Under ideal conditions, ground cherries drop when ripe, and those are the ones which are eaten. They should never be picked off the plant. If ground cherries fall from the plant prematurely (the green ones) they will not ripen further with time... green ones stay green. Premature drops can be caused by dry soil, rough handling, strong winds, or heavy rainfall. A couple days of strong thunderstorms knocked many of mine down this week. Green ground cherries should not be eaten. They won't kill you, but will likely cause upset stomach if you eat too many. I've eaten a few half-ripe ground cherries mixed with ripe ones, and had no ill effects. Its worth mentioning that while the green ones should not be eaten, the seed within is mature. If the green ones are thrown on the ground, many seeds will germinate the following Spring... maybe even hundreds. That's why I never have to plant them. ;-) ....(The same can be said of tomatillos.) Other than cutting off a branch that was in the way, I've never trimmed ground cherries; but I don't see why not, as long as it is less than 1/2 of the plant.

Can you give us a botanical/Latin name Nancy? If you're talking about Physalis edulis, a small relative of the tomatillo family: I let them ripen on the vine until they're yellow. Most get eaten while I'm in the garden. I bury the ones the birds get to first in one place, mark it, and have seedlings for next year. Surplus? Substitute for apples in any pie recipe, but I'm not sure about acid/pectin content when making jam.

I've grown them in the past. They can grow quite big although I think there are several varieties, not well documented. The ones I've grown do ok without support, but ramble a bit (branches droop down, then grow up again). They are like a smaller tomatillo plant, which I find definitely needs some support. I think I have a decent picture of what a patch of them look like in September from back in 2008. Now that I look at it, I think they really could have used some support. In the front are some pepper and eggplants for comparison. I found picking them to be quite a chore. I think that's where the high price comes from. It will take you a fair amount of effort to pick a pound! Chris Here is a link that might be useful:

Hi Dave, That particular link didn't give the info I was looking for, however when I googled the right phrase, I found another link here at garden web that did answer it. I am very glad they will not cross pollinate because I already planted them around my tomatoes. Thanks!!! Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/heirloom/msg041322361715.html?54