Physalis Is Edible. Cultivation, Care, Reproduction. Kinds. Photo

Physalis, aka Peruvian gooseberry (so named for its taste slightly reminiscent of gooseberry), it is also an earthen cherry, aka strawberry tomato. Having planted physalis on your plot, you will in any case be with a guaranteed harvest. Physalis has two edible forms: vegetable and berry (strawberry).

Vegetable physalis (Physalis philadelphica) is a type of physalis of Mexican origin. The natives call this culture "tomatil" and "milomat", i.e. Mexican tomato.

Berry species - Physalis South American origin, these include Peruvian physalis (Physalis peruviana) and Physalis Strawberry (Physalis pubescens).

The fruit of the vegetable physalis is a fleshy yellow-green or yellow-orange berry, similar to a tomato. The fruit tastes good and is consumed both raw and processed. If the fruits are harvested unripe, they can be stored for the whole winter (they look like lanterns in orange cases).

Physalis is excellently cultivated in the same soils on which tomatoes can grow and be cultivated. In appearance, the physalis bush is quite tall (80-100 cm), slender, similar to a nightshade bush.

From each physalis bush, you can get at least 2-3 kg of fruits. Fruits of pleasant specific taste, from which you can prepare many dishes and culinary products. In addition, physalis fruits have medicinal properties. It is especially recommended to consume them for those who suffer from chronic kidney diseases (it is believed that stones dissolve in this case).

Physalis features

Physalis plants have a strongly branching (up to 12 branches) reclining (in the vegetable group) or creeping (in the berry group) stem 60-120 cm long. The leaves are simple oval with serrated edges (in the berry group, slightly corrugated). Flowers - singly sitting in the axils of the ramifications, resembling in shape a small yellowish bell with brown spots at the base. The fruit is a polyspermous rounded berry enclosed in a parchment cup.

The plant produces 100-200 fruits. Vegetable physalis have large fruits:

• Ground Gribovsky - 40-60 g;
• Moscow early - 50-80 g;
• Confectionery - 40-50 g;
• Large-fruited - 60-90 g.

Berry Physalis variety Strawberry 573 has small berries - 6-10 g.

From germination to ripening with the seedling method of cultivation, it takes 90-100 days for a vegetable physalis, for a berry - 10-20 days more. Physalis fruiting is extended for 1-1.5 months, since the plant bushes and grows until frost, and in each branch a flower and a fruit are formed again.

In relation to environmental factors, vegetable physalis is close to tomato, but in comparison with it it is more cold-resistant, drought-resistant and less light-requiring. Its seeds germinate at a temperature of +10.. + 12 ° С, but in a berry - at +15 ° С and above. The optimum temperature for the growth and development of physalis is + 15..20 ° C.

Physalis grows on all soils, except for strongly acidic, saline and waterlogged. On heavy fertile soils, physalis can give a much higher yield than on sandy, especially poorly fertile, although the ripening of fruits in the second case occurs earlier. High drought resistance is associated with the development of a more powerful root system than tomato. As a shade-tolerant plant, physalis feels quite comfortable in the aisles of other crops, and the increased cold resistance of vegetable physalis allows it to be promoted to the northern regions.

Growing physalis

For physalis in the garden, the same plots are chosen as for tomato placed after vegetable crops grown on fresh manure (cucumber, cabbage). Please note that physalis predecessors should not contain nightshades, otherwise one-sided soil depletion and transmission of the same diseases cannot be avoided.

Physalis seedlings are planted in open ground after the end of frost, a week before planting tomato seedlings, or simultaneously with it. Seedlings are planted at the age of 55-60 days from sowing seeds. Schemes of planting physalis in open ground and under small-sized film shelters with free development of a bush 70x70 cm (vegetable) and 60x60 (berry).

In greenhouses, with a garter to stakes or a vertical trellis, physalis is placed according to the scheme 70x50 - 60 cm (vegetable) and 70x30 - 40 cm (berry). At the intersection of the marker lines, holes are made, water is poured into them and, after moisture absorption, 300-500 g of compost are added to the holes. In sunny weather, seedlings are planted in the second half of the day, in cloudy weather - at any time convenient for the gardener. After planting, it is tightly squeezed with earth and is not watered on top so that a crust does not form.

