This is the fourth post in a new series, in which @papa-pepper will share about different plants that they plan on growing on the homestead, and why.
Our fourth featured plant is the American Persimmon Tree, and we even found a few mature trees growing on our land!
AMERICAN PERSIMMON VIDEO
BACKGROUND
This is another plant that I had not previously met until we moved to Arkansas. Wild American Persimmon trees are all over the place down here, so there can be a lot of free food in the fall if you know where to look. Since we will be focusing on edible and useful plants, this one is right up our alley.
PLANT INFO
The American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is a common tree in the Southeastern United States that can grow over 70 feet tall. The fruit that it produces are often around an inch in diameter and are a beautiful orange color. It can take six years or more for the trees to produce fruit, and both a male and female plant are needed for pollination in the wild.
OTHER INFO
While the fruit and wood often get most of the focus, the leaves of the American Persimmon tree can actually be made into a tea. Some will even roast the seeds as a coffee substitute too.
The fruit is very astringent prior to ripening, but once the fruit falls from the tree or is exposed to frost it is usually ready to eat. These persimmons can be eaten raw, dried, or cooked, and are high in Vitamin C. Personally, I think that they taste almost like orange-flavored freezer pops when they are ripe.
PROPAGATION
When it comes to propagation, the best method for this particular tree is planting the seeds. Once a rootstock is established, you can graft into it, but other methods of propagation often just won't work with the American Persimmon.
Since a variety of animals enjoy the ripe fruit, often small seedlings can be found all over the place in areas where these trees can be found. Here is a video of some that we recently found down on our land.
That was a very nice surprise to be able to find mature trees producing fruit already on our land. That is just one of the blessings of taking inventory of what you already have rather than just bulldozing everything and starting from scratch.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
It is a blessing to be able to meet so many new plants and to have the room to grow them. American Persimmon trees will be some of the bigger trees on our property, since the ripe fruit drops to the earth anyway. Many of our other fruit trees will be pruned back and kept small, but these will be allowed to grow taller.
Since the fruit can also provide food for animals, it'll be a multi-purpose plant for us. Also, with some other incredible varieties of Persimmon available around the world, we may try growing some different kinds and grafting them onto the native ones. We will keep you posted!
All photos, video, and writing are original, but some research was done at this website.
IN CASE YOU MISSED MY PREVIOUS VIDEOS FROM THIS SERIES
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-american-persimmons
Until next time…
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Good for making fruit leather too.
incredible post @papa-pepper plants of Homestead specially fruits look so yummy and delicious that my mouth filled with water.
do you enjoy gardening too?
Yes, I enjoy gardening very much!
me too
Great post, have a good experience of you for gardening.
Thank you @deepverma!
Your welcome @papa-pepper
excellent post. always learn from you @papa-pepper.
delicious fruit ya friend .. the result of planting his own friend.
Very delicious indeed!
the results of the plants themselves yes friends.
you inspired me and lot of your follower to learn more on how to grow our own food @papa-pepper thank you so much
Thank you for letting me know!
Do you ever sleep?
Is that what you call that when you suddenly wake up and it is later than you last remember it being? I'll have to google this "sleep" you speak of.
LOL 😂
Haha I like this kind of jokes, upvoted!:)
Being practical and wise is the path for growth. Would definitely do this at home too. Thank you @papa-pepper!
I think that anyone with some access to dirt should try to at least grow something useful. Thank you!
Yes, but it will also depend on the soil. If its not suitable for gardening then no matter how much dirt you got, it will definitely not grow. And also the type of fruit you want to propagate, if its should be a tropical fruit or not. Since I live in the Philippines, only those fruits that grow in a hotter area should I chose. But from a place where I live now, there’s just no space to grow something. And the soil is not good either.
Woow ... you found something really amazing. The fruit is very natural. It looks like the tree is not where I live. Thank you for pointing out your find @papa-pepper
Thank you for checking it out!
I always try to check your post @papa-pepper. Because a lot of knowledge that can get from every post papa. I want to see more for the future.
Good post
I know not all plants dwell in all places..l would look for one for my garden here in Ghana..nice addition @papa-pepper upped
Excellent @papa-pepper
this is a nice fruit... cherry,we can turn the fruit into chewing gum and use the seed as stud(earring) and many more
good post
Another great post from this great man. very beautiful fruit thanks for teaching us about it
Really loved your post @papa-pepper. I am an organic farmer myself and finding good quality edible multipurpose plants is not always easy. loved your info on this tree. will be finding out if this could grow in Sunny South Africa and might import a few seed to the nursery here. Voted and following you now.
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WOWZAS! Those are beautiful little fruits! Never had American persimmons! Must find some next time I'm in the states!
Sharon fruit. Delicious, my mother who's name happens to be Sharon came back from Israel 20 odd years ago and introduced me to this fruit. Delicious it really is. Cheer$:)
I adore finding useful plants on our property. When we first bought it I had to have a choke cherry bush like my folks did when I was a kid and that my mom used to make jam and pancake syrup. I looked all over and found out that it is a plant you usually find growing wild in many areas and I couldn't find anyone who actually sold them.
Finally one day I was out walking with a friend who had grown up in the area and she reached out an picked some huckleberries off a wild bush. Arrrgh! Huckleberries are this area's version of the choke cherry! I had no idea they existed here... The moral of the story is somehow mixed up with us now having huckleberry jam and pancake syrup.
Whoo Hoo! Wild and wonderful yummy things!
Nice post! We have one of these trees. Our daughter thought she was having an allergic reaction to the fruit, but it was only the non ripe fruit that sucked all the moisture from her being! Lol Have you cut the seeds? It's said the inner seed can be shaped like a fork, spoon, or knife, and that will predict the amount of snow you'll have that winter. If it's a spoon, you'll be shoveling snow. If it's a knife, it will just be really cold, and at the moment i can't remember what the fork means. They also make a great pudding. :)
Persimmons are such a great wild food! One of my absolute favorites. THey do get mushy if there are too many if your pockets, though, lol! Enjoy eating all those persimmons!
I enjoy @mericanhomestead ‘s company but the REAL reason I go up the mountain is for them persimmons!😜🤗