Physalis is a plant from the nightshade family. Translated from Greek, “physalis” means bubble. People call this plant differently: earthen cranberry, maroonka, emerald berry, however, the most common is bladderwrack. This name is not accidental and is associated with the shape of physalis - a growing red-orange calyx.
Some gardeners compare physalis to tomatoes. And although they are somewhat similar, in particular in their fruits, growing and caring for physalis differs in many ways from tomatoes. In addition, not all varieties of physalis can be used for food. There are purely decorative types.
Main varieties of Physalis
All types of Physalis are divided into three categories:
- Decorative Physalis. This species is also called Physalis Franchet. The flower is extremely beautiful, shaped like a Chinese lantern. Bright orange boxes look great in the garden and are an excellent decoration for flower beds. The peculiarity of this species is that Physalis Franchet grows on any soil, tolerates temperature changes well, and does not require special care. Many gardeners prepare original winter bouquets from physalis boxes.
- Vegetable Physalis. Gardeners especially love it, as it not only adds beauty to the garden, but also produces edible orange or bright red fruits, from which you can make very tasty jam and pickle. The fruits come in different sizes and weights - from 30 g to 150 g. Vegetable physalis is unpretentious in cultivation.
- Strawberry (berry) Physalis. Unlike vegetable physalis, strawberry fruits are much smaller. Their weight ranges from approximately 1 g to 4 g. Very rarely, the fruits of this species can reach 9 g. Unlike ornamental and vegetable species, berry physalis is very sensitive to frost, the ripening period of the fruit is much longer, but the taste is superior to all types . In turn, berry physalis is divided into several varieties: raisin, Peruvian and Florida. It is from these varieties that you can make amazing tasting jam.
How to grow Physalis from seeds at home?
In southern areas, Physalis seeds can be sown directly in open ground. Moreover, in the future there will be no need to propagate this plant, since it will reproduce by self-sowing. It will only be necessary to transplant the seedlings to a specially designated place for them.
Sowing takes place in mid-April. The seeds are placed in a shallow furrow; the interval between the rows should be at least 30 cm. After the seeds germinate, the seedlings will need to be thinned out. The distance between sprouts should be 25 cm.
Attention! Seedlings transplanted to a new location will take root well, but will bear fruit later than the others.
Since Physalis is a frost-resistant plant, it can be sown before winter - in mid-October.
Growing Physalis through seedlings
Before you start sowing seeds for seedlings, you need to properly prepare the soil. You can, for example, purchase special soil intended for growing nightshades, or prepare it yourself: 2 parts peat + 1 part compost + 1 part garden soil + ½ part fine sand. You can add a little wood ash to the mixture - this will reduce the acidity of the peat (for 5 kg of the mixture you will need 2 tablespoons of ash).
When the soil is ready, fill the containers in which you plan to grow physalis. After this, begin sowing the seeds, but first they will need to be neutralized. This can be done as follows: take a small piece of gauze, roll it up in several layers, put in the seeds, and dip it in a manganese solution for about 20 minutes. In order for the seeds to germinate quickly, you can also place them in a solution of a growth stimulator - Epin (2 drops of Epin per 100 ml of water).
Seeds prepared for sowing are planted in the ground at the same distance from each other, lightly sprinkled with soil on top, about 1 cm, and pressed down with the palm of the hand. After this, the soil must be carefully watered.
The container is covered with glass or a transparent plastic bag and placed in a bright and warm place (air temperature from +15°C to +20°C).
The first shoots will appear in about 7-10 days. Immediately remove the glass from the container, make sure that the soil does not dry out, and water in a timely manner.
When and how to pick seedlings?
It is necessary to plant seedlings when the sprouts reach the stage of 2-3 true leaves. The sprouts are transplanted into separate containers filled with soil, the composition of which is almost the same as for sowing seeds. The only difference is the reduction in the amount of sand by approximately 2 times and the application of fertilizing (per 5 kg of soil - 1 tablespoon of complex mineral fertilizer).
The soil in the container is compacted, and a depression is made in it so that the roots of the sprouts fit completely into it. After this, the seedlings are carefully planted, covered with soil, and watered with water. Containers with seedlings are installed in a well-lit and warm place. It is recommended to fertilize once every 2 weeks.
20 days before planting seedlings in open ground, seedlings should be hardened off - the seedlings should be taken out into fresh air, but provided that there is no frost.
Planting seedlings in open ground
The place for growing physalis must be prepared in advance. First of all, you need to choose a site where nightshade crops - tomatoes, eggplants, peppers - have not previously grown on it. It is necessary to fertilize the soil - add 50 g of nitroammophoska per 1 sq.m. If the soil is too acidic, you can remove it using wood ash (300 g per 1 sq.m.). Be sure to dig the soil to a depth of 30 cm.
Make holes in the garden bed and plant physalis sprouts in them. The distance between the holes should not be less than half a meter, and between the rows - 70 cm. The seedlings are buried to the first leaf, dug in, lightly compacted and watered.
In order for the seedlings to grow stronger, they must be watered, loosened, freed from weeds, and fed in a timely manner.
