Ground Cherries

I grew Ground Cherries for the first time this year. I started the seeds inside in February along with my peppers and eggplant seeds. They take awhile to germinate and are slow growers. The seedlings are very tiny and delicate. I ended up planting four plants in my garden in May when there was no chance of frost. Two of my plants were chewed up by an animal which left me with two plants. The two plants I had really produced a lot of fruit throughout summer. I had to keep treating the leaves with an organic garden dust because the flea beetles loved to them. I was picking up the fruit off the ground pretty much every other day. I was told by another gardener that once you plant them in your garden they will reseed every year. The fruit looks like cherry tomatoes, but covered with a papery husk like tomatillos. The flavor is very unique. I think they have a fruity pineapple taste with a tomatoey after taste. I will definitely have these in my garden every year whether they reseed or not. I ended up freezing all my harvests to use in the future in baking recipes. Here is a recipe for Ground Cherry Bread I plan on trying. http://www.jennahsgarden.com/2010/07/ground-cherry-bread/

Here is a good article about growing Ground Cherries by Mother Earth News:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/how-to-grow-heirloom-ground-cherries-zbcz1409.aspx

If you want to try something new in your garden next year, give ground cherries a try. Thanks for stopping by and happy gardening!