My Favorite Foraged Fruit!

[PrimitiveTim]

Last year is when I fell in love with persimmons.  It just blew my mind that something so good was growing on trees in the wilderness.  I made a short video on how I harvest, prepare, and consume them.  I also like to get other people interested in wild edibles as I feel like we're a bit out of touch from nature.  I hope y'all enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKyR3ivxnXc&feature=share&list=UU9l4lrfkOEV5iNSju5GxM_g

[burchett.donald]

Tim I've tried them and their OK but the first mistake I made was trying one before it was ripe and it practically turned my lips inside out!
     If you run across one dropping it's fruit while hunting just sit there and a deer is coming for sure...

[PrimitiveTim]

Tim I've tried them and their OK but the first mistake I made was trying one before it was ripe and it practically turned my lips inside out!
     If you run across one dropping it's fruit while hunting just sit there and a deer is coming for sure...

Oh I know all about that!  It's insane how much the animals love these things.  On that little tree that is fenced in with a dog, the raccoons were still braving it to get some persimmons.  They left evidence on a branch. lol

[RidgeRunner]

I love them.
All presimmons are not created equal.
There are lots of trees around the house.
Some presimmons are just not good at all.
Others are the best I have ever eaten.

David

[Pat B]

I was at the Outter Banks of NC last weekend and their persimmon trees were loaded with fruit.
 If you want to try to grow your own persimmon trees find some coyote scat with the seeds in it. These seeds have been scarified by the coyote's stomach juices and with a little cold treatment(stratified) and they should germinate in the sping. Grow lots of them because you need both male and female trees to get fruit. Don't try to dig persimmon trees either. They have a long tap root and if you sever that the tree will not transplant well.

[bowtarist]

DLH and I enjoyed some early persimmons at the Scottsburg ITBA shoot a couple of weekends ago.  One of the trees was putting out a more firm fruit, but it was so tasty I couldn't believe it.  I'm sure it is the same most places, but we have persimmons here that ripe before the frost and another type that ripens after the frost.  Like PatB said, you can get them from scat and plant them.  You can also tell the winter weather by "CAREFULLY" cutting them long ways between the sides and checking the inside for a fork or spoon. Fork means little snow and spoon means a lot of snow.  The ones I checked this year so far have been kinda sporks.  dp

[PrimitiveTim]

Fork means little snow and spoon means a lot of snow.

Here in Florida I'd hope that they all have spoons. lol 

[DLH]

You can also change the sex of the persimmons by grafting so your males can produce fruit you can also choose scion wood that holds fruit later, large fruit, or doesn't ripen until later in the season. This is what I plan to do to a few of our male trees in the next year. Seeds can also be stratified by nicking the coating with sandpaper and keeping in moist peat moss in the fridge. The seeds will produce a long black root radical.

[PrimitiveTim]

Seeds can also be stratified by nicking the coating with sandpaper and keeping in moist peat moss in the fridge. The seeds will produce a long black root radical.

About what percent produce the long black root radical?  I like this idea a lot. 

[DLH]

Idk percentage but it's very high mine last year didn't but I don't think they had been cold stratified long enough I put them in pots and they still grew. You can also field plant them or grow in pots. Field planting is usually easier and you won't have to worry about watering as much unless it gets dry. They also aren't browsed heavily by deer like oaks chestnuts and fruit trees so they don't require a lot of protection the main thing is competition from weeds. If you go the pot route I would recommend rootmakers they prevent the taproot from circling which can kill the tree later on if it's not taken care of at planting. I plan on keeping them in the refrigerator then planting them directly in the ground and putting old carpet around them to keep weed competition down.

[JacksonCash]

Picked up some persimmons this weekend from the farmers market after reading this. Made a persimmion-maple-walnut upside down cake which was spectacular. Munched on the rest of the persimmons during the week, boy are they sweet! I waited till they were nice and squishy, looking like tomatoes I'd throw away.

[PrimitiveTim]

Picked up some persimmons this weekend from the farmers market after reading this. Made a persimmion-maple-walnut upside down cake which was spectacular. Munched on the rest of the persimmons during the week, boy are they sweet! I waited till they were nice and squishy, looking like tomatoes I'd throw away.

This made my day!  Now you have to grow your own tree and eat them right off the tree when they're still warm from the sun.  Mmmmm  I'm glad you have discovered this delightful fruit.