Attention! Physalis does not stick and does not tie up. The more branches it has, the more fruits will appear.
Common physalis belongs to the perennial plants of the nightshade family. It also has other names: maroonka, dog cherry and bladderwort. This plant reaches a height of 50-100 cm. You can find physalis in almost any part of the world, it takes root especially well in forests, ravines and on the edges, but most of physalis grows in Bulgaria and Iraq.
Features of the chemical composition
Physalis contains microelements beneficial for humans
Physalis is grown in the Caucasus, Russia, the Baltic states and Central Asia. It blooms from May to August, and fruit harvesting begins in June and ends in September. It is thanks to the fruits that this plant got its name from the word “physo” (from Greek “swollen”), because the spherical juicy red or orange physalis berry is enclosed in a bubble-shaped cup.
If you manage to try this amazing berry, you will notice how its sweet juice perfectly relieves thirst. This is due to the fact that physalis contains purified fresh water. It also contains a large number of microelements that are beneficial to human health. The main ones are:
- potassium;
- magnesium;
- phosphorus;
- calcium;
- sodium;
- iron;
- zinc.
Physalis is rich in organic acids, the action of which is aimed at normalizing the acid-base balance. The fruit of a variety such as pineapple physalis, in addition to the listed elements, contains a large percentage of pectin and lycopene, which have proven themselves to be good antioxidants. When consuming this berry, tannins, fiber, steroids, vitamins A and C will enter your body.
Beneficial substances are also contained in the leaves, stems and roots of physalis, but all of its above-ground parts, except for the fruits, are poisonous and not suitable for consumption.
Physalis varieties
There are many varieties of physalis all over the world.
There are a large number of different varieties of this miracle plant in the world. The most famous of them are: vegetable, strawberry, decorative, ordinary and pineapple.
Physalis vegetable, or as it is also called Mexican, is considered the most common among other plant varieties. It tastes quite pleasant when fully and properly ripened. This variety is very picky: it loves a lot of sun and very little humidity. The famous physalis jam, which tastes like fig jam, is prepared from the vegetable species of this plant.
Strawberry physalis bears fruit with berries that are slightly smaller in size than other varieties, but as for their taste, they have a completely unique aroma and taste of wild strawberries. Among other things, this type of plant is characterized by high productivity.
Peruvian physalis, unlike raisin, marmalade and strawberry, is not so sweet, but it has a fairly pronounced fruity taste and aroma. Due to the fact that its fruits are very delicate, it is not worth storing for a long time. The dried fruits of the Peruvian physalis resemble dried apricots, only their taste will be much richer.
Quite often in our summer cottages you can see a plant whose shape resembles a flashlight. This is an ornamental physalis. It is not picky about the weather and prefers calcareous soils. After it fades, its calyx, in which the fruit is located, turns into a thin orange wrapper. This bell physalis is often dried and used to decorate bouquets or in room design.
Beneficial features
physalis is valued for its medicinal properties
Almost all varieties of physalis have medicinal properties. Human consumption of fruits in their raw form creates an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic barrier. Also, the berries of this fruit have a good diuretic, hemostatic and choleretic effect.
By regularly eating physalis, you protect your body from the formation of kidney stones, and in some cases it helps remove existing stones and deposited salts.
In folk medicine, Physalis vulgaris is used to treat the female reproductive system, cystitis, and urolithiasis. It helps fight pyelonephritis and inflammation in the reproductive organs. For swelling and bruises, a decoction of the roots of this plant, which is applied to the affected areas in the form of a compress, helps well.
Also, due to the fact that the physalis plant is saturated with a large number of vitamins, microelements and a whole range of nutrients, it is recommended to be eaten for various diseases, because it improves immunity.
Physalis is a multivitamin dietary product; experts advise taking it for:
- chronic cholecystitis;
- hypoacid gastritis;
- jaundice;
- stomach ulcer;
- diabetes mellitus;
- epilepsy;
- hypertension.
Physalis fruit is also indispensable for dermatoses, dysentery, hemorrhoids, gout, gonorrhea, as well as for ulcers and abscesses on the skin. It is eaten to normalize blood pressure and the functioning of the endocrine system. It acts as a prophylactic for anemia, age-related digestive and respiratory problems.
Dessert, vegetable, strawberry and pineapple physalis cope quite effectively with colds that are accompanied by a severe cough. However, you need to start drinking a decoction containing it as early as possible in order to soften the throat with this particular plant mucus, while the body has not yet had time to secrete its own.
The fruit of this plant should be consumed not only by sick people, but also by healthy people during epidemics as a preventative measure, as it has antibacterial and antiviral properties.
Physalis berries have the ability to cleanse the body of toxins and free radicals. One of the varieties of the physalis plant, golden placer, is especially famous for this. In this regard, it is advisable for people living in cities with heavily polluted air to include this product in their diet. It has been proven that daily consumption of physalis has a powerful preventive effect against cancer.
From the fruits of this plant you can get red food dye: it is often used to color butter, and it can also be used to dye silk orange or yellow. The aerial part of physalis is used to dye wool green and yellow.
