Madison Farmers Market Thai Ground Cherry

(Physalis spp.); aka Husk Cherry; Minimum 20 seeds.

October 2019 afforded us the wonderful opportunity to attend the inaugural Upper Midwest Seed Summit in Madison Wisconsin. In the after-glow of the conference sessions we visited Madison's Producers' Only Farmers' Market which stipulates that what is offered for sale must be grown or produced by the vendor.

Imagine our delight when we came across a vendor offering these magnificent ground cherries from their family homeland of Thailand. They are HUGE compared to what we've been growing! And tasty! Images of a future Michigan grown harvest of plump golden sweetness sprang to mind as we brought some home for seed.

Due this past season's grand scheme of planting, these were grown as transplants, started in late May and sown outside in early June. Like other ground cherries, it is possible to direct seed.

Plants are tall - over 3 feet / ~ 1 meter and pretty bushy.

These ground cherries are the last to mature in our garden. We find these large fruits just as versatile and satisfying, with a slightly more citrusy flavor than the other varieties we grow.

2021 March 3rd update: enjoyed the last batch of these ground cherries today that were harvested mid-October almost 5 months ago. I was late in thinking I should get a picture of them which is why only three were available for the photo, oops! They were stored in their husks. As expected, slow moisture loss while aging did cause some shrinkage / wrinkling, but this process only served to concentrate flavors.