If ya'll have noticed, there are fruits dangling from the trees now, in November!
They are known as The Fruit of the Gods.. The Persimmons, or Diospyros virginiana. The smaller fruits, are our Native or American Persimmons. You may have also noticed the other ones-with larger fruits- that look like bright orange or yellow chinese lanterns hanging from the tree, and those are the Asian variety, or Diospyros khaki.
The Native American Persimmon (the smaller fruit) is very astringent and might make you pucker up really good if they aren't ripe! Usually a real hard frost jump-starts the ripening process. The Asian variety (larger orange fruit), on the other hand, is non-astringent, and can be eaten right off the tree... and believe me, they are yummy!
If you would like to grow these trees, head on down to Outdoor Specialty. Their address is 1460 Greensboro Hwy. in Watkinsville, Ga. Their number is 706-769-8737 .. They sell the Asian variety- like Fuyu - and those trees will produce fruits when they are only 6 to 8 feet tall.. so get them while you can! They also have a couple of the American Persimmon trees as well. The trees are self-pollinating, so you will only need a male pollinator- like Gaylee- if you plan on having fruits with seeds.
If you are more adventurous, get out and find the trees! You can see them growing along fences, on the sides of the road- and you can pick the Persimmons!
You might have to fight with the Opossums, Raccoons, Coyote and Deer.. but it's worth it! Yes, these trees are an excellent winter time source of food for the wildlife- which if you know me, is important to me... but we just have to have at least one Persimmon Pudding -every Thanksgiving!
Today's video explains the Persimmon Tree.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vyRyO3fuFY&t=1s
Over the next few days, I will be posting other videos here on The Patch, explaining : Harvesting the Persimmon, How to Pulp the Persimmon Fruit, Persimmon Seed Folklore and finally, the yummy Recipe for Persimmon Pudding... which by the way is from my little Grandma, Bonnie Linne. She is a pro at making this pudding, and she even takes the time to show me how... and we have a ball!
I hope everyone is having an awesome Autumn!