Use in cooking
due to its unusual appearance, physalis is popular in cooking
Physalis fruits are a low-calorie product, so overweight people can safely consume it. In cooking, they are used to prepare many dishes, but only without the cups in which they are closed, since the cups are toxic. The berries themselves need to be doused with boiling water, since it is covered with a waxy, sticky coating.
The berries are used to prepare various fillings for pies, pickles, marinades, aromatic jams, and sauces. Many cooks add physalis juice to fish and meat dishes as a seasoning. Boiled fruits are used to decorate cakes. The plant is also dried to make raisins, which taste almost the same as the real thing.
Thanks to the valuable properties that jam physalis has, it is loved by confectioners all over the world and is often added to the preparation of candied fruits, marmalade, pata, caviar and purees.
Physalis marmalade is considered a good assistant in cooking. Sweet marshmallows are prepared from its fruits; it is added when canning vegetables for the winter, in salads and stews with fresh vegetables.
A delicious jam is also prepared from physalis berries. To prepare it, you need 400-450 g. pour the same amount of water over the berries, simmer over low heat for about an hour, strain, add 700-800 grams. honey and cook for another 30 minutes. The cooled jam is covered with a nylon lid and placed in the refrigerator. It is suitable for daily consumption and is also good to eat if you have kidney disease. For this purpose, you need to take 1.5-2 tbsp. l. before every meal.
An unusually decorative variety of physalis that retains its qualities for a long time after harvesting. The rich purple color of its fruit is hidden under the green outer shell. To enhance color, place the fruit in sunlight. Harvesting within 65 days after germination. Used as a vegetable variety of physalis, for making jams and compotes.
Growing conditions. Sowing seedlings 4-5 weeks before transplanting into open ground. The seeds are lightly sprinkled with soil. They germinate in 7-14 days at an optimal temperature of 15-21°C. Picking after 3 weeks. For growth, a temperature of 13°C is recommended. Planting in open ground when the threat of return of frost has passed. Grows better in the sun.
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Physalis with kiwi and green apple aroma, purple inside. The taste is sweet with a slight sourness. It grows well in open ground, forming bushes up to 1 meter in diameter. The purple color is due to the high content of anthocyanins - natural antioxidants that are very beneficial for health. For stronger fruit color, plant this physalis in full sun. In the shade the purple color disappears.
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The earliest of the sweet large varieties of physalis! Only 60 days until the first ripe fruit. Ripe fruits are lemon yellow in color and one of the largest. The bushes are powerful, branched, up to one meter high. Juicy sweet for fresh consumption, as well as for making jams and preserves.
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An early-ripening, high-yielding, unpretentious variety, 70-75 cm high. The fruits are yellow, large, weighing 65-80 g, do not crack, with a high content of sugars, pectin and vitamin C. Value: cold resistance, drought resistance, excellent fruit set in any weather. Recommended for fresh consumption and processing (pickling, jam, caviar, candied fruits). Seeds for seedlings are sown in March - early April or by direct sowing in the ground in May. Planting depth is 1 cm. Planted in a permanent place in June, after the end of spring frosts, according to the 70x40 cm pattern. Further care consists of loosening, weeding, watering and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.
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Early ripening variety. The plant is medium-sized, up to 70 cm high. The fruits are round, small, weighing 10-15 g, amber in color, pleasantly sweet with strawberry flavor and aroma. They contain a large amount of pectin, vitamin C, sugars, mineral salts and microelements. Consumed fresh and dried. They are also used for making desserts, jams, confectionery, and canning.
Growing conditions. Sowing seedlings. Shoots appear after 7 days at a temperature of 20-22*C. Planting in open ground when the threat of return of frost has passed. The culture is thermophilic, unpretentious to soils, and moisture-loving. Collect fruits as they ripen, preventing them from falling off.
- unfortunately sold out
“Sugar raisin” is an early ripening variety of physalis with small fruits that have a pronounced aroma and taste. The fruits can be used fresh, and can also be used to make sweets: candied fruits, jams and preserves.
Physalis can be grown in seedlings. It is better to start sowing seeds in the spring. Pour dense and moist soil into a special container or box and plant the seeds shallowly. After this, cover the container with film or glass and place it in a well-lit, warm place. After the first shoots appear, the cover must be removed and the container itself must be placed in a bright place, avoiding direct sunlight. It is necessary to water the plants moderately as the soil dries, but do not over-water them to prevent the soil from becoming waterlogged. Before transplanting seedlings into open ground, physalis must be fertilized in advance. To do this, you need to add compost, peat or humus to the soil. If the soil is highly acidic, it should be limed.
Caring for physalis does not require much effort. Weed and loosen the soil as necessary. It is enough to water it once every 7 days, until the beginning of August. After which, watering must be stopped for better and faster ripening of the fruits. Physalis can be harvested 60 days after the sprouts appear.
