Cape Gooseberry/grapes/hens eggs!!!

[Snadger]

I was offered some eggs the other day off one of my allotment compatriots! As I hope to get a few chooks next year I asked if I could acompany him to feed them!
Into his greenhouse (where he keeps the hens food)I go and in the corner is an old plastic garden refuse bin with a Cape goosebery planted in it which was 8'0" high and a 5'0" spread. It was absolutely laden with fruit and I picked a handful while he fed the chooks.
I have grown them before but no-where near this size and the taste was exquisite. I bet there was 2 or 3 pounds of fruit ripe and it had been fruiting for some time.
Apparently once the frost gets into the greenhouse it dies down to soil level but come spring it always starts growing again.
A must have for next year methinks!

When I got round to looking up I realised he had a grapevine overhead, laden with pink grapes (really nice tasting as well) There were so many, he was gathering the grapes to feed to the hens as a supplement, needless to say, I robbed the hens of a few!
By the time I had finished plundering his greenhouse he had fed the hens and was hanging around to make sure the squireells didn't pinch there food.

Soooooo...Has anyone a recipe involving free range eggs, cape gooseberry and pink grapes....on second thoughts, forget it cos I've eaten most of them.!
Anyway, three more things to add to next years want list!

[pigletwillie]

How about a 2 michelin star recipe.

Poached eggs nestled on a bed of pink grapes served with a cape gooseberry jus.

Horrid.

[JennieAtkinson]

Snadger - I really want to grow cape gooseberries. Any advice? Can I grow them in the greenhouse?

[Lesley Jay]

Jennie when I grew them I thought they were a waste of time. I grew them in the greenhouse and the plants were huge but I didn't get a great harvest. The taste was nothing to write home about either.

[Snadger]

From what I remember I grew Physallis edulis and wasn't impressed. I'll have to check out the other physallis species as, as I've mentioned above these were fruitful and delicious!
I know this doesn't help you Jennie, but I may wait until spring and beg a cutting off my new found friends plant!

[pigletwillie]

Ours are grown in a greenhouse and cropped much later than a friend in the Forest of Dean who grew them outside. Both of us have done very well with them with a good harvest but they can be quite tart unless less until really ripe before picking.

[xspye]

I grew a couple of plants last year but was not that impressed with the crop, tasty but very little. At the end of the season last year i cut them back dramatically and left them in the greenhouse 2 plants survived and i planted them in my polytunnel.

This year I have had literally buckets of fruit The berries have been huge and very tasty although you do need to make sure they are very orange before eating them.

The plants do get massive at least 6ft high and 8ft wide so be careful where you plant them

I've cut mine back down again and wrapped them in bubble wrap and we'll see if they last another year! (planted a few more seeds this year just incase they don't, may have far too many plants next year )

[pigletwillie]

Thats interesting Xspye as I have always treated them as an annual. I will try the same although will hold off cutting them back until the threat of frost as they are still fruiting.

[Birdie Wife]

Physallis wine, grape wine and poached eggs on toast with lots of butter! Oops that's three recipes... hic!

[FoxHillGardener]

I seem to rememeber a Bob Flowerdew article about cape goosberries in Amatuer Gardening a few weeks back. I sure it's been recycling by now but all I can remember was him saying they were better form year 2 onwards and got big. I think someone already sadi all that, though

I'll have a look in his gourmet gardener book for you

[kirsty b]

My daughter loves cape gooseberries, and I would love to have a go at them to see if we could.
What are they like for germination once the seed has been sown?
Will have to add some seeds for these to my rapidly growing allotment wish list!

Kirsty

P.S Snadger, do you have any idea what the vaariety of grapes they were? My back garden is a bit of a sun trap, and I only have room for a climber really, so that means a grapevine is ideal, being both attractive and productive.

[JennieAtkinson]

Cor thats got me thinking. Ok you guys! What sort do I need to plant? Looks like the polytunnel might be the best bet and a long term harvest. I just want to grow them as when they appear in Somerfield (like one week in the year!) they look lack lustre, expensive and I want my friends to think I'm a geat gardener! AND I want a nice fruit to harvest ..........of course!

[Alice]

Well Jennie, if you want your friends to think you're a great gardener you could do like me, and Pigletwillie and Shirlthegirl, and enter for the Big Jim chile competition. It's for the Guiness book of records. You don't have to win it, you only have to be in it , to talk a great game. Home to see your name on the leader board. You'd only be competing against the Italians, the Spaniards, The Australians....the world. Go for it Jennie.

[JennieAtkinson]

Afraid Alice my poor chillis are still only the length of my fingernail! No world winning ones there!
But good luck to the three of you, we'll be rooting for you all!

[pigletwillie]

I have just checked over the cape gooseberry plants in one of the plots greenhouses. They were crammed into one and after fruiting were cut down to about 8" high in November.

They are shooting nicely so I have replanted them in the same greenhouse but much more spread out. There are 7 in total and hopefully will crop much earlier and more heavily than they did in their first season. They have had a mulch of allotment compost and chicken manure pellets.