Here’s some more observations from today. I went out and harvested a plate of Nikita’s gift and an plate of Saijo persimmons. The Nikita’s Gift are ahead of the Saijo. I have been artificially ripening them, so we can eat a few each day, and spread out the harvest. I thought it would be interesting to see what happens if I slice these unripe, astringent persimmons, and dry the slices in the food dehydrator. I’m guessing they will be sweet and nonastringent then, but we will see.
These observations apply to these varieties, in my yard, today. I don’t know if they would bear out for other varieties in other yards or areas.
First, the Saijo seeds are much bigger and more intrusive, than the Nikita’s Gift. By that I mean, they take up a lot of the persimmon. There isn’t much persimmon left, once the seeds are removed. So, I will not let them pollinate next year. Fortunately, only a few Saijo had seeds. That is probably because there were not many male flowers. The Chocolate persimmon graft was very small.
Seeds of Nikita’s Gift (small) and Saijo (large)
Second, it seems like in fruits that only had one seed, the part of the fruit with the seed ripened faster than the part of the fruit without seeds. In addition, the fruits with many seeds seemed riper than the fruits without seeds.
Third, the slices of persimmon are very different. Even Saijo without any seeds have a pretty start pattern in the slices. The Nikita’s Gift slices have an irregular foggy center, and the star pattern is there in some slices but not as easy to make out. That does not affect taste, just appearance. The star pattern shows better in the photos than it does in person. My eyes are not so good, I guess.
Slices of Saijo
Slices of Nikita’s Gift
Based on this year’s experience, Next year I think I’ll cover the branch of chocolate persimmon with a bag, when it is blooming. It’s still small, so that is easy. I want to keep it to see if I can hand-pollinate some Yates persimmons and potentially save any seeds that happen. I know it’s a long shot. After that, I may remove that graft. I don’t mind the little seeds in Nikita’s Gift, but I think too many of the Saijos might be wasted due to the impact of so many big seeds.