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Pineapple taste! Physalis vegetable "Pineapple" is an unpretentious variety of medium ripeness. The ripening period from germination to fruit harvesting is from 110 to 115 days. The plant is branched, tall, its height is 1.5 meters. Physalis fruits are pineapple-flavored, pale yellow in color, and shaped like a tomato. The weight of one fruit in a mature state is from 65 to 75 grams. The Physalis variety "Pineapple" has been tested for germination and is resistant to various types of diseases. Excellent for pickling and for making preserves, jam, stews, salads, candied fruits. Can be used to decorate confectionery and a variety of desserts.
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Early ripening. Fruit ripening occurs 90-95 days after full germination. The plant is non-standard, determinate, erect, medium-branched and medium-leaved, 60-80 cm high. The leaf is obovate, medium in size, light green, smooth, without stipules. The fruit is round and dense. The color of the unripe fruit and cap is light green and green, the color of the ripe fruit is light yellow and yellow. Fruit weight is 60-90 g. The taste of fresh fruits is sweet and sour. The yield of marketable fruits is up to 5 kg per plant. Value of the variety: early ripeness, large-fruited, high content of pectin substances in fruits, cold resistance. Grown in open ground with pre-winter or early spring sowing of seeds in the ground or through seedlings. Recommended for processing into caviar, jam, jam, candied fruits, dry wine, as well as for salting and marinating.
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A low annual, early-ripening, unpretentious plant. It takes up to 130 days from germination to ripening. There is no pubescence; anthocyanin coloring appears to varying degrees on all parts of the plant. It tolerates overheating well, is a self-pollinator, and sets fruit in the most extreme weather conditions. The flower petals are yellow without dark spots. The fruits weigh up to 1.5 g, light yellow, often with purple specks, the flesh is yellow, juicy, without aroma, cloyingly sweet, a slight phesaline-specific aftertaste can be observed (like physalis vegetable). It is used fresh for food. The fruits fall off weakly and only when fully ripe. Sowing seeds for seedlings in mid-March. Planting scheme in open ground - 5-6 plants/m2. Florida physalis is also prone to the generative path of development, therefore, in order to stimulate vegetative growth, abundant nutrition and irrigation are necessary until mid-August. Productivity up to 1 kg/m2. Packaged in a common package indicating the variety.
Physalis MAGICAL
Mid-season (from germination to ripening about 130-140 days) heat-loving plant. Height up to 1.8 m in a film greenhouse. Pubescence is weak. Compared to other forms of this species, it is more tolerant of unfavorable external conditions. Internodes are shortened, which, along with large-fruited fruit, leads to a significant increase in productivity - up to 1.0 kg/m2. The bush is compact. It is a self-pollinator. The flower petals are yellow with dark spots at the base, which is one of the distinctive characteristics of the species. It is distinguished by the outstanding taste of ripe fruits. The fruits weigh 5-6 g (up to 9 g), brownish-orange, the pulp is orange, juicy, very aromatic, sweet and sour, the taste and smell are close to strawberries, pineapple and other fruits, as a rule, there is a slight bitterness, which, however, , is perceived as grapefruit. It is used fresh for food, as well as for making jam, compotes and other processed products of the highest quality. Very rich in vitamins, microelements, pectin. Fruits from the plant fall off very rarely, only when overripe. They ripen poorly, only the fruits begin to turn yellow. Fruits ripened on the bush have high taste qualities. Before storage, the covers must be thoroughly dried. The keeping quality of the fruits of this variety is very high due to the denser skin. A distinctive feature of the variety is large-fruited, compact bush, and early ripening. Sowing seeds for seedlings in mid-February. Planting scheme in a film greenhouse - 2.5 plants/m2. Peruvian physalis is prone to vegetative development, so light soils, abundant nutrition and irrigation are preferable only until mid-July, and from the beginning of August it is necessary to restrain plant growth by almost completely stopping watering. Productivity up to 1.0 kg/m2.
Physalis has long been known to gardeners, but it is undeservedly rare in garden beds and is considered an exotic plant. Most often it is grown as an ornamental plant, the bright fruits of which decorate autumn and winter bouquets.
And few people realize that physalis can be eaten. You can make jams, jellies, preserves from it, you can pickle it or pickle it, or you can eat it raw. In addition, physalis is a medicinal plant. Physalis is very resistant to diseases and pests.
The harvest can be obtained in any conditions, even the most unfavorable. Caring for physalis is similar to caring for tomatoes, but physalis is less demanding.
Physalis can be divided into three groups: decorative, berry (strawberry, Peruvian), vegetable (Mexican tomato). Strawberry physalis is an annual plant. Reaches a height of 35-45 cm. The berries have a diameter of 6-12 mm, weight - 3-5 g, taste sweet, with a strawberry aroma.
Color - amber yellow. Each bush can produce up to 2 kg of berries. Mexican physalis is also an annual plant. Reaches a height of more than 1 m. Fruit weight - 30-90 g. Taste - from sickly sweet to spicy-sour.
Color: white, yellow, orange, purple, green. From each bush you can get 3-5 kg of fruit.
Growing Physalis: soil preparation
Loose, well-aerated, fertile, non-acidic soil is suitable for physalis. The best predecessors are cabbage, pumpkin, root vegetables or legumes. An effective fertilizer is humus, compost or ash (2-3 cups per 1 m2). It is better not to apply fresh manure.
