Persimmon

dimck421
dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

I discovered many many persimmon trees bearing tons of fruit this year. What is your favorite DIY with persimmon, aside from forecasting winter's severity?

Comments

  • Obiora E
    Obiora E Posts: 517 ✭✭✭✭

    @dimck421 How old are your Persimmon trees? I only ask because we have a lot of them on our farm but they I have not seen any fruit on them yet. Some are probably at least a decade old or more.

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    @Obiora E Persimmon trees are either male (no fruit) or female (fruit-bearing). A local neighbour enlightened us to that fact when the newbie city folks quizzed him years ago. Think he got many a chuckle out of the many questions we had but he was an valuable source of information for us.

    @dimck421 The persimmons are loaded this year, a couple of trees with branches almost to the ground the fruit is so heavy. I think the crop will be so plenty the deer will have to share with me. Persimmon bread and jam are favorites uses of mine. I collect and give them to the goats and the chickens that are confined, the free range chickens indulge on their own. Make certain they're ripe as the pucker factor from the unripe fruit is off the scale.

  • Obiora E
    Obiora E Posts: 517 ✭✭✭✭

    @merlin44 Thank you for letting me know and that does make sense! A cousin on my father's side has a Persimmons tree that is full of fruit this year. i hope to find female Persimmon trees on my maternal family farm this year or next.

  • dimck421
    dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

    @Obiora E my trees are 20 years old. This is the first year I have seen the mass of fruit! Usually, there are a few fruits, which are quickly stolen by the foxes. Some trees had no fruit until this year.

  • dimck421
    dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

    @merlin44 Persimmon bread sure sounds tasty!

  • VickiP
    VickiP Posts: 586 ✭✭✭✭

    I am going to try Persimmon wine this year. I had a friend from England who used to make it the way her Dad did, without added yeast, just the blush from the fruit. She did add sugar to feed it, it was really good. I think I can reproduce her recipe, anyway I'm going to give it a try.

  • Leslie Carl
    Leslie Carl Posts: 255 ✭✭✭✭

    I read that some persimmons can take 10 years before producing fruit. I guess it depends on what type of persimmon you are growing. Some types only take 4-5 years.

  • dimck421
    dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

    @Leslie Carl I found out for the first time, this year that some of mine are purple. The land was clean cut just over 20 years ago. The trees all came up by God's planting. I saw a few fruit over the years, but this year was amazing. There must be lots of them in the area, as I have been seeing the seeds in scat. Hmmm, maybe that is how I have so many trees now?

  • dimck421
    dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

    @VickiP Le me know how it turns out! I never thought about wine!

  • pseabolt
    pseabolt Posts: 48 ✭✭✭

    We have a couple of persimmon trees on/near our property. A few years ago, we had a bumper crop of fruit more than enough for me and the critters. Since then though, the tree still produces an abundance of fruit but it all falls off before it ripens, the squirrels and deer don’t even want it! Then the leaves turn brown and fall off a month or more before any of the other trees around (see picture). The other trees are in a horse pasture and I have a hard time beating the horse to the fruit so obviously I would really like the one in my back yard to produce like it did before, or more specifically to allow the fruit to actually ripen as it still produces beautifully, it just seems to shed its fruit and leaves way too early. Has anyone ever seen this? Does anyone have thoughts on what I can do to make my poor tree happy again? The photo was taken this morning, you can see the stark difference between the persimmon tree and the others around it


  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Roasted possum or racoon with persimmons! A lot of people wont eat possum, because they eat nasty things... their diet is pretty close to that of a chicken. But, when the persimmons are ripe, they have usually been eating nuts and fattening up, then they gorge on persimmons! So, they have been eating clan and healthy and they taste wonderful! Roasted with persimmons, onions, thyme and potatoes is my favorite. If you don't have persimmons, roast them with sweet potatoes. This time of year, you don't have to trim off the fat. The combo of the fat with the potatoes is magic!

  • Obiora E
    Obiora E Posts: 517 ✭✭✭✭

    @pseabolt I am not sure of what would cause it but I would suggest getting a soil test (chemistry and/or biological) done (I am a big fan of Crop Services International http://www.cropservicesintl.com/soil-testing/).

    Also how the weather there this Summer? It almost looks like the tree is under great stress. Possibly it could be from too much heat, not enough water, I don't know, but hopefully a soil test can provide you with something concrete.

  • nksunshine27
    nksunshine27 Posts: 343 ✭✭✭

    you can dehydrate them and my great grandma would make cookies with them. wish i had persimons here

  • 2017pams@gmail.com
    2017pams@gmail.com Posts: 12 ✭✭✭

    I have one or two persimmons. Last year, besides all the fruit that I accidentally knocked off, the rest of it rotted before I picked it. I know that you can put them in the freezer to ripen them if you are impatient but still figuring out best time to pick them in Oregon. Any ideas. Obviously earlier than last year. Thanks,

  • dimck421
    dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭

    They say wait til one frost hits it. I pulled fruit in late fall and after first frost. Both tasted the same! Around here foxes and bears will harvest, if one does not beat them to it!