SKU: 44890403082
planting ground cherry seeds

planting ground cherry seeds New Hanover' Ground Cherry – Experimental Farm Network Seed Store

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Description

planting ground cherry seeds New Hanover' Ground Cherry – Experimental Farm Network Seed StorePhysalis spp. (probably P. pruinosa) Origin: New Hanover, Pennsylvania Improvement status: Cultivar Seeds per packet: ~50 Germination tested 10 2024: 83% Life cycle: Annual Ground cherries are close relatives of tomatillos, considered a type of "husk tomato." The flavor is often more tangy than sweet, and can taste more like a vegetable than a fruit, but not the 'New Hanover': it's sweet, fruity, and addictive. It can be hard to save seeds from these

Physalis spp. (probably P. pruinosa)

Origin: New Hanover, Pennsylvania

Improvement status: Cultivar

Seeds per packet: ~50

Germination tested 10/2024: 83%

Life cycle: Annual

Ground cherries are close relatives of tomatillos, considered a type of "husk tomato." The flavor is often more tangy than sweet, and can taste more like a vegetable than a fruit, but not the 'New Hanover': it's sweet, fruity, and addictive. It can be hard to save seeds from these because you'll want to eat every fruit! At a tasting held by the American Institute of Wine and Food, it beat all other ground cherries tested. Try them in jams, jellies, sauces, pies or other baked goods, and they're also good raw or dried. The berries grow in profusion on upright, sprawling, drought-resistant plants, but the fruit are not worth eating until they've hit the ground (hence the name).

But as wonderful as this plant is itself, the story of the 'New Hanover' ground cherry makes it even more special. You should pull up a chair though... this is a long one...:

'New Hanover' is one of the first varieties we ever sold. We were given the seeds by William Woys Weaver, famed author and seed saver, steward of the Roughwood Seed Collection, and a founding board member of EFN. Will initially told us that the seeds came from the late Katie Hoffman Slonaker (1903-1983) of New Hanover, Pennsylvania, so that's about the only information we wrote in our description of the variety.

A few years later, I (this is Nate) was talking with Will at Roughwood, and we were marveling at how popular this variety was becoming. Will mentioned that he'd like to honor the young man who gave him the seeds by at least telling his story in the description. It turned out Will actually received the seeds from Katie Hoffman Slonaker's grandson. Back in the "80s or 90s", Jonas Slonaker managed the garden at Roughwood. Will remembered him as a hard worker and a kind soul who would, as he worked, sing the religious hymns of his conservative Pennsylvania Dutch childhood — but with hilarious and often lewd lyrics in place of the originals (little did I know then, I would eventually get to hear some of those lyrics). Will told us that Jonas quit one day and soon moved "out west", never to be heard from again.

The next day while revising some of our seed descriptions, I googled Jonas Slonaker. In no time I learned that a character in The Laramie Project — the famous play by the Tectonic Theater Project about the murder and torture of Matthew Shepard and the town where that horrible hate-crime took place — was called Jonas Slonaker. I soon learned that Jonas (like all of the "characters" in the play) was a very real person, and all of the biographical details I could find matched what I knew about Will's long-lost gardener: a middle-aged gay man, from a deeply conservative Pennsylvania Dutch community, "gone West" for personal healing in wide-open spaces. Jonas was inspired to come out of the closet after the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man whom he had never met, and interviews with Jonas form some of the emotional core of the play. As it turned out, Jonas Slonaker was living in Laramie and working at the University of Wyoming!

A few months later, I happened to be driving from Nebraska (Meadowlark Hearth Farm) to Oregon (for the Organic Seed Growers Conference) with EFN co-founder Dusty Hinz and our friend and grower Clint Freund. A road sign alerted me that our trip would take us right through Laramie in just half an hour! I had emailed Jonas to put him in touch with Will, and his reply included a phone number, so I dialed him up right away and in short order we were knocking on his door. Culminating a seed-story so far-fetched I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there for it, we soon reunited him with the long-lost seeds of his "Memmy" — who taught him the original lyrics to those hymns all those decades ago, and who cultivated in him a lifelong love of gardening.

