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American Persimmons and Podcast

10/28/2012

Diospyros virginiana

I really want to like persimmons, but it's just so difficult. Persimmons are special because they help fill the gap between the last of the summer fruits and citrus season. The problem is that the birds and squirrels can decimate the non-astringent varieties, and the astringent varieties are almost impossible to eat until they're fully ripe. Since I'm really focused on growing fruit for my kids, I would prefer fruit that could be eaten right off the tree. Another problem is that pretty much the only way to try persimmons is to grow them, or know someone that grows them. Occasionally you can find unripe Fuyus for sale, but aside from that persimmons are never available in most grocery stores. The few astringent persimmons I have tried have made me feel sick, and I've been kind of afraid of them ever since.

There's got to be a way to eat them that I just haven't figured out. After all, their genus name "Diospyros" means "Divine Fruit". I've seen videos on YouTube of people talking about how wonderful they are, so I've got to be missing something. I don't have an astringent persimmon tree, but I did know of a native American persimmon tree that grows behind our church. I took a little field trip over there on the way home from work last week, picked around one gallon of fruit at various stages of ripeness, and brought them home. I decided to try three different methods to try and ripen the fruit:

Bletting - Just leave them out until they get soft and mushy;
Ripen fruit in a paper bag with a banana; and
The Water Bath Method.

The first two methods are pretty self explanatory, but here's how the water bath method works: First you put some persimmons that are fully colored into a container and cover them with water. Drain and replace the water every three days, and after that time the astringent tannins will have been removed from the fruit. I learned about this method from Gulf Coast Fruit Study Group coordinator Yvonne Gibbs, and she says it is very important to pick fruit that are uniformly colored and undamaged.

So after three days, I decided to gather my courage and try some fruit. First I tried some of the fruit that was just left out on the counter. Only the fruits that had softened to the point where the calyx (leaves on top) easily pulled away from the fruit were even close to edible. If the calyx held tightly at all, then the fruit was still very astringent and made my mouth pucker. Luckily discovered orange juice is very good at getting that stuff out of your mouth. The results were the same with the persimmons ripening in the paper bag with the banana, although they seemed to be farther along in the ripening process than the fruits that were just left out. In both cases, the ripe fruit was very sweet, with a soft mushy texture that reminded me of pumpkin pie filling, and a flavor that is very difficult to describe. The only thing I can think to compare it to is baked apples, although that's not really right either.

To my astonishment, the fruits ripened in the water bath were not astringent! The calyxes of these fruit pulled away with just a little bit of resistance, and the flesh was soft, but not as mushy as the bletted fruits. They were not quite as sweet or flavorful as the bletted fruits either, but I definitely liked the texture much more. Even though I thought the fruit was palatable, I'm still not sold on persimmons. However, now that I know how to ripen them so I won't make myself sick, I'm ready to move on from the wild persimmons and move on to some selected varieties. I'm hopeful I'll be able to find some other varieties to sample before persimmon season is over, and finally experience "divine fruit".

On a related note, last week Yvonne Gibbs and I recorded a podcast about persimmons. We had a lot of fun making it, and hope to record several more on a variety of topics. I don't know how often I'll be able to upload new podcasts, but initially I'm going to try to put one up every two weeks or so. I hope you enjoy my first attempt. If you've got a fruit question you'd like us to answer during a show, send me an email.

Persimmons from the tree behind the church.

Ripening in a paper bag with a banana.

Ripening in a water bath.

Left them on the window sill for 3 days before trying them.

New Podcast!

9 Comments

Squat Pecan Orchard Follow-Up

10/21/2012

2 Comments

Pecans (Wish they were from my trees!)

Back in February I planted six pecan trees on a vacant lot near my house. I planted the trees approximately 35 feet apart along the northern edge of the lot where they should be fairly out of the way, and placed a 3-gallon pot with the bottom cut out around each tree to protect the trunk. I marked them with orange pin flags, small t-posts with some orange flag tape, and metal tags with the variety names. Luckily the guys that mow the grass didn't cut them down.

Since then, I haven't done anything for the trees except the occasional drive-by inspection. No water. No fertilizer. Nothing. So last week I thought it was time to take a walk out there and take a close look at how my little experiment was going. To my very pleasant surprise all of the trees were still alive! This is no doubt partially due to the frequent rains we received this summer. Weeds were thriving within the safety of the three-gallon pots, but I made quick work of them with my pruning shears. I know the trees didn't grow as well as they would have if I had babied them all year, but all things considered, I'm very impressed. After all, I just took some bare-root little twigs out there, haphazardly shoved them in the ground, and then left them to fend for themselves. This spring I'll fertilize them, and put down some leaves and pine needles for much.

