All About: Ground Cherries

I had been lusting after ground cherries after reading about them in Organic Gardening Magazine. (Note the adorable & awesome-ness of the chocolate dipped ground cherries.) They look like a golden cherry tomato wrapped in a tomatillo husk. Which isn't a *huge* surprise since they are in the tomato family!

Anywho, they apparently have a sweet-tart taste and no pit in the middle. HOLLA! Plus, if keep in a cool, dry place & in its husk, they keep for months.

Despite all this awesomeness, ground cherries were not to be found in my local nurseries or my usual seed ordering catalogs. I figured I'd try again next year. Until....

I found out my CSA gives away seedlings and that this year, ground cherries were up for grabs! Hurray! The husband sacrificed a few hours of his day to go up & get us 2 plantlets of ground cherries (along with 2 more basil plants & 2 epazote).

What do these guys need? Full sun. Well draining soil (seriously well draining...no clay allowed!). Frost-free weather (meaning they'll be an annual for me). A fair amount of space (I'm going to try to trellis mine). Love (who doesn't need that?!?) .

If these guys work out, anticipate ground cherry chutney or ground cherry cobbler recipes posted!

:)