One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
fruit bought from the supermarket.

He didn't really think they'd germinate, but he got several seedlings,
one of which he kindly gave to us.

He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

It's currently in a pot on the kitchen window ledge.

If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
eat said fruit ?

Thanks for any advice.

--
Carol
"Never trust a man wearing leather shorts and a plastic dressing gown"
- Spray, "The Dangerous Sports Club"

In article ,
(Carol Hague) writes:
| One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
| fruit bought from the supermarket.
|
| He didn't really think they'd germinate, but he got several seedlings,
| one of which he kindly gave to us.

They germinate quite readily :-)

| He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
| grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

They are hard enough to persuade to fruit indoors, as they need heat and
light. You won't lose anything by doing so, but don't expect results.
The flowers are not spectacular.

Put it in poor soil, otherwise you will get lots of leaves and no flowers.

| If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
| eat said fruit ?

Why not? I do, when I succeed.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
(Carol Hague) writes:
| One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a
Physalis
| fruit bought from the supermarket.
|
| He didn't really think they'd germinate, but he got several seedlings,
| one of which he kindly gave to us.

They germinate quite readily :-)

| He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
| grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out
please?

They are hard enough to persuade to fruit indoors, as they need heat and
light. You won't lose anything by doing so, but don't expect results.
The flowers are not spectacular.

Put it in poor soil, otherwise you will get lots of leaves and no flowers.

| If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
| eat said fruit ?

Why not? I do, when I succeed.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

My son when younger bought a bag full of "thongs" as the roots are known in
order to sell the resulting harvest, he begged a small space in a poly
tunnel but before any fruit was produced it had become a major problem and
took me a further 3 seasons to irradiate, the pieces when thrown out "took"
and in the end weedkiller was resorted too (son still blames me for not
allowing him to make money!)

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea

"Carol Hague" wrote in message
One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
fruit bought from the supermarket.

He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

They do. It grows in the same sort of conditions that tomatoes will grow in
but because it is much smaller than a tom (and tastes somewhat like one) it
starts to produce earlier.

If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
eat said fruit ?

YES! It's delicious! But you need to take the fruit out of its skin (???) I
think skin is the right word, maybe casing might be closer to the right
word. A friend uses them in an amazing almond tart which is not the sort of
thing I would have ever thought to use them in as I think of them as a
vegetable but the tart is stunning.

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
(Carol Hague) writes:
| One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
| fruit bought from the supermarket.
|
| He didn't really think they'd germinate, but he got several seedlings,
| one of which he kindly gave to us.

They germinate quite readily :-)

So it seems :-)

Some commercially produced fruit can be sterile or close to it though -
I expect that's why he was initially pessimistic.


| He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
| grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

They are hard enough to persuade to fruit indoors, as they need heat and
light. You won't lose anything by doing so, but don't expect results.
The flowers are not spectacular.

Put it in poor soil, otherwise you will get lots of leaves and no flowers.

Thanks. We're a bit short of plant space indoors, so I think it'll have
to go outside when it's big enough and the weather's settled enough.
fruit would be nice, but you can't have everything :-)

Maybe next year we can afford a greenhouse for the allotment and it can
go live in there if it survives that long.

| If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
| eat said fruit ?

Why not? I do, when I succeed.

Some commercially produced stuff doesn't breed true and I wondered if
there was any likelihood of the plant producing something peculiar :-)


--
Carol
"Never trust a man wearing leather shorts and a plastic dressing gown"
- Spray, "The Dangerous Sports Club"

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

"Carol Hague" wrote in message
One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
fruit bought from the supermarket.

He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

They do. It grows in the same sort of conditions that tomatoes will grow in
but because it is much smaller than a tom (and tastes somewhat like one) it
starts to produce earlier.

Thanks. It'll be staying indoors for a bit yet - it's only about 2" tall
and absolutely dwarfed by the huge pot it was given to us in. Seems to
be a tough little thing though - survived the trip home in Rob's trike
pannier anyway :-)

If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
eat said fruit ?

YES! It's delicious! But you need to take the fruit out of its skin (???) I
think skin is the right word, maybe casing might be closer to the right
word.

The "paper lantern" bit, yes? I don't imagine that would taste very nice
at all :-)

A friend uses them in an amazing almond tart which is not the sort of
thing I would have ever thought to use them in as I think of them as a
vegetable but the tart is stunning.

Well, I suppose rhubarb is technically a vegetable and you can put
carrots in cake....

As long as it tastes nice, who cares ? :-)

--
Carol
"Never trust a man wearing leather shorts and a plastic dressing gown"
- Spray, "The Dangerous Sports Club"

In article ,
"Charlie Pridham" writes:
|
| My son when younger bought a bag full of "thongs" as the roots are known in
| order to sell the resulting harvest, he begged a small space in a poly
| tunnel but before any fruit was produced it had become a major problem and
| took me a further 3 seasons to irradiate, the pieces when thrown out "took"
| and in the end weedkiller was resorted too (son still blames me for not
| allowing him to make money!)

You may have been very lucky!

I have never heard of P. edulis being propagated that way, and it has
never formed such roots on my plants. It sounds more like P. alkekengi
(also called P. francheti) the one that is commonly grown for decoration,
which is propagated like that and can become a pest. Some reports are
that it is edible, and others that it is significantly poisonous.

I believe that it is now called P. peruviana, but I have also seen
references which had two species, called P. edulis and P. peruviana.
So what else is new?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Carol Hague" wrote in message
...
One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
fruit bought from the supermarket.

