Let us introduce you to the Sunberry, by getting right to the point: Sunberries taste amazing! The cream-coloured berries have an excellent caramel-tart taste that are a summer treat.
Not only that — they are easy to grow. Yes, even in short season gardens, they are easy to grow. Plants stay about 1.5 to 2 feet tall and are very productive. You will have a lot of sunberries even on just one plant. See below for instructions on how to start Sunberries — but in brief, you grow them from seed like you would a tomato.
A bit of information on the Sunberry:
Sunberries are native to India and Asia and are well-known as a food item there.
We came across an interesting research paper that identifies the Sunberry as a medicinal plant used in the ancient Indian Ayurvedic classics. You can read the paper titled “Identity of Ṭaṅkārī (Physalis minima Linn.) in Ayurvedic Classics: A Literature Review” HERE.
Sunberries are a good source of the powerful plant nutrient Withanolides. In a 2022 paper published in the journal “Food Chemistry” – titled “Withanolides, the Hidden Gem in Physalis minima: A Mini Review on Their Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Neuroinflammatory and Anti-Cancer Effects”, the authors write:
This review focuses on the bioactive compounds of this herb, as it is frequently used to treat inflammation, neurodegenerative disease and cancer among East Malaysian ethnic groups. In this review, a total of 103 Withanolides were reported, with 59 of them being newly characterized. Previous scientific data revealed that Withanolides were intriguing principal compounds for inflammatory, neuroinflammatory and cancer treatment due to unique steroidal structure and strong bioactivities.
A bit more about Sunberries:
Sunberries grow like other Solanum varieties (e.g. tomatoes). Start them like tomatoes (see ‘How to Plant’ below). Although we have found that Sunberries don’t like to be planted in pots (perhaps because of their more wild nature and root system).
Like other Physalis, the berry comes wrapped in a papery covering. But unlike other Physalis, they do not fall to the ground when ripe. You have to pick them – and we have found the berries are tasty from the early ripe to late ripe stages. Which gives you a long harvest window.
Stages of ripeness: In the pictures included you can see Sunberries with light green (early ripe), yellow (mid ripe) and tan coverings (late ripe) – at all stages the berries are very tasty to eat. Our favourite stage to eat the berries is at the light green stage (see third picture, berries at the top) – at that stage the berries are both tangy and sweet. As the berries mature on the plant (moving from light green to tan coverings) they get sweeter. The coverings will have some purple as well.
The purple speckles on the berries (and berry coverings, as well as on the stems and leaves), indicate anthocyanin – that amazing antioxidant that is so good for us. You benefit from the anthocyanins when you eat the berries.
How to Plant: Similar to tomatoes start indoors 8 weeks before the date of last frost. Sow seeds 5 mm (¼ inch) deep in individual pots. A heat mat will help germination, but Physalis species can take 1-3 weeks to germinate. Transplant outside when nighttime temperatures are consistently 10C or warmer. We suggest transplanting Sunberries into the garden rather than in pots as explained above.