Jonas told us that his grandmother called them “Juddekaersche,” or “Jew Cherries,” and since he was never sure why she called them this, he always assumed it was a “Wandering Jew” reference (they are very prone to self-seeding and do tend to wander around the garden from year to year). Will later told me that "Juddekaersche" is simply the Pennsylvania German name for them, and it's because "they're like cherries, but slightly off" (Will says Pennsylvania Germans commonly used "Jew" as a modifier to mean "slightly off"!). As a Jew myself, I confess I like Jonas's theory better.

Even in the dead of winter, Dusty, Clint and I had a great time touring Jonas's frozen garden, examining the skeletal frames of his bush cherries, plums, currants, and gooseberries, and tasting his delicious purple carrots (we spent quite a bit of time admiring his beautiful artwork too!). I'm grateful to report that we've stayed in touch — he is a truly wonderful man, generous and fun, and an excellent artist to boot — and I happily stayed in his basement when I again passed through Laramie a year later. I very much look forward to my next visit and I will be forever grateful to this plant for bringing Jonas Slonaker and his inspiring story into my life.

What a blessing.

GROWING TIPS: Ground cherries can take a while to germinate, so don't give up on them! They may take two weeks to sprout, or more. We recommend starting seeds indoors in March or early April — surface sown and kept moist — and transplanting them to the garden after all danger of frost has passed. Plants could be two feet apart, maybe more. Prefers full sun.

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C. H.
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 5
Great value for the price, highly recommend
Color: Dogwood & Calming, Size: Medium
Our dog loves these and chews them down to nothing. They are a great value for the money and the use your dog gets out of them. The size is just right for our doberdor.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2026
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LC
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 3
Our dog loves it but it wasn’t durable enough to last
Color: Dogwood Jack, Size: Large, Color: Dogwood Jack, Size: Large
Our lab took to it as soon as we gave it to her. Perfect size for our 80 lb yellow lab. However, now that it’s in about 10 days, she’s able to break off chunks from this bone that are dime size or larger, and we have to throw it away
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Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2026
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Matthew Anderson
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
No problems after a year and a half
Color: Dogwood & Calming, Size: Medium
Have been regularly buying these for my corgi for about a year and a half. The 2 pack lasts about a month or 2 each time. Pieces break off in small enough pieces that they safely pass through his digestive system. He gnaws each one down to about 1/4 the original size before we take it away and give him a new one. He continues to have regular bowel movements and has a healthy appetite so I can’t imagine any problems arising after so long. I have tried other alternatives and every other similar chew breaks off in larger pieces and didn’t feel comfortable letting him chew/eat them. I noticed there are a few 1 star reviews saying their dogs got sick off these but after a year and a half I have had 0 issues with this product. I guess it depends on the dog and how big of pieces they are swallowing. My dog ingests pieces about the size of a grain of rice so just pay attention and you should be fine.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2026
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terlynn4
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Long lasting and safer alternative to sticks
Color: Dogwood & Calming, Size: Medium
These are great, very durable, and have lasted a very long time. Much safer for my dogs than the random sticks they find in the yard. They do get shorter with chewing eventually, but they don't break off in little chunks like I've seen with some nylon chews, and they don't splinter like wood. Medium size works well for both my 16 lb Cavalier and my 60 lb Pyrenees/Golden mix. They're both moderate-to-aggressive chewers, though size obviously affects how much damage they can do. I wish you could buy the hemp chew separately because that one is very much a favorite in my house, so after 2 years and 2 purchases, I have barely any left of the remaining hemp chew, but still 2 of the dogwood chews that neither dog is as interested in anymore. I'd love to buy a couple more of just the hemp one.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2026
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Shannon Brace
West Palm Beach, US
★★★★★ 5
Your dog will thank you.
Color: Dogwood & Fresh Breath, Size: Large
My dogs loves to chew on these. They make a small mess but not as bad as other chews. They are food for keeping teeth clean.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2026

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