Physalis ripen late in Germany
If you also want to grow physalis, then you should sow the plants very early in the year - at the latest in March. The shrub does not start to bear fruit until three to four months after sowing - this means that even with this early sowing, you cannot harvest until August, but more likely in September. The Physalis comes from the subtropics and is therefore used to a much longer vegetation period than is usual in Central Europe. If you take appropriate care, you can count on around 300 fruits per plant.
also read
- Planting physalis yourself - you will soon be able to harvest delicious Andean berries
- Does the delicious fruit of the physalis grow on the tree?
- Can you let physalis ripen?
How do I recognize ripe physalis?
You can recognize immature physalis by the fact that they are more or less green. The berries are ripe when
- the shell dries up and turns brown
- it then feels a little like dry paper
- and the more ripe the fruit, the more crumbly it becomes
- the berry itself turns a strong orange-yellow or orange-red color
Physalis should be eaten as ripe as possible. On the one hand, unripe berries are not particularly tasty, on the other hand, if too much is eaten, they can lead to symptoms of poisoning. Incidentally, in contrast to the other Physalis species, you can also harvest the fruits of the Tomatillo green and process them like vegetables.
How are physalis harvested?
Many gardeners swear by it that physalis are only ripe when they fall off the bush on their own. But you have to like that. Instead, you can simply test a fruit to see whether it is actually ripe. The case provides good information in the assessment, and the strong color shimmers through. When the berries are ripe, you can simply pick them. The casing should be removed before consumption, but washing off the sticky layer is not essential. Fruits picked immature do not ripen.
Some suggestions for further processing
If you have no ideas what you can do with your Physalis harvest, here are some suggestions:
- Cook Marmelade
- Cook fruit sauces or chutneys
- Freeze or dry ripe fruits
- conjure up a delicious physalis ice cream with sugar, honey and cream
Tips
Even in the cool winter quarters, green fruits often ripen again, so that you can fall back on physalis fresh from the bush even in the cold season. Incidentally, the berries of the lantern flower, which is widespread in this country, are confusingly similar to a commercially available physalis, but are still poisonous.