Humus is added in the fall and mineral fertilizers are applied in the spring. Physalis loves the sun, so the planting scheme for the beds is as follows: Mexican physalis - 50?50 cm, strawberry physalis - 30?30 cm. Mexican and strawberry physalis do not get along well next to tobacco and perennial decorative physalis (“lanterns”).
Planting physalis
Let's look at four ways to plant physalis.
1st method: winter sowing
Sow dry seeds in soil mulched with peat, humus or compost. The mulch layer is 2-3 cm. In this case, the fruits ripen later, but the plants become more resistant to disease and drought and produce a larger harvest.
Method 2: sowing with sprouted seeds
Seeds are planted to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, 2 per cell. Sowing time - the period of planting early potatoes.
3rd method: seedlings
Seedlings are grown indoors or in a greenhouse. Seeds for seedlings for Mexican physalis are sown in mid-late February, and for strawberry physalis - in mid-March.
The different timing is explained by the fact that 130-140 days pass from germination to receiving the first fruits of the Mexican physalis, and 100-110 days for the strawberry plant. Thirty-day-old seedlings are used for planting. Planting is carried out 7 days earlier than tomatoes (late May - early June).
4th method: self-seeding
All physalis, especially strawberry plant, annually self-sow abundantly and can independently spread throughout the entire area.
Physalis care
When picking and replanting, plants must be buried to the bottom leaf. When forming a bush, pinch all side shoots below the first bud. Strawberry physalis need not be formed.
Physalis is grown without pinching. The more the plants branch, the greater the harvest (up to 200 fruits per plant). In mid-July, the tops of the stems are pinched - this increases the yield.
The plants are not tied up, but if there are a lot of fruits on the branch, it can be supported. Care consists of weeding, loosening the soil, watering and fertilizing the plants.
Watering
Physalis is watered in the same way as tomatoes: until the end of July, once every 6-7 days. Watering is carried out in the late afternoon. When watering, avoid getting water on the leaves. At the beginning of August, watering is stopped.
This stops the growth of tops and promotes fruit set.
Top dressing
- 1st feeding: during flowering of plants 2nd feeding: during fruit formation 3rd feeding: 2-3 weeks after the 2nd
Mineral fertilizers are used for feeding: 10-15 g of potassium salt, 10-20 g of superphosphate, 10 g of ammonium nitrate are required for 10 liters of water. Consumption - 10 liters per 1 m2. Bird droppings diluted in water (1: 15-20) and slurry (in a ratio of 1:10) are also suitable for feeding. Consumption - 0.5 l per plant.
Harvest
Physalis fruits do not ripen at the same time. Ripe fruits fall off. They must be removed in a timely manner, both from the plant itself and from the ground. Vegetable physalis can ripen indoors, but berry physalis is removed from the plant only when it is mature.
Physalis ripening lasts until frost. Fresh fruits can be stored in a dry place for up to 4 months. The fruit of physalis is enclosed in a dense shell, which should be removed before use, and the fruit itself should be doused with boiling water.
Procurement of seeds
For seeds I select mature, large, healthy fruits. Selected fruits ripen indoors at a temperature of 20-25°C for 2 weeks. After this, the fruits are kneaded in a glass or ceramic container and left to ferment for 3-5 days.
Then the pulp (the top layer of the fruit) is removed, and the seeds that have sunk to the bottom are washed with water 3-4 times and dried on paper. If there are few fruits, then the seeds can be selected manually with a teaspoon from the cut fruits.
1. Seed preparation
Physalis has small seeds, so to choose the best ones, you need to pour them into a glass with a 5% salt solution and mix. We remove the ones that float to the surface, and wash and dry the best seeds that have settled to the bottom. They are ready for sowing. If you want the seeds to germinate faster, check out the different methods in the article “How to speed up the germination of seeds.” It is also good to keep the seeds a little in pink potassium permanganate before sowing.
2. Land preparation
The soil for seedlings should be light and fertile. Dig up the soil in the garden two weeks before planting the seedlings with the addition of humus and ash. No need to add fresh manure! Choose a bright, sunny place.
Physalis does not like shade and lowlands! So are acidic soils. The best predecessors may be cabbage or cucumbers. In second place are any other crops.
You cannot plant after eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, or physalis itself, as they suffer from the same diseases. Although it must be said that physalis is almost not damaged by any pests or diseases.
3. Sowing without seedlings
Physalis vegetable is not afraid of the cold and reproduces well by self-sowing. Therefore, it can be safely sown before winter or in early spring in open ground. In this case, the seedlings turn out to be stronger, healthier, and more hardened than domestic ones, but the beginning of fruiting is delayed until later.
Therefore, if you want to get an early harvest, you need to use the seedling method.
5. Growing physalis through seedlings: timing
It grows quickly, the age of ready seedlings for planting in the ground is 30 days. Therefore, we plan to sow seedlings in early April in order to plant them in the garden in the second half of May. These are temporary recommendations for the Southern Urals and the Middle Zone.
