Ground Cherries and Tomatillos:
How to Grow Husk Tomatoes
Ground cherries are one of the easiest and most fun fruits you can grow. Each sweet, golden fruit, about the size of a cherry tomato, comes "individually wrapped" in a papery husk, which is one reason children find them so fascinating. Ground cherries (Physalis pruinosa) and their larger cousins, tomatillos, are both called husk tomatoes, and they grow much like tomatoes.
★ Save| Ground cherries | Tomatillos | |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit | Small, golden, sweet; like a pineapple-tomato flavor | Larger, green or purple, tangy; used for salsa verde |
| Plant size | Low and sprawling, about 1 to 2 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide | Upright, 3 to 4 feet tall; may need a cage |
| Pollination | Self-fertile; one plant will fruit | Needs at least 2 plants to set fruit |
| Days to harvest | About 65 to 75 days from transplanting | About 75 to 100 days from transplanting |
| Ready to pick | When the fruit drops to the ground and the husk is dry and tan | When the fruit fills the husk and the husk starts to split |
My Aunt's Ground Cherries
I remember the first time I saw this interesting plant growing in my aunt's garden. I was amazed and thrilled with the little papery husks covering the warm, sweet fruit inside. They were delicious to eat right off the plant while they were warm from the sunshine!
They were growing on the edge of a field in an old garden area, and came up on their own each year.
Charlotte
Starting Ground Cherries from Seed
★ Save- Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in a warm spot; they sprout best with soil at 70 to 85°F.
- Harden off the seedlings outdoors for a week before planting.
- Transplant 1 to 2 weeks after your last frost, once the soil is warm and nights stay above 50°F. Like tomatoes, they are killed by frost.
- Buy seed early. Ground cherry and tomatillo plants can be hard to find at garden centers, so order seed in winter or early spring.
- How many? One or two ground cherry plants per person is plenty. For tomatillos, plant at least two.
Planting and Growing Ground Cherries
★ Save- Sun: full sun, 6 to 8 hours or more.
- Soil: well-drained soil with compost worked in; pH about 6.0 to 6.8. They aren't fussy, and too much nitrogen gives lots of leaves and fewer fruits.
- Spacing: ground cherries sprawl, so space them 2 to 3 feet apart. Tomatillos can go about 3 feet apart, with a cage or stake.
- Water: keep the soil evenly moist, especially while the fruit is forming. Deep-water mature plants every 5 to 10 days, depending on the weather.
- Mulch to keep weeds down and the fallen fruit clean.
- Pests: they can get the same pests and diseases as tomatoes, such as flea beetles, hornworms, and blight, but are usually much less troubled.
Ground cherries are one of the least time-consuming crops you can grow. See how to grow tomatoes for more on growing their close relatives.
Harvesting Ground Cherries and Tomatillos
- Ground cherries: ripe fruit drops to the ground. Gather them every few days. The husk should be dry and tan, and the fruit inside golden yellow.
- Tomatillos: pick when the fruit fills out the husk and the husk begins to split. Purple types can ripen a bit longer for more color.
- Storage: ground cherries keep for several weeks in their husks in a cool, dry place, or in the refrigerator. Remove the husks and rinse the fruit just before eating.
Eat Only the Ripe Fruit
Ground cherries and tomatillos are in the nightshade family. The leaves, stems, husks, and unripe green ground cherries contain compounds that can make people and pets sick. Eat only fully ripe ground cherries, and always remove the husks.
Using Ground Cherries
★ Save- Fresh: eat them right out of the husk, or in salads and fruit cups.
- Baked: ground cherry pie, cobbler, and muffins are old-fashioned favorites.
- Preserves: they make wonderful jam. Tomatillos are the base of salsa verde.
- Freeze: spread husked fruit on a tray, freeze, then bag.
Canning? Use a tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation or your Extension office for tomatillo salsa or ground cherry jam, since acid and processing times matter.
Ground Cherry and Tomatillo Varieties
★ Save- Ground cherries: Aunt Molly's, Cossack Pineapple, and Goldie are sweet, productive favorites.
- Tomatillos: Toma Verde and Verde Puebla are green tomatillos for salsa. Purple de Milpa is a tangy purple tomatillo.
Relatives: the orange Chinese lantern plant grown for fall decorations is a close relative, but it is grown as an ornamental, not for eating.
They come back on their own. Fruit left on the ground often reseeds and sprouts the next year, as my aunt's did. That can be handy, but pull the extras so they don't take over.
More Vegetable Growing Guides
Ground cherries are a fun crop to grow with children. This page is part of our How to Grow Vegetables hub.
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