Greetings Everyone!
Although it seemed to endlessly rain throughout the month of June, we have finally found ourselves in a streak of warm and sunny weather. It seems that the hot sun was just what our plants needed to really take off in the field, and we have observed tremendous growth in just a couple week’s time. We are also happy to report that we installed our trellising system to help support the plants as they grow.
After researching various trellising methods and talking to others who have grown Physalis before, we settled on a “Florida Weave” using 7-ft T-stakes as support. To support the plants we wove heavy duty twine zig-zag style between the plants in both directions. For groundcherries, we trellised three plants together, and for the goldenberries, we trellised two plants together. Additionally, we left the original bamboo stakes in with the plants to provide extra support. A more detailed set of instructions on how to do a “Florida Weave” can be found at this gardening blog here: https://www.gardenbetty.com/trellising-tomatoes-with-the-florida-weave/
Here are some pictures of our trellising system in the field:
In other news, we’re also starting to see ripe fruit! Our first papery-husked groundcherries have fallen to the ground and we are also starting to see our first yellowing husks for the goldenberries. This is about three weeks sooner than we had anticipated! The plants are still flowering so we are expecting more fruit later in the season as well.
How are your plants doing? Let us know, we always look forward to hearing from our participants!