During the growing season, the soil is kept loose and free of weeds. Physalis is grown without pinching and pinching. The more the plants branch, the more fruits are formed on them. Fruits are harvested up to the first frost, since the plants can withstand temperature drops to -2 ° C and continue to bear fruit even at zero temperature. Fruits are harvested as they ripen, when the calyx begins to dry out.

Fallen fruits can deteriorate, for long-term storage they can be removed slightly unripe. Physalis fruits can be ripened and stored in a well-ventilated warm room for at least 2-3 months. In damp rooms, especially when stored in a pile, they quickly rot and become unsuitable for human consumption.

Before processing, the fruits of vegetable physalis are blanched to remove the sticky substance from them. Berry physalis does not require blanching, as it does not have a sticky substance. If the fruits of the vegetable physalis can be left to ripen, then the fruits of the berry should be picked only when ripe.

Physalis yield in open and insulated ground is 2-3 kg / m² (vegetable) and 0.5-1 kg / m² (berry). In greenhouses, the yield is 1.5-2 times higher.

Physalis reproduction

Physalis propagates by seed. You can sow them directly into the ground, but in the middle lane, the plant is best grown through seedlings. I must say that the seeds of varietal berry physalis are not quite easy to find - their assortment is small and not too diverse. In addition, one cannot be sure that you have bought exactly what you need - there is still some confusion with the names of many species and varieties of berry physalis (and therefore with seeds).

Growing physalis, take into account its size and ripening time. For example, Peruvian physalis (berry form) is a vigorous plant (up to 2 m), warm and light-loving. It takes 130–140 days from germination to the first harvest, so its seeds are sown for seedlings in mid - late February. The plant is transferred to a permanent place (best of all - in a film greenhouse) at the end of May. When picking and planting, it is advisable to bury the seedlings to the bottom leaf. No more than two plants are placed on 1 m² of land.

When forming, pinch all lateral shoots below the first bud. Above the first bud, the plant is not pinched. Physalis is watered until the end of July in the same way as tomatoes: once every 6-7 days, in the late afternoon, avoiding water getting on the leaves. From the beginning of August, watering is stopped - so that the tops no longer grow and the fruits set faster. Physalis is ripe if the "lanterns" turn yellow. The inside of the berries turns orange. The fruits are separated from the bush with difficulty, you have to take up the knife. After collection, they are dried together with the "flashlights" and stored in a well-ventilated place at a temperature of +1 to 15 ° C. If done correctly, the crop will last for several months.

Physalis raisin (strawberry physalis) has smaller fruits than Peruvian (about 1-2 g), and the plant itself is small (up to 40 cm), unpretentious. The crop ripens 100-110 days after the shoots appear, so the seeds for seedlings are sown in mid-March. When picking, they deepen to the cotyledons. To a permanent place, in the open ground, the seedlings are transferred in late May - early June, preferably in a warm, protected place. 6-8 plants are placed on 1 m².

Physalis raisin does without support; you do not need to form it. Watering is the same as Peruvian, the only difference is that watering is stopped in mid-August. Ripe fruits crumble from the bush. Very often, unripe ones fall off - they need to be kept for 10-15 days in room conditions. If stored properly, the fruits will last 4-5 months. All physalis give abundant self-seeding every year and are able to spread throughout the site.

Physalis can be sown before winter, it is not damaged by pests and diseases, it is more cold-resistant than other vegetables from the same nightshade family, it is drought-resistant.

Despite the fact that physalis has long been well known in culture, it still remains an exotic vegetable and is little cultivated by our gardeners. Meanwhile, the yield of physalis can be obtained in any (even the most unfavorable) year, since it is practically not affected by any diseases and pests. Even the worst enemy of all nightshades is the Colorado potato beetle, and for some reason the physalis prefers to bypass it.