Slow but steady progress being seen here… some are starting to look really promising.
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@TNHunter is putting the rest of us to shame . . . . My own persimmon grafting aspirations are more modest this year – I just want to add Morris Burton to my small American collection that already includes Barbra’s Blush, H63A, and Dollywood (as well as Prok, which has been seriously top-worked).
Here are two small. seedling rootstocks with Morris Burton grafted a few weeks ago. I hope also to add MB to the Prok in a week or so as the weather warms up.
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Morris Burton?
Oops. Yes. DK if that was spell check or fatigue. I’ve corrected.
Is there a sport of Morris Burton out there? Amongst the wood given to me by Buzz last year was ‘Large Morris Burton’. I suspected it might be a sport with some type of improved traits, but also could be reflect some abundant optimism and a good site. Curious if anyone is familiar with such a sport.
Donald Eugene Compton from Indiana is the breeder of (DEC Large Morris Burton).
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That would make sense. Buzz had a bunch of wood from Don Compton. Do you know if it is a sport or a seedling thereof?
No I do not know. I have a graft in the third leaf hoping for fruit soon.
Those grafts look great Trev, I will be grafting persimmons next week. Our temps are rising so hopefully they will remain in high 60s to mid 70s to allow me to start. I just finished plums last week, planting potatoes this weekend, then I can start grafting again.
Dennis
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@DennisD … thanks…
Hope you have great success with your grafting and growing this year.
I think in a few years i am going to have more persimmons than we can eat. We can share with family and friends… and i may start raising chickens when i retire… i expect they would welcome some persimmons.
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You can dry them, but I’ve yet to try dried ones that are as good as dried ripe Bosc pears.
@murky … yes I will have to learn all the ways i can preserve them… last fall i made a batch of pulp and made low sugar jam with that. That reminds me … i still have a pint of that in the freezer… i will get that out now and let it thaw so we can have some this weekend.
We eat low carb chaffles for breakfast occasionally… on weekends… and you could include some persimmon pulp in those.
I have a nice dehydrator and will try that too.
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Did you add some kind of acid to the jam for more flavor?
I’ve found it hard to get the moisture content right. I did a batch of dried ‘Simmons last summer and they molded pretty quickly. I like to freeze them, personally. People say that they lose their flavor in the freezer, but that’s not been my experience. I’ve been digging into the frozen ‘Mohler’ lately, and it’s really tasty. Also has a great texture frozen, like fruity bonbons.
There is a persimmon festival in Mitchell Indiana. There are some recipes from past years: PERSIMMON RECIPES – 75th Mitchell Persimmon Festival
@murky … the low sugar chia jam recipe that i use is posted in the … fruit in your kitchen category.
For one pint of jam… the juice of half a lemon is added.
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I remember someone here last year had… i think it was a kasandra persimmon… that they had harvested like 400 fruit from and it still had about that many left.
I have 12 trees grafted now with some of the best american and hybrid varieties… and i planted a IKKJ this spring too.
I can see the possibility of me being overwhelmed with persimmon fruit in a few years. Eat all you can, preserve all you can, load your family and friends up… perhaps sell some.
Oh well… before i start worrying about that… we will see just how many of these make it.
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Not a bad problem to have in my estimation.
I’m in a similar boat, though I’m zone pushing some of these varieties, for sure. My Mohler tree made well over 500 fruits last year, I figure. 2 Proks probably made another 300-400. The deer and raccoons have caught on. A buck was ripping whole branches down to get at the fruit last year. I figure they’ll disappear, one way or another. Perhaps I’ll sell some at some point, though I quite like the enjoyment of having the orchard as a sort of sanctuary. My attempts to make it a paying proposition have really detracted from that aspect, so I’ve resigned to leverage it differently. Instead of selling things- fruit, nursery stock- I give things away and use it as a way to forge connections with people. That part feels a lot more complementary to what I’m attempting to do ecologically and culturally - the growing part, that is, not culture in the social sense. The more I think about it though, it seems like the essence of culture, the root. Nothing says everything has to be utilized or converted into value. That framework leads to disappointment. Instead Id rather seek a state of plenty and let that unfold how it will.
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Could’'ve been me. I ended up harvesting ~1200 from one tree.
After a few false starts, I ended up following the following process: (1) Leave the ripe persimmons in a big closed bin with a cup of vodka; (2) Wait a week; then (3) Dry them. The vodka helped remove the last of the astringency. The drying helped preserve them. We’re still eating them – had some tonight.
This year I may try applying the vodka (ethanol) with a sprayer.
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My chickens love persimmons.
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