Cape Gooseberry questions

[PunkRotten]

Hi,

I got a hold of some cape gooseberry seeds and anxious to try them. Has anyone grown them? What could you tell me about them? I want to grow one in a pot and one in the ground. What kind of soil, pot size, hours of sun etc does it need? How big does the plant get? Could I start it now in zone 9? In my zone would it be a perennial? thanks

[!potatoes!]

aka poha, aka goldenberry...I've grown a few things in the same genus, but this is my first year growing these...my understanding is that this is one of those things that 'thrives on neglect' (I would bet that's less so in a pot - use as big as is reasonable)...relatively full sun, don't need much water, produce relatively well without a whole lot of soil fertility (but probably more with it)...I transplanted mine out in late april, and as of yet, no ripe fruit (getting close on some, but taking its time)...looooong season. if you get any freezing temps ever, I doubt this would survive it without protection, but with protection it could well be perennial. I think they get a couple feet tall/wide, but mine...few are more than 16 or so inches tall.

I'm just hoping I get enough to save seed from at this point.

have you grown ground cherries? very similar fruit, on a very self-sowing annual. with perhaps less needs. a favorite of mine.

[PunkRotten]

No first time growing something like this. Wanted to try something different. Regular lowest temps here get into the 40s, very rarely into the 30s. I was thinking it might be better to plant it in the ground right into my clay soil because I had heard too the poorer the soil the better. That means you get more fruits rather than leaf production. I was thinking about starting a plant now and maybe by spring get fruits.

[!potatoes!]

worth a try. go for it.

[CharlieBear]

They spread wildly and need lots of space, more than most trailing winter squash. Don't even try it in a pot, it doesn't work. They are closely related to a tomitillo, only a much large plant and tomitillos will take over 6-8 sq. feet easily. General recommendation for distance between these plants is 4 yards!

[!potatoes!]

huh. could you convince my plants that they should be that big? thanks.

[PunkRotten]

Yeah I read they get anywhere from 1-3 ft. I read one source that said up to 6 ft. I have seen a few pics and read some blogs of people showing their plants and all are small, some are in pots. I;d say they look no more than 2-3 feet. If I do grow in a pot what size do you recommend?

!Potatoes! do you have yours in pots or the ground? When did you plant them? Any chance you can show a pic?

[!potatoes!]

planted them at around the usual tomato time for me - late february, I think. most are in the round, just one in a pot (and I must admit, that one is not doing too well...

pictures may take a few days, as we don't have such a thing as a 'home' computer - or internet connection. I was erring on the small side earlier when I said 16" - many in the main planting are a bit over two feet tall...I was trying a slightly crowded bed, like I do with regular husk tomatoes (probably way too close), so none have the breadth they could - I doubt any are wider than a foot or a bit more across. I'm learning that I should probably do bigger spacing on husk toms too.

[JONA878]

We grew them many years ago under glass over here in the UK. They were planted only a couple of feet apart and did very well. gave us a good crop which we marketed through the wholesale market at Covent Garden.
The one thing that did cause a real problem for a while was Red Spider.
This may have been becaues they were under glass and as I recall it was a hot summer. But I would be on the watch for the little devils.....just in case.

[PunkRotten]

I don't have a lot of garden space, and other areas of my backyard are tricky because I have to make sure they get enough sun. So I am still thinking about a spot for them. It's just I wish I had more accuracy on their size. I only will plant 2 of them probably. It is really just an experiment for me, plus I am interested in tasting the fruit.

If all goes well, some time in the future I will try to accommodate them. I got a decent amount of seeds.

[JONA878]

One thing PR..I would put a simple form of support in place as they grow. just a few canes and string is enough, the ones we grew would have succumbed to any winds for sure especially as they neared harvest.

[PunkRotten]

If you were to grow 2 plants what spacing would you give them? I hear it is better to grow atleast 2 plants for pollination purposes.

[JONA878]

If you have the room I would plant them two to three feet apart.

[PunkRotten]

Would you agree there should be 2 or more planted for pollination purposes? Or are they self-pollinating?

[JONA878]

I honestly don't know PR.
but I think that to get a good crop off any plant it always pays , if you have the room, to have as many as you can.
Also it will give you a lot more fruit to enjoy as well.

[PunkRotten]

Cool thanks for all the tips. I am gonna measure this area I had in mind and if it can support two plants I will go with two. I already put several seeds in pots to get sprouts but so far nothing. That was like 4 days ago. I hear the germination rate is not too good. I planted maybe about 10-11 seeds in 4 spots.

[!potatoes!]

just to update - I started getting ripe fruits dribbling in a couple weeks ago - say the first week of september. this is from seed planted indoors in late feb, and planted out late may.

[ruggr10]

I've finally been getting ripe ones too. I've had ground cherries for a few months but not cape gooseberries. Problem is, something is eating them when they fall. I think it's chipmunks!

[!potatoes!]

got some kind of black insect-larvae type worms that get into some husks and eat the berries...and a bit of probably rodent nibbling. other than that, I seem to be the only one interested in them...