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            

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in Canada - Zone 4b Temperate Warm Summer regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • 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 10°C and 25°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 100 - 150 cm 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.
  • Cape Gooseberry plant
  • Flowers
  • unripe fruit

A straggling bush up to one metre tall that bears yellow fruits inside a brown papery envelope. It is perennial. The cape gooseberry is related to tomatillo, ground cherry and husk tomato, all in the genus Physalis.

Cape Gooseberry is very easy to grow and as the fruit are popular with birds the plants can be easily spread around the garden. If you have plenty of room then plants grow better with 1.5 m of space. Spacing closer works but you may get less fruit.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Cape Gooseberry

The berry is the size of a cherry tomato, is very aromatic and full of tiny seeds. They are delicious eaten fresh or can be made into jam. They can be added to salads, desserts and cooked dishes, they are delicious stewed with other fruit, especially apples. They also go well in savoury dishes with meat or seafood. Can be preserved dried as 'Inca Berries'

Your comments and tips

29 Oct 14, Margaret (Canada - zone 4a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
can I grow these in southern Manitoba in my garden as a peranial or can I grow it in a container as an annual
22 Sep 16, Mark (Canada - Zone 6b Temperate Warm Summer climate)
I grew some Cape Gooseberry from seed I purchased from a store, and I am interested in saving my own seed for next spring. What is the best way to do that? Thank you, Mark Gregson
26 Sep 16, claire labelle (Canada - Zone 4b Temperate Warm Summer climate)
where can i get seeds to grow in Canada
02 Nov 16, Mary Anne (Canada - Zone 5b Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Hello Claire, If you find out where to get goldenberry (also known as cape gooseberry), would you please let me know? I'd love some seeds! Thank you, Mary Anne
04 Jul 17, Bea (Canada - Zone 4b Temperate Warm Summer climate)
I just bought a packet of the fruit and then squished the seeds of one berry onto paper towel, then folded it up and stored it. This was in winter. Around April I sowed the seed and it all came up and grew very well. I now have plants about a foot tall. Very healthy and easy to grow. I am treating it just as I would a tomato plant and it's growing wonderfully.
10 Feb 17, Greg (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Feb.10, 2017 It would be much appreciated if someone could advise where to purchase seedlings. Thank you, Greg
12 Feb 17, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in the United States lists them. They are very easy to grow from seed, and much cheaper than plants. All the best.
14 Feb 17, Greg (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Hello John from Australia, Thank you kindly for letting me know that Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in the United States lists seeds foe Golden Berries. I will try to make an order right away. Lets hope they have the seeds and they could mail them to Canada. Unfortunately, many other internet based suppliers (of various items) do not ship to Canada (and this is not something new), they do this because they experience some kind of "red tape" formalities. Thank you John
10 Jun 17, James (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
Very curious about these. I had an apartment in New Brunswick and I am absolutely sure that these were growing behind the building in an unkept grassy area. I did not know what they were at the time. A large patch of them appeared every spring and they grew very short, only about a foot or two high. They bore a lot of fruit. In the winter they were covered with snow and ice. They still came back every year. I think this is evidence that gooseberries will grow in Canada as a perennial without any special tending. I purchased some gooseberries at a grocery store awhile back. In late March, I took some of the seeds and planted them in pots. I now have a 2 foot high plant that will be planted in my garden in a few days (June). Of course, these fruit were imported from Peru and might not like the climate. Maybe this fall I will go pick some of the variety growing behind my old apartment!
10 Jun 17, James (Canada - Zone 5a Temperate Warm Summer climate)
After further research I have found that the husked plants I saw were "ground cherries" a close relative of the cape gooseberry that grows natively in Canada! The cultivated variety is "Aunt Mollys" and you can buy seeds from Veseys. Wild ones are considered a weed/pest by farmers. I have also read that if you eat them before ripe, they are poisonous.
Showing 1 - 10 of 32 comments

can you plant the seeds from the fruit?

- elizabeth

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