The Oconee tree appears to be the healthiest of the bunch, but hopefully all the trees spent the year developing good root systems, and will shoot up in the next couple of years. My grandfather always said that a pecan sleeps the first couple years, but will catch up to any tree after that. Since the mowers haven't bothered the trees so far, I'm definitely thinking about how many more trees I can plant out there. I would like to plant some Forkert pecans (the best for the Gulf Coast according to John Panzarella) along the southern edge of the property, but I haven't been able to find any that weren't prohibitively expensive. Depending on how much I have to spend, I may just plant 6-12 native pecan trees. The nuts aren't as large, but they are still very tasty, and I can plant twice as many trees for the same money. Regardless, I am greatly encouraged by my little squat orchard, and I hope to have all 1.3 acres of that lot planted before too long.

Oconee

Kanza

Desireable

Podsednik

Lakota

Choctaw

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Hunting Wild Trifoliate

10/14/2012

34 Comments

Wild Trifoliate

Last week I got an email from someone who said they had found a very strange looking fruit while out walking. They said it was like a small fuzzy orange, and that it tasted terrible. Right away I knew they had found Poncirus trifoliata, also known as the trifoliate orange. Although considered to be an invasive species and a nasty weed by most, as I mentioned in last week's post, trifoliate is the best all around rootstock for citrus trees grown in the greater Houston area. It is an exceptionally tough plant, growing well in Houston's gumbo clay, and tolerating both scorching drought and freezing temperatures down to −10 °F. It is almost completely resistant to phytopthora (root rot), which quickly kills other citrus grown on their own roots, and is completely immune to the deadly Tristeza virus, which plagues the sour orange rootstocks used in the Rio Grande Valley.

Trifoliata is not a true citrus (genus Poncirus), but is so closely related that it is graft-compatible with almost all citrus. When used as a rootstock, it lends some of it's cold hardiness and fortitude to whatever is grafted onto it. I don't know how it first came to Texas from it's native home in northern China and Korea, but since then it has escaped into the wild and naturalized, often creating impenetrable thickets along river bottoms, creeks, and swampy areas. The plant itself is gnarly and twisted, has vicious thorns, bears awful tasting fruit, and has leaves that grow in groups of three (thus the name trifoliate, or "three-leaved"). The fruit looks like a small orange from the outside, but the inside is a completely different story. For starters the fruit is filled with seeds, sometimes as many as 60, and a foul-smelling, pungent, sticky juice that is really difficult to wash off. I have found that easiest way to get it off is with vegetable oil, followed by dish soap. The nauseating smell is unmistakable, and can easily be detected in the fruit of trifoliate hybrids. I've read that it can be used to make a marmalade, but I sure wouldn't want to try it. I dared to taste it once, and believe me, once was enough.

Even though the fruit is bad, the plant's toughness is what we're after, so it is still worth growing trifoliate to use as a citrus rootstock. So in spite of the rain I took a little field trip to track down the trifoliate I was emailed about, and after walking around a little while I found them. The trees that were 15 feet tall, thorny as all hell, and loaded with fruit. There were also many seedlings coming up that were already a good size for grafting. The seedlings seemed to grow in very tight clusters, as if a single fallen fruit had rotted, and then all the seeds inside germinated and competed until the strongest prevailed. I picked up around one gallon of fallen fruit and brought them back to the house, and removed all the seeds, which I plan on planting for next year's supply of rootstocks. If you would like to go out and collect some seeds for yourself, or would like me to send you some seeds, send me an email. I'll be happy to send you seeds if you send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope, or let you know where you can find the wild trees.

Cluster of young trifoliate trees.

Vicious thorns.

Trifoliate trees adapted to north Houston and growing wild.

Trifoliate seedling

Trifoliate fruit

Nasty smelling fruit, full of seeds

Tons of seeds for future rootstocks.

34 Comments

Buying Citrus Trees in Houston

10/7/2012

11 Comments

Citrus trees for sale

Before the cold weather blows in and the winter fruit tree sales start up, I want to take this opportunity to warn people about some of the common pitfalls associated with buying citrus trees. Citrus trees generally don't grow well on their own roots, and so they are usually grafted onto rootstocks. However, not all rootstocks grow well in Houston's climate and soils, so selecting citrus trees grafted onto the appropriate rootstocks is critical if you want your new citrus tree to grow and thrive.

Poncirus trofoliata (Trifoliate) is generally considered to be the best rootstock for Houston, but it can also be the hardest to find. Many growers choose to use other rootstocks other than Trifoliate because they produce trees large enough for sale more quickly than the slower-growing Trifoliate. I prefer to buy trees grafted onto Trifoliate and Flying Dragon (another type of Trifoliate), but I will also buy trees on Carrizo Citrange for well drained areas. I should also mention that I protect my citrus from hard freezes, and if you don't want to go through that effort, Carrizo Citrange isn't for you. Trees grafted onto other rootstocks such as Sour Orange, Volkamer Lemon, or Swingle Citrumelo either get sick in our clay soil, are killed by freezes, or are susceptible to pests/diseases, and I wouldn’t recommending them. Here are some brief descriptions of the various rootstocks commonly used by Houston area growers:

Trifoliate (PT, TF) - The most cold tolerant rootstock available; very resistant to root rot; grows well with poor drainage and clay soil; tough and resistant to many soil diseases; produces a semi-dwarf tree. Considered to be the best all-around rootstock for Houston.

