Growing Cape Gooseberry, also Golden Berry, Inca Berry

Physalis peruviana : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
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 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.

Your comments and tips

08 Apr 20, Anon (Australia - temperate climate): Most vegetables need a fair amount of sunlight, that is one of the main ingredients for them to grow. Some only need 4-6 hrs, some 6-8 hrs. Try growing something in shade and see how it grows. Read up on the internet how many hours of sun plants need.
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02 Apr 20, aileen cooke (Australia - temperate climate): last time... the fruit failed to mature and some leaves went yellow and fell and the branches became straggly now it's autumn.it has bulked up. it's having another go...with flower. I love the plant. where am I going wrong?
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28 Jun 20, Brad (Australia - temperate climate): The roots of the goldenberry are quite shallow and prone to drying out. If you are growing the plant in soil perhaps you could try a thick layer of mulch to keep the soil cool and moist.
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03 Apr 20, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate): There is a notice at the bottom of the page " This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided."
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31 Mar 20, Noel Ling (Australia - cool/mountain climate): Comment: I have a self sown cape gooseberry (2 years old) in front of a small hothouse. Going absolutely mad in growth and fruit. don't water, fertilize or prune. height 6 ft, width 5 ft. probably need to pull it out before it totally covers entrance. is this type of growth normal?
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01 Apr 20, Another gardener (Australia - sub-tropical climate): It is probably receiving water from you watering other plants. Plants don't grow without there being water and fert from somewhere. If you want to keep eating them maybe prune it back around the doorway. I had 5 agapanthus plants, fert them watered them put some good compost around them. Wouldn't grow much. Dug them out yesterday. Roots from the passionfruit (1.5m away) were everywhere. Passionfruit was stealing all the water and fert.
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10 Jan 20, Denise (Australia - temperate climate): How do I ripen the fallen fruit? It’s hull is papery and crisp but still quite green inside. I’ve tried them on a sunny window ledge with no success
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13 Jan 20, (Australia - sub-tropical climate): If really immature they probably won't ripen. Think about protecting them from the wind or what caused them to fall off.
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20 Dec 19, Eliud Mungai (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate): I am from Kenya in East Africa and I have a small garden planted with golden berries.the plants are about 1.5 metres high. Their leaves have developed white sports underneath and are falling off. What could be the problem? And what's the soluton to this problem?
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22 Dec 19, Anon (Australia - temperate climate): Check with a local agricultural department or a nursery.
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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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Growing Cape Gooseberry, also Golden Berry, Inca Berry

Physalis peruviana : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

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