I'm thinking about growing tomatillos and maybe "Giant Ground Cherry" Physalis peruviana. Have any of you grown them? In your experience, are they easier than tomatoes, or about the same?

I live in an area where it's fairly difficult to grow tomatoes. We have nematodes and a lot of other pests and diseases. The summers are long, humid, and hot--too hot for most tomatoes to set fruit. We have two growing seasons, spring and fall, but they can be short, so timing is important. Plant a little too late and you won't have tomatoes.

I was wondering if either of these Physalis would be easier under the these conditions. Or would they be even more difficult?

The only Physalis I have grown is a the regular ground cherry, "Cossack Pineapple." (P. pruinosa). One season it was fantastic, but the next a tiny worm bored into the husks and devoured almost all the fruits. Still, I liked them so much I would like to try other "husk tomatoes."

"Giant Ground Cherry" appeals to me because it is supposed to behave more like a perennial, but I don't know if that would be true in my climate. How much heat and humidity can it take?

I would use the tomatillos not only green for salsa etc, but picked fully ripe and enjoyed like large ground cherries.

Thank you.

Bill

But I sure wouldn't write off growing tomatoes either as many Floridians do it successfully and many of the rest of us really envy your two seasons for growing. Nematodes can be treated or you can just use containers. Same goes for diseases. And given all the thousands of tomato varieties available perhaps you need to investigate using different varieties with very different maturity dates than what you have been using.

Have you checked with all the tomato growers over on the Florida Gardening forum here for tips?

Dave