Carol, My guess is your plant isn't getting enough water and/ or manure. My cape gooseberry which is now in the green house has gone wild, it's taken over the greenhouse. Not that I mind because it is loaded with fruit. Occasionally I squeeze the green husks to feel how the fruits are developing. The husks that developed in early December has fruits the size of a marble. I don't think they are going to get much bigger than that. New side shoots are still emerging just like the tomato plants and new fruit are developing with these new shoots. How I look after my goose berry is I try to get keep the soil around the plant moist but not damp if you know what i mean. Occasionally I let the soil to almost dry out but never completely dry so the root system can breathe. If you see the leaves starting to wilt from dry soil this will affect the berries in the pods. Try putting dry leaves around the base of the tree to preserve moisture. I don't need to mulch mine because the plant is so bushy it's shading the base itself!! I feed the plant with horse manure. How i do it is, I have a plastic bin about 40 litres with a cover. I put about a supermarket size bag of raw horse manure in the bin then filled it up with water, put the lit on and let it sit for about 2 weeks. I then scoop 4 or 5 cups of this mixture including the grassy bits of the manure from the bin and put into a 10 litre bucket. Fill the bucket up with fresh water, stir them together and water the plants. I feed the plants once every 2 weeks. simple as that..

- Canh

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