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            
    T T T T T T        
    P P P P P P        

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in Australia - tropical 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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Have a cape gooseberry going on 3 summers now. Not much fruit in first year, bucket load in 2nd summer, now bucket loads in 3rd summer. Red spider mites would attack it from about March through to start of winter, but we just cut it back to about 20cm from base and the spider mites disappear heading into the winter. Noticed about a month ago after the hot weather hit, that alot of new flowers would just fall off at the slightest touch. Put this down to lack of water, so we placed sugar cane mulch to about 6 inches thick and out to a radius of about a meter, then stretched shade cloth over the mulch and pegged down (to keep the blackbirds from destroying the mulch). Under the mulch cover we also placed weaper hose and had this going for a few hours each day, and problem soon resolved with loads more flowers and setting fruit.

- Brad

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