Growing Cape Gooseberry, also Golden Berry, Inca Berry

Physalis peruviana : Solanaceae / the nightshade family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
            S S S      
              T T T T  

(Best months for growing Cape Gooseberry in South Africa - Semi-arid regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 10°C and 25°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 100 - 150 cm apart
  • Harvest in 14-16 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Will happily grow in a flower border but tends to sprawl over other plants.

Your comments and tips

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01 Oct 12, natasja (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Hi Pieter, I don't know where you are from, but bought my gooseberry seeds from builders market in Bloemfontein, it is seeds from Mayford seed company I'm sure you will be able to buy them even from your local supermarket? Hope it helps! You can also google heirloom seed company in south africa they sell online!
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26 Jul 12, Tony Edwards (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)
Hello all my first foray into planting Cape Gooseberries a few questions: 1. What is the ideal soil type for the Cape Gooseberries? 2. Should one first plant seeds into trays? Good Gardening Greetings!
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27 Jul 12, adam (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
G;day Tony. i know my climate is different to yours, but I treat Cape gooseberries the same as tomatoes. They often need staking like tommies, and the same fertilizer and conditions as tommies. Chicken manure diluted into a soup works wonders just watered down and poured around the roots every month or so. You should get a massive crop where you are. Mildew can really attack if you water the foliage too much, but if you water at ground level, shouldn't be a problem. They make great Salsa.
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18 Jun 12, Deona Spies (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Tessa, I have a similar problem. Lots of fruit that are not ripening. I'd also like to know if I can treat the plant as a perrenial and cut it back now (June) or should I pull it up and plant new ones in spring?
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11 Jul 12, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
It grows well as a perennial. I've kept it going over a couple of years with frost protection in an Australian mountain region, until drought killed it!
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09 Jul 12, Lionel (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
Where did you get your seed from? Some seed sold commercially give this problem. Maybe it is time to name and shame these seed companies.
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03 Jun 12, Tessa Cairns (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)
My Cape Gooseberry bush is almost 2m tall, very healthy and full of fruit. But it wont ripen. I planted the bush in about March and it was about 30cm tall at the time. now we are in June- going into winter. Is it to cold for the fruit to ripen, or must I be patient? And should I cut the hieght down a bit?
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09 Nov 12, (New Zealand - temperate climate)
be patient with ripening and ease up on the watering.a good shake of the bush and the ripe ones can be collected off the ground.I cut mine back to about knee height leaving at least 3 or 4 side shoots on each stem .
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Showing 41 - 48 of 48 comments
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Hi, i live in Ontario. I got a golden berry in the husk from the market. i saved the seeds as folows: open the fruit, squeeze all flesh and fruit in a strainer. Wash it well, the flesh will separate. Pick it up and wash the seeds some more. Then you can put them on a paper towel to dry, they will stick to that but you can plant them with the paper, no problem. Or put them on a plate, let them dry well adn the bag them or plant them. I planted about half the seeds. Cover lightly with soil and i set them under growing lights, covered. I started them in January, they took about 3 weeks to emerge, uncovered and let them grow under lights. Potted them up. They say do not fetilize, but the leaves came yellow with green stripes, so i fed them fish emulsion diluted. They grew beautiful. Fed them about 3 times only. Never since. It is end of May and couple of them have a handfull of flowers. I experimented with pinching the top. Online they say do not pinch, let them grow 9 to 12 nodes and they will split naturally. true. The ones not pinched split and the first flowers grows right there. The pinched ones do not have any flowers yet, they are bushier though. I will plant them out in sandy soil in a week. I will save seeds this year and can send to anyone in Canada wanting to try. They are annuals in zone 5 so you need to start them every year. Very easy to grow, and if they make 150 to 300 fruits per plant it is well worth it. In the husk they store up to 3 months at room temperature. I can let you know how long will take from seed to fruit. Have fun !!!

- Adela

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