EDIBLE OPTIONS - THE FUYU PERSIMMON
What an exciting day and age to be a homesteader in!
Part of our #homesteading goals is providing as much of our own food with as little effort as possible. Since we have stewardship of some land, we have an interesting opportunity right now. Growing any portion of your own food can be a wise financial and health investment, and the more the can grow the greater the ROI.
Though I only learned about the Persimmon fruit and tree a few years back, my @little-peppers have not had to wait until their adult life to get exposed to this wonderful fruit. In fact, we even have some mature fruit-bearing trees already growing on our land! Here is a video that we made last month when we found the trees on our land.
AMERICAN PERSIMMON
The native American Persimmon trees here in the Ozarks are of the variety Diospyros virginiana. The fruit that they produce is a small round sphere with some hard seeds in the middle. Though they are rather astringent prior to ripening, they are very palatable when they fully ripen and are a real treat that we enjoy.
We plan on incorporating as many native species that produce food into our landscape as we craft our property and build our forests and gardens. Having some already growing is of course a huge plus, but these days we have even more options.
ASIAN PERSIMMONS
Since my @little-peppers already have quite a good understanding of the American Persimmon, I wanted to expose them to an Asian variety, so I recently picked up some Fuyu Persimmons.
As you can see, there is certainly a size difference. Not only that, there is something else different about varieties like these.
Inside, there is a lack of seeds. This means that we will be unable to just pick up some at the store, save the seeds and then grow our own. However, we still have options.
I let the @little-peppers try their first Asian Persimmon earlier today while I explained some things. Since both American and Asian Persimmons are Persimmon trees, they can be grafted together. This means that if I can find someone who is growing an Asian variety, I should be able to graft some scion wood from a dormant Asian Persimmon onto some of our native American Persimmons and use ours as a rootstock.
By doing so we would be able to grow a different variety than that which naturally occurs in our area. This is one of the main reasons that I love gardening and homesteading these days; because we now have the opportunity to grow different plants from all around the world right in our own yards.
While we still appreciate and enjoy our native persimmons, being able to grow a bigger variety is not only a great option, but it adds some additional variety into our diet.
It was fun to show the @little-peppers a "giant" persimmon which they had never seen before. I asked our four year old "Monster Truck the Pepper" what it was and he guessed a tomato. When I asked our little two year old "Sweet Pepper" though, she actually guessed a persimmon. It was cool that she was able to guess correctly.
A GENERATIONAL INVESTMENT
At this point in our life, we are just starting our homestead. Many trees will take years to produce, while incorporating the ones already on the land will save us a lot of waiting. Part of what I am now doing is an investment in the future that will last for generations to come.
Not only will these trees hopefully be there for future generations to enjoy, but I am hoping to impart a certain understanding to others as well, so that it lasts for generations.
When we can work in harmony with the resources available on this planet and understand the benefits that various plants and animals can provide, we can end up with a more fulfilling experience as we live our lives. A real connection to things that aren't concrete and metal is missing in the lives of many, and there are certain reasons that the @papa-pepper tribe has returned to the great outdoors.
Also, if any of you know of anyone who actually grows a different variety of Persimmon that may have some dormant cuttings that they could take and send me, it would be a huge blessing! We will keep on doing what we do. Thanks for enjoying it!
To learn a little more about some of plans with Persimmon trees here on our homestead, you can check out this recent video.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-fuyu
Until next time…
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Great looking
Thank you!
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Very cool. Thank you so much for that!
I do really like KAKI very good to use with the salad.
Here is my favorite recipe. :))
The sweetness of the fruit is so large it does not need to be sweetened by artificial sugars. Simple salad preparation. Cut fruit in half and separate the pulp from the skin. We dice it and throw it into the bowl. Cut orange slices and cut everyone around to get rid of the peel. Banana is also cut into smaller pieces in slices or cubes. For intensity of taste we can also add some pomegranate seeds. Pour all the yogurt and mix thoroughly. Finally, we can sprinkle with a few drops of lime juice will make it brisk. Such a salad is ideal for warm days to provide the body with calories and vitamins without eating hot or heavy food.
If you would like to try it :)))
Regards man and I enjoy your post especially kids extremely hilarious :))
Kaki was my mums favorite fruit, so nice in curry.
I need to try it ;)) Thx
I have not yet tried that variety, but hopefully one day I can!
Wish i could send you some cuttings or seeds not sure about export/import laws and regulations. but i'm living in an area of Japan where kaki grow in almost every farm lot or back garden.
Yeah, I'm sure that customs wouldn't appreciate your efforts. Thanks for the thought though!
Though it may be possible. i will look into it hopefully i can send you some seeds or a small tree you can splice into your existing stock.
Let me know if you ever do find out about that. I just grafted in some Fuyu today, but would love to try growing Kaki one day.
I hope you would like it :))
When I was a tiny kitten, I knew Christmas was coming when my Grandma brought that first persimmon home from the store. The season did not officially begin in my mind until I had that first savory bite :) The woman could grow anything, green thumb is an understatement. Except for persimmons! Although I do not believe she ever attempted to graft anything.
Persimmons represent the spirit of the Holiday season for me.
Persimmons taste like Christmas <3
But do not ever bite into one that's not fully ripe! It's the equivalent of gnawing on discarded tinsel.
When I was little, instead of sitting in my tree-stand, I would sneak down and look for persimmon trees so I could have a snack. I figured if I was going to be cold, I might as have something to eat.
Haha! Very good! That's funny and tasty!
I´m in Andalucia at the moment and just bought persimmons today. The spanish persimmons or kaki as what they call them have different varieties. The local ones sold here are still hard and one has to wait a few days to a week before they become soft... that´s the time to eat them... I love the sharon type because they are seedless, sweet and you can eat the skin.
Very cool. We have some that are still firm, so we will be waiting on them.
It looks good by just seeing little peepers eating. !
😍A very informative post. Great job. Keep it up! 😍
This is to say kudos to you and that i am learning seriously from your practical/video presentation of your farm. Please keep it up on a regular basis because i intend to start small too
Starting small is a good way to start. As you learn, you can grow!
I used to get a box of organic produce delivered weekly, and a few times they included American persimmons. I was a little puzzled by them. I don't think the ones they sent were ripe, because they did not taste good. But... you have given me the thought to try again. Next time I see one, i will pick it up. Also, your grafting skills are impressive! I didn't even know such things could be done! Enjoy your harvest. All the best! :)
Thanks so much! Unripe American persimmons can be very astringent tasting, which is very unpleasant. Once the fruit ripens, it is very squishy and hard to ship, so yours may have been unripe.
Thank you. You solved a decade long mystery & misconception for me :)