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Planting and caring for physalis in the open field will not be difficult for interested gardeners. The annual vegetable species is still a curiosity in summer cottages, although a perennial ornamental culture with bright lantern fruits can often be found in gardens. Physalis is unpretentious, grown by seedlings, ripens by the end of summer.
Where does physalis grow
The natural range of the plant is Central and South America, the territory of modern Mexico. A decorative species, which is also called ordinary, cold-resistant, winters well in the middle lane in open ground. Its small fruits are inedible. Fans also grow heat-loving strawberry or pubescent physalis, whose small light orange fruits taste like the aroma of a garden berry. The vegetable species, which is becoming more popular every year, has several varieties adapted to temperate climates. Vegetable physalis bushes grown by seedlings for open ground give a good harvest in the Non-Chernozem zone, in the Urals.
How does physalis grow
When growing physalis from seeds, grains can be sown directly on the site only in the southern regions, where there is no threat of return frosts. In all other areas, seedlings are taken care of indoors from the beginning of the month. If desired, vegetable physalis is planted on the balcony in tubs per 10 liters of soil. Several bushes are grown nearby, because the culture is cross-pollinated. Since the plant belongs to the nightshade, care for it is the same as for tomatoes. From the fruit left for the winter in the open ground, self-seeding plants often sprout in spring, which also bear fruit abundantly.
A characteristic feature of Physalis is a berry-shaped fruit, similar to a medium-sized green tomato, which is in a shell, a dry sheath formed from fused sepals. In the decorative species, the orange-red berry is tiny, in the fruit, weighing 30-90 g, green, greenish-yellow or purple.
On one plant in comfortable open ground conditions, 150-200 fruits are tied, with a total weight of 3-5 kg.
Different varieties of vegetable species give fruits that are round, flat, oval, smooth or ribbed. Excellent plants and structure. There are tall specimens up to 1 m, with branches that rise obliquely upwards. In semi-creeping varieties, the branches bend down. The leaves are ovate, smooth, the flowers are small, yellow.
How to plant physalis seeds
Vegetable seedlings are ready to move to open ground in 30-35 days. For seedlings, vegetable physalis seeds are sown in mid-March or April. The grains are small, they are deepened by 0,5 cm. Physalis picks are carried out with the development of 2-3 leaves. For sprouts, a comfortable temperature is 18-20 ° C. The substrate is kept moderately moist. 12-14 days after transplantation, the plants are fed with one of the special fertilizers for vegetable seedlings. After 7-10 days, the seedlings begin to harden for open ground, taking them out into the fresh air in partial shade.
Site preparation
An exotic vegetable plant in the open field loves light and warmth, but will also tolerate light partial shade, drafts or winds. It is impossible to determine a low-lying area or soil with an acidic reaction for physalis. Heavy soils are not suitable for him. This species is planted 10-12 days earlier than tomatoes, because in the open field it is not afraid of small cold snaps. The earth must be deeply loosened, enriched with humus and wood ash 2 weeks before planting.
Seed preparation
In the open ground, grains of the crop are planted when the soil temperature rises to 9-12 ° C. When planting physalis with seeds collected by hand, they are disinfected for 15 minutes in a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Such preparation is carried out for seeds that are sown on seedlings and directly in open ground. If desired, physalis is planted in the fall. Seedlings emerge strong and hardened in spring, but yield later than those grown indoors.
Planting physalis in open ground
Seedlings are transferred to the soil in the climate of the middle lane from mid-May, when 5-6 leaves have formed. Plants are spaced 0,9 m apart in a square-nested manner. Or they retreat between rows of 70 cm, and between holes – 50-60 cm. The seedling is deepened to the first leaf. Physalis vegetable – usually powerful plants that rise in open ground up to 1 m and widely spread branches with leaves.
The bed is covered with a light mesh for shading at noon.
