Content:
- Physalis vegetable photo
- Physalis vegetable: growing seedlings from seeds
- Features of agricultural technology of vegetable physalis
Physalis vegetable description
To prepare many Mexican favorite dishes, you must grow physalis vegetables in your garden.
Physalis vegetable (Physalis philadelphica, physalis philadelphia) is a distant relative of our beloved tomato. In Central America, it can be found growing wild in fields of corn and beans and is harvested to be eaten immediately or to be sold in local markets. The local population consumes unripe fruits in boiled and baked form, for the preparation of hot sauces, along with pepper, mashed potatoes, and is used for salting. In Mexico, it has long been cultivated under the names “tomatil” (Tomatillos) and “miltomat”. Since this Physalis vegetable mostly of Mexican origin, it is also called Mexican Physalis. There are other species with edible fruits: peruvian physalis and strawberry physalis.
Requirements for cultivation tomatoes and Physalis vegetable similar. And that’s where the similarity with tomatoes ends.
Physalis vegetable on a photo – a plant from the nightshade family, as well as tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes. It got its name from its appearance: the shape of the cup (case) of the flower resembles a flashlight and in Greek it sounds like “fiza”, which means “bubble” in Greek. This dry calyx contains a fruit with numerous seeds. It is an annual plant that cross-pollinates. Its large and fragrant flowers, which bloom before the autumn frosts, attract bees and other insects. There are the following forms Physalis vegetable:
- Semi-creeping. The height of the plants is 30-40 cm. The branches extend from the stem at an angle of about 140°.
- Tall. Plant height over 100 cm and branching angle 35-45°.
Within the group, there can be both early-ripening physalis and late-ripening ones. Fruits are formed weighing 30-90 g. Their shape can be not only the usual round, but also flat, oval, with a strongly ribbed or smooth surface. Their taste is also varied: from sugary-sweet pleasant to spicy-sour with a not very pleasant taste. The yield of some varieties, with good agricultural technology, is 3-5 kg of fruits per bush (about 200 fruits). 
How to grow?
Physalis vegetable of Mexican origin is a very productive crop. He feels good in areas with a colder climate (Non-Chernozem zone). It can be grown from seedlings (for an earlier and higher yield) or by sowing seeds in the ground.
When sowing physalis mexican seeds into the soil, remember that they germinate already at a temperature of + 10-12 ° C. While strawberry physalis sprouts at a temperature not lower than +15 ° C.
Physalis vegetable: growing seedlings from seeds
From sowing seeds to planting seedlings in open ground, 55-60 days pass. Therefore, sowing seeds is carried out at the end of March. It takes 25-30 days to get seedlings with 5-7 leaves. For these purposes, the seeds are placed in a warm place for germination, and then the seeds that have hatched are sown in boxes with a substrate prepared in advance: fresh, nutritious and light soil or a mixture of soddy soil, humus, peat and sawdust. In addition, the substrate must be moist, but not wet. Please note that physalis seeds are small and need to be planted shallowly. Seed sowing scheme: depth 0.5 cm and distance 1.5-2 cm. Before sowing in boxes, the surface should be leveled and slightly compacted. Next – to outline the grooves for sowing. After sowing, the boxes should be covered with glass or plastic wrap. This is done in order to retain moisture.
In the phase of the first leaf, the seedlings dive. They are planted in boxes at a distance of 7-10 cm or cups. In order for them to take root well, they first obscure, and then provide them with bright light.
Seedlings are planted in open ground in late May-early June. Planting pattern: 50-60 cm between plants in a row, and the distance between rows is 70 cm.
Physalis vegetable: growing from seeds by sowing in open ground
Seeds are sown in the soil during the period when early potatoes are planted, and when it warms up to a temperature of 4-6 ° C. Seeding rate: 0.1 g per square meter. With the advent of seedlings, the plants are thinned out so that by the beginning of flowering there are 4-5 of them per square meter.
note: Physalis vegetable needs pollination. Cross-pollination is required to produce fruit. Therefore, you must plant at least two plants. Bees and other pollinators will be attracted to the physalis flowers.
Features of agricultural technology of vegetable physalis
Plant the plants (seedlings) in the garden in the spring, after the danger of returning frost has passed and the soil has begun to warm up. Choose a sunny place where rain and melt water does not stagnate. All types of soils are suitable for growing a plant, with the exception of acidic soils (physalis grows and develops poorly there). Acidic soils need to be limed.
Prepare a place for physalis in advance, in the fall. The soil for this crop is cultivated in such a way as to ensure free penetration of the roots and allow air access to them. The site is dug up on a shovel bayonet. Apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers: for each square meter 150-200 g. The soil surface is leveled in early spring and until planting the seedlings are kept in a loose state, clean of weeds. Planting depth of plant seedlings is the same as that of a tomato.
Tall plants are planted at a distance of about 90 cm from each other, and provide them with support (trellis, cage, etc.). If allowed to grow on the ground, then the stems and roots of the plant will need more space than you might have expected. In addition, lifting them off the ground increases air circulation and prevents fungus from forming on the foliage during periods of high humidity.
Water the plants the same way you water tomatoes, keeping the soil evenly moist. The mulch will help retain precious moisture and keep weeds from growing.
note: vegetable physalis does not need pinching and pruning. The stronger the bushes branch, the more fruits will form.
Harvesting physalis fruits, like a tomato: they are harvested as they ripen, right up to the first frost. At a temperature of 0 ° C, the plant continues to bear fruit, and does not suffer from low temperatures down to -1 ° C.
note: The bright green color of the fruit indicates that the vegetable physalis is ripe. Overripe fruits are when they turn yellow (yellow-green in color) because they have been left too long on the bush.
Ripe fruits are stored in boxes, scattering them in a thin layer. In a warm, well-ventilated area, they can be stored for 2-3 months.
Published: 11.10.2016