He didn't really think they'd germinate, but he got several seedlings,
one of which he kindly gave to us.

He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

There are some which will survive outside but I think it would be safer to
keep it under glass. It might well take up a lot of room.

So saying, I think that it's worth the inconvenience for the fruit.

It's currently in a pot on the kitchen window ledge.

It will outgrow that :-)

If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
eat said fruit ?

Why not?

Give it a go, if you have space.

Mine died last year but not until we'd had four years of delicious and
beautiful fruit. A dropped fruit germinated but the hens ate the seedlings
:-) Only this morning I've been looking at a suitable variety to plant for
this year.

Mary

I have never heard of P. edulis being propagated that way, and it has
never formed such roots on my plants. It sounds more like P. alkekengi
(also called P. francheti) the one that is commonly grown for decoration,
which is propagated like that and can become a pest. Some reports are
that it is edible, and others that it is significantly poisonous.

I believe that it is now called P. peruviana, but I have also seen
references which had two species, called P. edulis and P. peruviana.
So what else is new?

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I have some growing "wild" on the floor of a glasshouise, I pull them
up if they are in the way but they come back happily from the roots,
and they are quite definatly P. edulis.
You have to make sure the fruit is full ripe before you eat to get the
best taste. They can stay on the plant for months and still be edible.
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries

Mary Fisher wrote:

"Carol Hague" wrote in message
...
One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
fruit bought from the supermarket.

He didn't really think they'd germinate, but he got several seedlings,
one of which he kindly gave to us.

He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

There are some which will survive outside but I think it would be safer to
keep it under glass. It might well take up a lot of room.

So saying, I think that it's worth the inconvenience for the fruit.

Probably, but I don't think we have anywhere suitable to keep it, if it
gets really big. :-(

We're in an enclosed courtyard so none of the windows get huge amounts
of sunshine


It's currently in a pot on the kitchen window ledge.

It will outgrow that :-)

It'll take a while though - the pot it arrived in is massively oversized
for it. Seems happy enough at the moment.


If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
eat said fruit ?

Why not?

I think I was getting confused with the plant Nick mentions above that
isn't edible, although how that could grow from a fruit that clearly
*was* I don't know - I think I was just having a senior moment :-)


Give it a go, if you have space.

Thanks. If all else fails, I guess it can live in a big pot and go
outside to play when it's sunny.

But not on the edge of the pond or the cats will probably give it
swimming lessons....

--
Carol
"Never trust a man wearing leather shorts and a plastic dressing gown"
- Spray, "The Dangerous Sports Club"

Carol Hague wrote:
: Mary Fisher wrote:
:
:: "Carol Hague" wrote in message
:: ...
::: One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a
::: Physalis fruit bought from the supermarket.
:::
::: He didn't really think they'd germinate, but he got several
::: seedlings, one of which he kindly gave to us.
:::
::: He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought
::: they grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it
::: out please?
::
:: There are some which will survive outside but I think it would be
:: safer to keep it under glass. It might well take up a lot of room.
::
:: So saying, I think that it's worth the inconvenience for the fruit.
:
: Probably, but I don't think we have anywhere suitable to keep it, if
: it gets really big. :-(
:
: We're in an enclosed courtyard so none of the windows get huge amounts
: of sunshine
:
:::
::: It's currently in a pot on the kitchen window ledge.
::
:: It will outgrow that :-)
:
: It'll take a while though - the pot it arrived in is massively
: oversized for it. Seems happy enough at the moment.
:
:::
::: If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable
::: to eat said fruit ?
::
:: Why not?
:
: I think I was getting confused with the plant Nick mentions above that
: isn't edible, although how that could grow from a fruit that clearly
: *was* I don't know - I think I was just having a senior moment :-)
:
::
:: Give it a go, if you have space.

Had huge crops outdoors last year and was picking well into November

"FarmI" wrote in reply to
"Carol Hague"
One of my husband's colleagues planted some seeds he got from a Physalis
fruit bought from the supermarket.

He seemed to think they were an indoor-only plant, but I thought they
grew outside too - any thoughts on if/when I should plant it out please?

They do. It grows in the same sort of conditions that tomatoes will grow
in but because it is much smaller than a tom (and tastes somewhat like
one) it starts to produce earlier.

If it should get to the fruit-producing stage would it be advisable to
eat said fruit ?

YES! It's delicious! But you need to take the fruit out of its skin (???)
I think skin is the right word, maybe casing might be closer to the right
word. A friend uses them in an amazing almond tart which is not the sort
of thing I would have ever thought to use them in as I think of them as a
vegetable but the tart is stunning.

I remember some years ago eating them after they had been dipped in plain
chocolate. Lovely.

--
Regards
Bob H
17mls W. of London.UK

On 8 Mar, 17:30, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
I remember some years ago eating them after they had been dipped in plain
chocolate. Lovely.

You devil!! Every year I treat myself (and kids) to them. Full of
vitamins they are but I've never thought to grow them.

In article ,
"Bob Hobden" writes:
|
| I remember some years ago eating them after they had been dipped in plain
| chocolate. Lovely.

Not in my view. I love both of them, and loathe the combination.
Quite a lot of people can't stand the combination of fruit and
chocolate, because the acid in the fruit clashes.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 8 Mar, 22:24, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
Not in my view. I love both of them, and loathe the combination.
Quite a lot of people can't stand the combination of fruit and
chocolate, because the acid in the fruit clashes.

Orange and chocolate. Pear and chocolate. Banana and chocolate. You
haven't lived!!