Naturally, you need to look at your weather. Vegetable physalis can be planted two weeks earlier than tomatoes; here is another guideline for determining the time of planting in open ground.
But it is better to plant strawberry physalis together with tomatoes; it loves warmth. Growing physalis seedlings is similar to sowing tomato seedlings. You can first sow the seeds in a small container and plant them when two true leaves appear.
Or sow the seeds shallowly and immediately into separate cups to reduce damage to the root system when transplanting. We water abundantly, but infrequently. Seedlings can be sown in a greenhouse or under film on ridges.
In any case, the seedlings need to be hardened off, taken outside, gradually accustoming them to the sun. Young plants can get burned if suddenly moved from indoors to the sun.
When the air temperature is above 13°C, you can leave the seedlings outside overnight. Seedlings and planted plants are fertilized once every three weeks with a solution of mullein (1 to 10) or bird droppings (1 to 20). Water with fertilizer and water at the roots to avoid burning the leaves.
6. Planting in open ground, care
About 30 days after germination, the plants will have 5-6 leaves and will be ready to be planted in open ground. Physalis branches and grows strongly, so it needs to be planted in a checkerboard pattern with a distance of 50 cm between rows and plants.
If the variety is tall, then you need to tie it to a support. When planting, physalis is watered abundantly and then watered in dry weather. Mulch the plantings and you will do many procedures much less often - loosening, weeding, watering.
When pouring fruits, it is better to stop watering so that they do not crack. There is no need to root out physalis, since its fruits grow in the axils of the branches. The more branches the plant has, the better the harvest. To do this, you can pinch the top of the head at the end of June.
7. Ripening, harvesting
The lower fruits ripen first. They may begin to fall to the ground. No problem, collect them and recycle them!
Unripe fruits are well stored and ripened at home. But for long-term storage (4-5 months), they are put into a cellar at a temperature of +2+3°C, laid out in boxes in two or three layers. Collected for storage until frost in dry weather and always with a cover.
Then an intact waxy coating remains on the fruits, thanks to which they are stored for such a long time. The ripeness of physalis depends on the specific characteristics of the variety.
Some are painted yellow or lilac, the cap may be larger than the fruit or break when growing, but when it becomes dry and lighter, the physalis is ripe. Usually in September there are still a lot of unripe fruits on the bush. To prevent frost from spoiling them, dig up the bush with its roots, shake it off the ground and hang it in the shed to ripen. I suggest watching a video about growing decorative physalis - “Chinese lanterns”. These are the features of growing vegetable physalis and its other types, as well as planting and caring for him. You can read other interesting articles: All of them relate to canned salad varieties.
Physalis strawberry and berry
It is also called Florida or pubescent. Although the berries are much smaller - about the size of a pea, they are much sweeter and more aromatic. They contain twice as much fruit sugar as strawberries and raspberries! Growing strawberry physalis is recommended if there are people with diabetes in the family.
The color of the berries is bright amber. From one varietal bush you can collect up to 3 kg of delicious berries. They dry well and look like raisins.
Physalis raisin
This is one of the varieties of strawberry, but it tastes more pleasant, as it is sour and has a hint of pineapple flavor. Its juice, like marmalade, is similar to tangerine.
Raisin physalis is perfectly stored in its cases - up to 6 months in a cool, dry place.
Physalis peruviana
It also enjoys well-deserved popularity all over the world. It has no equal in its bright fruity taste, sweet and sour, with a grapefruit flavor. The fruits are large, flattened, with a very strong orange-strawberry aroma. The best varieties are Columbus, Kudesnik.
Their dried berries are very similar to dried apricots, only brighter in taste.
Physalis decorative
It grows up to 60 cm in height and blooms with white, inconspicuous flowers. But in the fall, this plant attracts everyone's attention with its bright orange lanterns and red berry inside. Over time, the flashlight becomes transparent - only the veins and the berry are visible.
Once you plant it, you will get a perennial plant that will grow from rhizomes. If you pick branches with lanterns, they can be used in dry bouquets. It looks especially beautiful with lunaria.
Growing physalis from seeds
One of the experienced gardeners said that this crop is a real godsend for the lazy. Firstly, the plant is cold-resistant and early ripening, and secondly, it produces a large harvest.
And, thirdly, it is not necessary to fool around with seedlings, but you can sow seeds directly into the beds in early spring. And then, only for the first time. Then it will miraculously reproduce by self-sowing.
If, of course, you want to enjoy delicious berries early, then it is still recommended to grow physalis through seedlings. But, in general, no special conditions or agrotechnical techniques are needed - physalis produces high yields on heavy soils, on sandy soils, in partial shade and in the scorching sun.
It does not like stagnant water and acidified soils - in this case it is advisable to lime the soil.
Apply organic fertilizers only to previous crops.
Non-seedling cultivation of physalis
In the central and southern regions, all types of physalis can be grown without seedlings at home. In April or early May, sow the seeds directly into the ground in rows with row spacing of 30 cm, and not too densely in the row.
