How to Grow Cape Gooseberry: Detailed Planting Methods and Techniques
Cape gooseberry is a perennial herbaceous plant, and quite a few people grow it, so how do you grow cape gooseberry? Let's take a look!
I. What is cape gooseberry?
Cape gooseberry is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Physalis in the Solanaceae family, native to South America, and cultivated in Guangdong, Yunnan and Xinjiang in China, or growing wild along roadsides or in river valleys at elevations of 1200-2100 m. The whole plant can be used as medicine. The ripe fruit is sweet and sour, and can be eaten fresh or made into jam.
Fresh cape gooseberry fruit contains especially large amounts of pectin and can be processed into high-quality jam, fruit cakes, juice and various other health foods, and the products are much loved by consumers for their unique flavor. The fruit of cape gooseberry is rich in nutrients such as sugars, proteins, fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins and mineral elements.
II. How do you grow cape gooseberry?
1. Soil
Choose soil that is loose in texture, of medium fertility and with good drainage for planting.
After choosing the planting land, deep plowing is also needed, generally to a plowing depth of 25-30 cm. Deep plowing improves the soil aggregate structure, raises soil fertility, improves aeration, increases soil temperature and strengthens water-holding capacity, and makes aerobic microorganisms active, thereby decomposing more available nutrients, which is beneficial to the growth and development of cape gooseberry plants.
2. Watering
Do not water before emergence; after emergence, water appropriately according to growth conditions.
3. Temperature
A daytime temperature of 20-28°C and a nighttime temperature of 14-17°C are relatively suitable for the growth of cape gooseberry.
In addition, when fertilizing, all the farmyard manure and chemical fertilizer to be applied should be used as base fertilizer, applied together with ridge formation by breaking the ridge and tucking in the fertilizer, so as to meet the later fertilizer needs of cape gooseberry. There are three advantages: first, it takes effect quickly; second, formula fertilization provides complete nutrients; third, it is less prone to excessive vegetative growth and late maturity.
When transplanting, the row spacing for field planting is 1×1 m, and the planting holes are 40 cm deep and 40 cm wide, with 5 kg of farmyard manure applied per hole. When transplanting, place the seedling in the hole, with one person holding the seedling and another earthing it up, and water thoroughly; after transplanting, the hole surface should be required to be 8-10 cm lower than the ground so as to retain moisture during the growing season. After planting, special attention should be paid to strengthening soil management, removing weeds, and timely irrigation in dry weather, with fertilization 2-3 times per year.