I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

I also got some amaranth seeds. These will look amazing in the fall.

Btw, so far, we have some early crocus, one snowdrop (Where are the others?)
and one fly!

Love caryn
"Come into my garden, my flowers want to meet you!"

In article ,
arden says...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?


I've been growing those for years. It's also known as Physallis, and
cape gooseberry (there are a number of cultivars, so I can't give you
an exact name) - related to "Chinese Lanterns" and tomatillos. A calyx
forms from the flower with the fruit inside. In my experience they get
about three - four feet tall and will need some support (one of those
cheap, otherwise useless, round tomato supports works well). The fruit
is ripe when it falls to the ground, still inside the calyx. The calyx
will be papery and the fruit inside will be greenish yellow to bright
orange, with the more orange ones being sweeter. I don't find they
taste anything like cherries, but YMMV. Kids tend to love them. They're
pretty prolific producers once they get going, so you wont need more
than three or four plants - unless the neighborhood kids develope a
taste for them. They'll keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Bonnie Punch

Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

I also got some amaranth seeds. These will look amazing in the fall.

Btw, so far, we have some early crocus, one snowdrop (Where are the
others?)
and one fly!

Love caryn
"Come into my garden, my flowers want to meet you!"

Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

I also got some amaranth seeds. These will look amazing in the fall.

Btw, so far, we have some early crocus, one snowdrop (Where are the
others?)
and one fly!

Love caryn
"Come into my garden, my flowers want to meet you!"

Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

I also got some amaranth seeds. These will look amazing in the fall.

Btw, so far, we have some early crocus, one snowdrop (Where are the
others?)
and one fly!

Love caryn
"Come into my garden, my flowers want to meet you!"

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:36:32 GMT, "M S Baker" wrote:

Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

'Ground cherriy' may be a scruffy Prunus (fruit tree), but they are
regular trees, not low to the ground. Gooseberries are Ribes, related
to currants. 'Ground cherry' is also a name for Cape Gooseberry, a
Physalis related, as someone else has posted, to tomatillos and
Chinese lantern.

Looking this up, I realize I didn't make full use of my Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). One site says they're high in
pectin and make good jam, and can also be dried into 'raisins.'

They're fascinating little critters. I just ate them as they fell off
the plant (they continue to ripen after dropping, and get sweeter as
time goes on).

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:36:32 GMT, "M S Baker" wrote:

Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

'Ground cherriy' may be a scruffy Prunus (fruit tree), but they are
regular trees, not low to the ground. Gooseberries are Ribes, related
to currants. 'Ground cherry' is also a name for Cape Gooseberry, a
Physalis related, as someone else has posted, to tomatillos and
Chinese lantern.

Looking this up, I realize I didn't make full use of my Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). One site says they're high in
pectin and make good jam, and can also be dried into 'raisins.'

They're fascinating little critters. I just ate them as they fell off
the plant (they continue to ripen after dropping, and get sweeter as
time goes on).

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:36:32 GMT, "M S Baker" wrote:

Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

'Ground cherriy' may be a scruffy Prunus (fruit tree), but they are
regular trees, not low to the ground. Gooseberries are Ribes, related
to currants. 'Ground cherry' is also a name for Cape Gooseberry, a
Physalis related, as someone else has posted, to tomatillos and
Chinese lantern.

Looking this up, I realize I didn't make full use of my Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). One site says they're high in
pectin and make good jam, and can also be dried into 'raisins.'

They're fascinating little critters. I just ate them as they fell off
the plant (they continue to ripen after dropping, and get sweeter as
time goes on).

Frogleg wrote:

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:36:32 GMT, "M S Baker" wrote:


Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...

I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant

seeds

that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?


'Ground cherriy' may be a scruffy Prunus (fruit tree), but they are
regular trees, not low to the ground. Gooseberries are Ribes, related
to currants. 'Ground cherry' is also a name for Cape Gooseberry, a
Physalis related, as someone else has posted, to tomatillos and
Chinese lantern.

Looking this up, I realize I didn't make full use of my Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). One site says they're high in
pectin and make good jam, and can also be dried into 'raisins.'

They're fascinating little critters. I just ate them as they fell off
the plant (they continue to ripen after dropping, and get sweeter as
time goes on).


Volunteer cape gooseberries saved my tomatillo crop last year. I didn't
know that tomatilloes were self-sterile; I thought they were fertile
like tomatoes. I only had 2 plants, raised from seeds harvested from the
same fruit. They bloomed for several weeks without setting any fruits,
and I was about to pull them up. Then the cape gooseberries that were
coming up everywhere started blooming, and the tomatilloes started to set.

Best regards,
Bob

Frogleg wrote:

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:36:32 GMT, "M S Baker" wrote:


Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...

I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant

seeds

that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?


'Ground cherriy' may be a scruffy Prunus (fruit tree), but they are
regular trees, not low to the ground. Gooseberries are Ribes, related
to currants. 'Ground cherry' is also a name for Cape Gooseberry, a
Physalis related, as someone else has posted, to tomatillos and
Chinese lantern.

Looking this up, I realize I didn't make full use of my Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). One site says they're high in
pectin and make good jam, and can also be dried into 'raisins.'

They're fascinating little critters. I just ate them as they fell off
the plant (they continue to ripen after dropping, and get sweeter as
time goes on).


