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                  
        T              
        P              

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in USA - Zone 5a 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

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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, i live in Ontario. I got a golden berry in the husk from the market. i saved the seeds as folows: open the fruit, squeeze all flesh and fruit in a strainer. Wash it well, the flesh will separate. Pick it up and wash the seeds some more. Then you can put them on a paper towel to dry, they will stick to that but you can plant them with the paper, no problem. Or put them on a plate, let them dry well adn the bag them or plant them. I planted about half the seeds. Cover lightly with soil and i set them under growing lights, covered. I started them in January, they took about 3 weeks to emerge, uncovered and let them grow under lights. Potted them up. They say do not fetilize, but the leaves came yellow with green stripes, so i fed them fish emulsion diluted. They grew beautiful. Fed them about 3 times only. Never since. It is end of May and couple of them have a handfull of flowers. I experimented with pinching the top. Online they say do not pinch, let them grow 9 to 12 nodes and they will split naturally. true. The ones not pinched split and the first flowers grows right there. The pinched ones do not have any flowers yet, they are bushier though. I will plant them out in sandy soil in a week. I will save seeds this year and can send to anyone in Canada wanting to try. They are annuals in zone 5 so you need to start them every year. Very easy to grow, and if they make 150 to 300 fruits per plant it is well worth it. In the husk they store up to 3 months at room temperature. I can let you know how long will take from seed to fruit. Have fun !!!

- Adela

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