Physalis care after planting
Caring for a vegetable exotic in the open field is easy. The soil near the plants is regularly loosened and weeds are removed. To reduce the time for these works, put mulch.
Watering and top dressing
Plants need systematic watering every other day, especially in hot weather. If it rains, the open ground is not poured additionally, only after the soil dries out.
The procedure for fertilizing a plot with a vegetable crop:
- The first top dressing with a nitrogen component is carried out 15-18 days after planting.
- The second – in the phase of buds or the beginning of flowering with the same substances.
- The last – during the pouring of the ovaries.
They use organic matter, complex mineral preparations for nightshade, as well as the usual means for open ground:
- 2 tablespoons of nitrophoska;
- 1 tablespoon of superphosphate;
- 1 tablespoon of ammonium nitrate;
- 1 tablespoon of potassium salt.
The selected substance is dissolved in 10 liters of water and the entire infusion is consumed 1 liter per plant. Before fertilizing, the beds carry out abundant watering. In moist soil, the preparations will be absorbed by the roots faster.
Topping
The process of growing and caring for physalis includes pinching the tops of the stems. This procedure is carried out in June, when the plant in the open field has grown stronger and well formed. Pinching helps to increase the number of ovaries. During the growth of the ovaries, tall plants are tied up or well mulched with dry hay.
Preparation for winter
In our climate, only ordinary or ornamental physalis bushes winter in open ground conditions. Colorful fruits in the form of lanterns are cut when they acquire a rich shade. Otherwise, during the autumn rains, the dry shell in the open field becomes dark. Bushes withstand frosts down to -30 ° C. Usually they are not cut or covered. Seated every 5-6 years.
Reproduction
The vegetable species is propagated by seeds that can be sown outdoors in mild climates. In the areas of the middle lane, the seedling method is more acceptable. The fruit of the physalis that has accidentally remained for the winter in the spring can germinate with several seedlings, the fruits on which will ripen only in September.
Decorative varieties for open ground are propagated:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- division of the bush.
Grains are sown, as in vegetable species. The cuttings are cut in July, choosing a fragment with 2-3 buds. Rooted by standard methods. Creeping rhizomes are divided in spring and autumn. Bushes take root quickly.
Diseases and pests
Physalis resistant to disease, little susceptible to late blight. They are affected only due to improper agricultural practices:
- density of landings;
- too frequent watering;
- drought conditions;
- proximity to weeds on which pests parasitize and pathogens of fungal or viral infections can develop.
Mosaic virus infection is especially dangerous when light spots appear randomly on the leaves, and the leaf blade is wrinkled. Such specimens are removed with a clod of earth and burned. Do the same with plants affected by Fusarium. They are recognized by the leaves withering first from below, and then the whole bush withers.
During the heat without sprinkling, aphids develop. On 10-12 bushes, it is removed with infusions of soap or soda. Insecticides are used on large areas. Underground pests, the bear and the wireworm, gnaw the roots. Wood ash is added to the site, which is not to the liking of insects.
When to remove physalis from the garden
3 months after germination, the fruits are already ripening, the first ones that are ready are those that are from below. The signal for collection is the dryness of the sepals. Physalis vegetable is also called sticky because of the characteristic bitter substance under the covers. To get rid of it, the fruits are washed and then eaten. Delicious berries, sweet and sour or sweetish, those that ripen in summer. Autumn is used for harvesting.
With a slight frost at -1 ° C, the plant does not suffer. Unripe berries with unremoved sticky substance lie in the refrigerator for 4-5 months. If the frosts are early, the plant is uprooted and hung in a room where the fruits ripen.
What to plant after physalis
The culture is planted after cabbage or gourds. The next year, the site is occupied by any plants, except for nightshade, so that the same diseases do not develop.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for physalis in the open field are available to a gardener with little experience. The fruits of the Mexican tomato diversify the summer table and expand the range of preparations. Regular watering in the heat, fertilizing with organic matter, pinching the tops are the main points in caring for an unpretentious crop.