Physalis Blog Post
A Night Celebrating Physalis
Physalis Harvest Event 2018
Thank you to all who could join us for our 2018 Physalis Harvest event! It was night of fun, food, and physalis. It was a great opportunity to interact and hear from participants about their experiences growing Physalis this season, and meet members of the community interested in the Physalis Improvement Project.
Farmers and home gardeners received seed from us in early Spring, and have been growing two different species of Physalis, P. peruviana and P. pruinosa. Those who grew peruviana received seed from South Africa, India, and Colombia (Goldenberry), and those who grew pruinosa received seed from Poland ( Aunt Molly’s) and The Netherlands (Pineapple). Over the course of the growing season our participant recorded their observations surrounding growth habit, fruit taste, and pests/diseases; information that will be used to guide future improvement efforts. This event allowed us all to come together to celebrate the conclusion of the growing season and continue to have a discussion about what improvements could be made to facilitate an increase in production of these crops in New York State.
In keeping with the spirit of the project, guests were invited to bring a dish containing Physalis as an ingredient. Among the creations were goldenberry compote, groundcherry mini muffins, groundcherry rice pudding, goldenberry granola, and goldenberry chili chip dip! We also had a craft table where kids (and adults!) could create their own collage using pressed Physalis plant material, as well as a Name the Berry board where we took common name suggestions for Physalis (Do you have a name you’d like to share? Let us know!). Once again, thank you to all who participated or supported this project, we could not have done it without your help!
Looking Ahead…
If you are interested in participating in the project next year (*contingent on funding) and would like to be notified when we are starting to look for participants please fill out this brief interest form and we will be in touch in the future!
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Over the course of the evening we enjoyed meeting our project particpants and
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