Flying Dragon (FD) - A more dwarfing form of trifoliate with curved thorns and branches; produces a very slow-growing dwarf tree. Good for tight spaces, or for trees that will be grown in containers.
Carrizo Citrange - A Trifoliate x Washington navel orange hybrid; cold tolerant, but vulnerable to rapid cold fronts and late freezes; sensitive to poor drainage. Good for trees that will be protected from hard freezes and planted in a slightly raised spot with better drainage.
Swingle Citrumelo (SW) - A Duncan grapefruit x Trifoliate hybrid; resistant to root rot, but it gets sick in heavy clay soil; relatively cold tolerant; produces a very vigorous tree. Only recommended for trees that will be protected from hard freezes and planted in very well-drained soil.
Sour Orange - The standard rootstock used in the Rio Grande Valley because it is tolerant of salty soils; moderately cold tolerant; produces a very vigorous tree. Not recommended for Houston.
Volkamer Lemon - Natural lemon x Sour orange hybrid; highly susceptible to root rot; relatively tolerant of salty soils; produces a very vigorous tree; poor cold tolerance; produces fruit of poor quality. Not recommended for Houston.

Unfortunately, when shopping for a citrus tree at a nursery or a fruit tree sale, it can be very difficult to find out what rootstock a tree is grafted on. Most growers don’t list the rootstock on the label, most nursery employees won’t have any idea if you ask, and don't even bother asking at Home Depot or Walmart. Fortunately, there is a way to find out. By law, all citrus trees must carry a label that says “Produced in Texas”, and that lists the name and license number of the nursery where the tree was grown.Most often the only way to find out what rootstock was used is to contact the grower listed on the label. To try to make this easier for people, I called several growers that supply citrus trees to Houston area retail nurseries, and asked them what rootstock they used. The results of this survey are listed below, and have also been provided as a downloadable PDF. I highly recommend that you print out this list and take it with you when shopping for citrus trees, and use it make sure you're getting a good tree that will produce fruit for years.

ROOTSTOCKS USED BY HOUSTON AREA GROWERS:

Bob Wells Nursery - License #: 0309097 - Phone: 903.882.3550
Trees are grafted onto Sour Orange.

Brazos Citrus Nursery - License #: 0398916 - Phone: 979.345.2906
Most trees are grafted onto Carrizo Citrange, with some on Trifoliate (not labeled). Trees grafted to Flying Dragon noted on the tag as "Dwarf". Kumquats are grafted onto Trifoliate.

Creekside Nursery - License #: 0249706 - Phone: 979.826.2461
Trees are grafted on Trifoliate, Flying Dragon, or Swingle Citrumelo. The rootstock may not be listed on tag.

Froberg Citrus Trees - License #: 0471456 - Phone: 281.798.6282
Trees are grafted onto Trifoliate or Flying Dragon. Stock grafted onto Flying Dragon labeled “Dwarf”.

Greenleaf Nursery - License #: 0000608 - Phone: 800.237.3147
Rio Red Grapefruit and Navel Oranges are grafted onto Sour Orange. All other citrus are grown on their own roots.

John Panzarella - License #: 0383364 - Phone: 979.297.2120
Trees are grafted onto Trifoliate or Flying Dragon. Rootstocks are listed on the tags.

Laughing Frog Farm - License #: 0525700 - Phone: 713.542.6615
Trees are grafted onto Trifoliate, and are grown using organic methods.

Premier Plants - License #: 0611332/0465892 - Phone: 956.624.0447
Trees are grafted onto Sour Orange.

Ran Pro Farms - License #: 0000063 - Phone: 903.593.7381
Lemons, Oranges, Grapefruit, and Kumquats are grafted onto Sour Orange. Mandarins/Tangerines are grafted onto Swingle Citrumelo. Limes are grown on their own roots.

Raytoria - License #: 0465284 -Phone: 956.464.4431
Trees are grafted onto Sour Orange.

Rio Grande Nursery - License #: 0462709/0002307 -Phone: 956.831.9318
Trees are grafted onto Sour Orange.

Saxon Becnel & Sons - License #: 0466090 - Phone: 504.656.7535
Trees other than kumquats are grafted onto Carrizo Citrange. Kumquats are grafted onto Volkamer Lemon. Most common supplier to big box stores.

Treesearch Farms - License #: 0005826 - Phone: 713.937.9811
Trees grafted onto Trifoliate, Flying Dragon, or Swingle Citrumelo. Treesearch always lists the rootstock on the tag.

Contact information for growers not listed above can be found here: http://www.texasagriculture.gov/Portals/0/Reports/PIR/nurseryfloral.xls

11 Comments

American Persimmons and Podcast

Squat Pecan Orchard Follow-Up

Hunting Wild Trifoliate

Buying Citrus Trees in Houston

Clayton Bell

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