Volunteer cape gooseberries saved my tomatillo crop last year. I didn't
know that tomatilloes were self-sterile; I thought they were fertile
like tomatoes. I only had 2 plants, raised from seeds harvested from the
same fruit. They bloomed for several weeks without setting any fruits,
and I was about to pull them up. Then the cape gooseberries that were
coming up everywhere started blooming, and the tomatilloes started to set.

Best regards,
Bob

Frogleg wrote:

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:36:32 GMT, "M S Baker" wrote:


Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...

I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant

seeds

that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?


'Ground cherriy' may be a scruffy Prunus (fruit tree), but they are
regular trees, not low to the ground. Gooseberries are Ribes, related
to currants. 'Ground cherry' is also a name for Cape Gooseberry, a
Physalis related, as someone else has posted, to tomatillos and
Chinese lantern.

Looking this up, I realize I didn't make full use of my Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). One site says they're high in
pectin and make good jam, and can also be dried into 'raisins.'

They're fascinating little critters. I just ate them as they fell off
the plant (they continue to ripen after dropping, and get sweeter as
time goes on).


Volunteer cape gooseberries saved my tomatillo crop last year. I didn't
know that tomatilloes were self-sterile; I thought they were fertile
like tomatoes. I only had 2 plants, raised from seeds harvested from the
same fruit. They bloomed for several weeks without setting any fruits,
and I was about to pull them up. Then the cape gooseberries that were
coming up everywhere started blooming, and the tomatilloes started to set.

Best regards,
Bob

I planted some last year from seeds I saved from a pint I got in
Quebec. They grow maybe a foot high and three wide and you can treat
them like tomatillos, to which they bear a visible if not botanical
resemblance. They keep forever when picked and add a lovely note to
green tomato relish.

Frogleg wrote in message . ..
On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:36:32 GMT, "M S Baker" wrote:

Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

'Ground cherriy' may be a scruffy Prunus (fruit tree), but they are
regular trees, not low to the ground. Gooseberries are Ribes, related
to currants. 'Ground cherry' is also a name for Cape Gooseberry, a
Physalis related, as someone else has posted, to tomatillos and
Chinese lantern.

Looking this up, I realize I didn't make full use of my Cape
Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). One site says they're high in
pectin and make good jam, and can also be dried into 'raisins.'

They're fascinating little critters. I just ate them as they fell off
the plant (they continue to ripen after dropping, and get sweeter as
time goes on).

Volunteer cape gooseberries saved my tomatillo crop last year. I didn't
know that tomatilloes were self-sterile; I thought they were fertile
like tomatoes. I only had 2 plants, raised from seeds harvested from the
same fruit. They bloomed for several weeks without setting any fruits,
and I was about to pull them up. Then the cape gooseberries that were
coming up everywhere started blooming, and the tomatilloes started to set.

Are tomatillos really self sterile? I didn't know that. I know that the
first few weeks I won't get fruit to set unless I get out there with a
brush and hand pollinate. That seems to work fine - a bit labour
intensive though. At some point bees and other flying insects always
discover them and I can stop hand pollinating. I had been planning on
not growing ground cherries this year because I'm almost out of
tomatillo seeds and wanted to save their seed this year and I didn't
want to risk it crossing with the ground cherries. Maybe I should
reconsider - DH would mutiny if I didn't make salsa verde!

BP

Bonnie Punch wrote:



Volunteer cape gooseberries saved my tomatillo crop last year. I didn't
know that tomatilloes were self-sterile; I thought they were fertile
like tomatoes. I only had 2 plants, raised from seeds harvested from the
same fruit. They bloomed for several weeks without setting any fruits,
and I was about to pull them up. Then the cape gooseberries that were
coming up everywhere started blooming, and the tomatilloes started to set.


Are tomatillos really self sterile? I didn't know that. I know that the
first few weeks I won't get fruit to set unless I get out there with a
brush and hand pollinate. That seems to work fine - a bit labour
intensive though. At some point bees and other flying insects always
discover them and I can stop hand pollinating. I had been planning on
not growing ground cherries this year because I'm almost out of
tomatillo seeds and wanted to save their seed this year and I didn't
want to risk it crossing with the ground cherries. Maybe I should
reconsider - DH would mutiny if I didn't make salsa verde!

BP


Yes, they are self sterile and you need at least 2 plants to get any fruit.
It was a surprise to me too. It's possible that my 2 plants that were
siblings were compatable and it just took them a month or so to get started
once they were blooming, but it was quite a coincidence that they started
bearing a few days after then ground cherries started blooming.

BTW, did the dried guajillo peppers I sent you a year or two ago ever get
there, or were they lost/confiscated in the mail?

Best regards,
Bob

I'm sure the reference is to tomatillas, but there are also bush cherries (I
think they may sometimes be called Nanking cherries) that are used in cold
climates where regular cherries cannot be grown - such as the colder parts
of the upper midwest and great plains. I think they only grow to 8 feet tall
or less.
"M S Baker" wrote in message
...
Where is you get them? They make one of the best pies you've ever eaten.


"NAearthMOM" wrote in message
...
I just ordered some seeds from seed savers. I ordered some cherry plant
seeds
that are low to the ground. Anyone ever hear of these?

I also got some amaranth seeds. These will look amazing in the fall.

Btw, so far, we have some early crocus, one snowdrop (Where are the
others?)
and one fly!

Love caryn
"Come into my garden, my flowers want to meet you!"