Raf,
Here is a photo of my ripen native Jujube that I use as a pollinator for the HJ trees. They taste decent after a hard frost. I bet in China they would use them for medicinal purposes. I will collect them and try them in my green tea to get double health benefits.
Tony
Did you mean feral instead of native?
Wild Jujube rootstock or feral.
Tony
Do the seeds contain any significant amount of cyanide?
Richard,
Is the cyanide is in the seed itself? The seed shell will prevent the trace amount of cyanide from entering the tea water?
Tony
Yes, so you wouldnât want to roast them in quantity to make tea. It (hydrogen cyanide) is also in the leaves so Iâd avoid that as well.
If the fruit incl. skin is nearly ripe (past the juvenile stage) then the danger is nil ⌠some publications discuss what would happen if you ate âshoe boxesâ full every day and the consensus is youâd develop a resistance. After all, trace amounts of cyanide are necessary for human health.
The seed itself has small quantities and yes the shell can protect you, but leaching for several hours in hot liquid will draw it out.
If your consumption in this manner is very low then of course youâre at no risk, but at the same time (clinical trials) the health benefits only exist if you are consuming several whole fruits (without seeds) daily for long periods of time.
So make the tea for the joy of it but humorize yourself about the health benefits.
The only fruit on my Taiwan jujube. I waited too long to pick it. Whatâs really fascinating is that fruit on this variety does not normally ripen up until February or March which means it does not ripen well at all in a normal year because it does not get enough heat here in zone 9.
It looks a bit like the Indian Jujubes I tried. A co-worker brought them in from an Indian Grocery. They were like bland, crunchy plums. 10-12 brix. It wasnât bad tasting, but didnât hold much appeal for me.
You are right Bob about bland taste of Indian Jujubes. I bought four of them at the Asian market and they tasted like the way you described them. I WISH that somehow We can cross the Honey Jar with Shanxi Li and get the HJ to the Shanxi Li fruit size then I am in Jujube heaven.
Tony
The ones we get here in the US are usually picked too early and never sweeten up properly. I have bought them from multiple Asian grocers in California and about 90% are not very pleasant to eat. But 5-10 percent are very good with nice crispness and very nice sweetness.
Gee, Matt, your orchard is growing quickly. I remember when you had four trees!
I know! My orchard is almost completely planted out, which has me feeling sad.
There are only a few spots left, and theyâre already spoken for! A few items are arriving in the spring which will max me out!
Congrats!
good choice!
Matt, you may want to insulate around the base of it a bit- when I fall planted from jf&e 2 years ago, 2 of the 3 trees had severe dieback, in one case to the ground. Luckily, both trees were in their own roots, so it only cost me a bit of time.
Mrs G,
Here is an updated schematic of my stonefruit, pear, and jujube plantings on the mountain. Top of the page is West. Right side of the page is North, etc etc. Spacing between the rows is 5 feet. Spacing between the columns is 7 feet.
The shaded area is where my dwarf apple hedge is located (another chart).
Yes, it looks like an axe murderer drew up this picture, or some other crazy person, like @BobVance.
Some of the boxes have been erased/refilled as rootstocks/cultivars are planted/die/moved/multi-budded, or fail to arrive from the nursery, etc.
Only 4 spaces left. 6 really if I decide to cut my losses with the stand-alone Colt and Halford rootstocks, and plant something new. The Colt had a Bing cherry on top that died. The Halford had a Fairtime peach on it that croaked.
Matt,
Thatâs an impressive collection.
So many peaches and stone fruit. Hope you stock up on materials, organic or not, for spraying. Not enough jujube or persommon 
I personally think you spacing seem a bit tight. But Iâve based it on my own experience. Iâve kept most of my trees open- centered so they need more space in between rows.
Looks great Matt. I have heard from many others in this great forum that it is impossible to just have one Jujube. Two apparently is the minimum. 
@k8tpayaso