The end result is to leave the plants at a distance of about 25 cm from each other. Those plants that remain after thinning can be planted anywhere in the dacha - they will quickly take root and produce a full harvest a week or two later.
Sowing seeds for seedlings
You can do this literally after the New Year. Early sowing is recommended to be done in separate containers - optimally 0.5 liter cups. Later, in March, you can sow in one wide flowerpot or planting box, and then carefully divide the bushes before planting. At temperatures above +8 degrees, you can take the seedlings out into the sun for a day - for hardening and retarding growth.
Growing physalis through seedlings not only gives an earlier harvest, but also an overall larger one, since the fruiting period is extended.
Physalis fruiting
The growing season of this plant is about 100 days from germination to harvest. The fruits are formed in places where the stem branches, the main crop is formed on two shoots of the first order and four shoots of the second order.
On the remaining branches there are only single fruits and most of them are of substandard sizes. The fruits are formed until frost. A sign of ripening is a change in color and shedding. Harvest in sunny weather.
In early September, you should pinch the tops to stop the growth of branches and speed up the ripening of fruits. If frost has arrived, but many fruits are not yet ripe, then you can ripen them.
To do this, the plant is removed from the soil with its roots and hung in a dry, frost-free room. So, the fruiting period can be extended until the New Year, or even until spring.
Ripe fruits will fall off, so it is worth laying a soft cloth so that they do not break on the floor. Normally developed unripe fruits without damage can survive perfectly for 3-4 months, and ripe ones can be stored for up to 2 months at a temperature of 1 to 5-6 degrees. Important!
After collecting ripened fruits, they must be immediately cleared of their caps. The fact is that they contain a bitter substance, glycoside, which can impart bitterness to the fruits themselves.
Unripe fruits do not become bitter. Seed collection is carried out exactly as with a tomato - healthy, large, ripe fruits are cut in half, poured with rainwater and left for a day to soften the pulp. Then carefully rub through a sieve, rinse and dry.
The seeds are very small - there are more than 1000 seeds per gram. It is difficult to maintain the varietal purity of physalis if several varieties grow at the dacha. This crop pollinates well. But, as a rule, such cross-pollinated hybrids are no worse than the original ones, and often even surpass them in size and taste of the fruit.
Physalis care
Care does not present any difficulties - infrequent watering, weeding, loosening, 2 feedings per season. Plantings should not be thickened. Gartering and pinching are not carried out.
It is not affected by diseases and pests.
Beneficial properties of physalis and use in medicine
The healing properties of the fruits of this crop have been known for a long time. They are used fresh to treat liver diseases; they are useful for hemorrhages, hemorrhoids, and bleeding gums, as they have an astringent effect.
Decoctions and infusions of fresh and dry fruits are useful for inflammatory diseases of the stomach and intestines. If you grind the fruits, then wounds can be healed well with this pulp.
A vodka tincture is made from the dry cups, which is an excellent remedy for rejuvenating the skin, eliminating scars and stretch marks. A decoction of the dried fruits is used in folk medicine as a diuretic and for treating the kidneys. In official dietetics, physalis-carrot salad, which has antitoxic properties, has found use. mandatory prescribed in the diet for victims of the Chernobyl accident, as well as after poisoning with heavy metals. To do this, take physalis fruits cut into pieces and grated carrots in equal proportions, to which vegetable oil or cream is added. A 200 g serving of this salad provides a daily dose of most vitamins and carotenoids.
How to plant physalis?
Physalis is an annual plant from the nightshade family. Over 70 species of physalis are known. Among them there are edible and decorative ones. The fruits used as food are fleshy berries.
They are covered with an overgrown calyx-wrapper. Jam, puree, molasses, jelly, marmalade, jam, marmalade, candied fruits, pie filling and other confectionery products are prepared from fresh fruits, and compotes are made from dried fruits.
Fresh fruits are edible after some processing, since there is a sticky substance on their surface that has the flavor of plants of the nightshade family. To remove it, the fruits are poured with boiling water and boiled for 3-5 minutes.
Processed fruits are used for making caviar, sauces, pickling and pickling. They are added to vegetable soups and salads. In folk medicine, fresh fruits, juice, and decoctions of physalis are used as a diuretic for rheumatism, gout, and some diseases of the intestines, kidneys, and bladder. The fruits are rich in sugar (up to 8-9%) and pectin substances (0.27%) vitamin C (28-44 mg).
They contain 2 times more sugar than raspberries and wild strawberries. They contain carotene and organic acids. Of the edible physalises, American berry, strawberry and Mexican vegetable physalis are currently cultivated.
The American berry physalis produces aromatic, sweet but small fruits (1-3 g), and the strawberry and Mexican vegetable physalis produces large (30-60 g) but less sweet fruits. In Russia, the most common are cold-resistant, tall (up to 1 m) varieties of the Mexican group : Moscow early-2045, Ground Gribovsky-2046, Kinditersky-2047. Less commonly grown is the more heat-loving American berry: Strawberry-573, or Early-Ripe Raisin.
Physalis varieties
Physalis variety Moscow early-2045 early ripening, with large (40-70 g) fruits (tomatoes), which when ripe are light yellow and sweet. Their calyx-wrapper is dense and adjacent.
They store well for a long time. Variety Ground Gribovsky-2046 mid-season, large-fruited (30-50 g). It is grown in open ground through seedlings.
Ripe fruits are yellow-green, sweet and sour, with a tight-fitting wrapper.Variety Confectionery-2047 mid-ripening, produces green, sweet-sour, large (30-50 g) fruits with a multifaceted, tightly fitting calyx. They keep well in winter.
They are usually used to make jelly. Variety Strawberry-573, or Early ripening raisin. Its plants are low (60-80 cm), the leaves are covered with hairs. The flowers are pale yellow, with purple-red spots inside the corolla.
The wrapper is pentagonal, grayish-yellow, loosely fitting. The fruits are small (3-10 g), amber-yellow or orange, sour-sweet, with a pleasant strawberry aroma. Sometimes a lot of them form on a bush (up to 350), but they fall off when ripe.
When planted in the ground as seedlings, the variety ripens well on the root. For decorative purposes, perennial physalis is grown, which has small, bright red fruits.
Timing of planting and soil fertilization
Physalis works well when grown in seedlings. The rate of sowing seeds for seedlings is: Mexican physalis 0.3-0.4 g, strawberry physalis - 0.15-0.20 g per 10 m2. Seeds are prepared in the same way as tomatoes.
Some gardeners place the bent ones in the cold (up to 0°, minus 1-3°) for three days, and then sow them in peat-humus pots or cubes to a depth of 0.5 cm. The best sowing time for seedlings - second half of April.
Strawberry physalis is sown a little earlier - in early April. Seedlings are prepared without picking for 30-40 days in greenhouses, greenhouses or insulated beds, and sometimes in a room in boxes installed on the window.
It is watered moderately, the room is often ventilated. If development is slow, it is fed with bird droppings diluted 10-20 times with water, or mineral fertilizers (per liter of water 0.5-1 g of ammonium nitrate, 1-2 - superphosphate and 1-1, 5 g potassium salt). 7-10 days before planting in a permanent place, it is hardened: it is taken out into the open air in warm weather (at a temperature of 12-15°C), and when grown under shelters, the latter are removed. In open ground, a fertile area with non-acidic soil is allocated for physalis.
Low, overly humid places are unsuitable. When planting seedlings in the ground, infertile soil is fertilized, as for a tomato.
In mid-April - early May (a week earlier than tomato seedlings), the plants are placed on ridges no deeper than the first true leaves, with simultaneous watering (1-1.5 liters of water per plant). For one m? there are from 2 to 4 plants with a distance between rows and in a row of 50-70 cm for large-fruited varieties and after 30 cm for early ripening varieties. For better development, they are first fed with slurry diluted with water in a ratio of 1:8, or with bird droppings, mullein ( 1:10), and then with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers (20-30 g of superphosphate and 15-20 g of potassium salt per 10 liters of water).
Plants do not shoot. The more fruits are produced, the higher the yield. In low areas, bushes spud up.
At the end of June, the tops of the shoots are pinched.
Physalis harvest
The harvest, depending on the variety, ripens 40-60 days after planting the seedlings, usually in late June-early August. From one m? they get up to 1-1.5 kg of strawberry fruits and up to 3-4 kg of Mexican physalis. In some regions, physalis is planted without seedlings.
The hatched seeds are sown in beds, 5-6 per nest. The nests are located at the same distance as the holes for seedlings. At 10 m? 0.5-1 g of seeds are required.
When the second true leaf appears, the seedlings should be thinned out, leaving no more than one or two plants in the nest. To prevent their lodging, the bushes are tied to a wire stretched on stakes along the rows. When grown without seedlings, physalis fruits are ready for harvesting 80-90 days after emergence.
They are collected as they ripen, without allowing them to fall off. When ripe, the wrapper becomes lighter and dries, and the fruits acquire a color corresponding to the varietal characteristics. Healthy, undamaged ones are harvested in dry weather.
During harvesting, the wrappers are removed so that the bitter glucosoids do not pass into the pulp. Before frost, the fruits are often removed along with the stems. They are first stacked under weight, and then large fruits are collected.
Small and unripe ones gradually ripen during such storage. The ripening process goes faster in a warm, dry room. At a temperature of 25-30°, within one to two weeks the fruits acquire quality corresponding to the variety, and at +1-4° they can be preserved until spring if they are placed in small lattice boxes in a layer of no more than 15 cm.
Procurement of seeds
You can prepare your own physalis seeds. When growing seed plants, excess nitrogen fertilizer should be avoided.
The harvest is harvested in several stages, as the fruits ripen, selecting the best from healthy, early-ripening plants typical of the variety. Ripe fruits, washed with water, are carefully crushed. The mass with seeds and juice is left to ferment lightly for one to two days at a temperature of 20°.
However, you should not fill them with water, otherwise they will quickly germinate. Then the seeds are washed several times in clean water and dried immediately, since moistened ones quickly deteriorate and lose their viability.
