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Post by treetom on Jun 22, 2024 14:11:25 GMT -5
I have two varieties of Persimmon and they produce nicely and require no spraying or special treatments. They don't get very big either. Make sure your getting the Japanese hybrids, they have no seeds and they are sweet.
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Post by jcbcpa on Jun 22, 2024 14:24:11 GMT -5
My Granny had a Japanese persimmon in her yard when I was growing up. We all enjoyed them and she made a couple of things with them, cookies and a simple cake kinda like a pound cake. But mostly, we just ate them off of the tree. Granny would usually pick them as soon as they got almost ripe to keep the varmints from getting them and she put them in the freezer.
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Clint
Junior Member
Posts: 26
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Post by Clint on Jun 22, 2024 15:33:27 GMT -5
If you like persimmons, google this one - best persimmon fruit I've tasted- Nikita’s Gift™ Hybrid Persimmon That may be the answer. Back on the FS board, Bullfrog made a few posts about his persimmons. I bought my Nikita's Gift from the persimmon guy on the corner of Hwy 26 & CR 241S a few years back - Ken ran a U-Pick persimmon operation usually started in September for $2/# - 10#s of Fuju's would last me for a week. There's also a U-Pick pomegranate farm on the south side of Hwy 26 across from Dudley Farms - he wasn't open last year, I believe the tropical storms upset his fruit setting last year. I've planted 6 different varieties of their fruit - still too young for them to produce.
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Post by TRTerror on Jun 22, 2024 15:47:40 GMT -5
I planted 2 types of Jap persimmons last year. The biggest one had 14 fruits on it and I was looking forward to finally eat some. I picked one off and let it ripen in the house. That night the Deer visited me and stripped the tree clean. I'm almost out of Venison...
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Post by cadman on Jun 22, 2024 16:18:10 GMT -5
Do I need more than one tree?
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Post by conchydong on Jun 22, 2024 16:24:46 GMT -5
Just plant what you like to eat. Some bananas need to be over ripened then others before they are sweet.
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Post by swampdog on Jun 22, 2024 17:40:33 GMT -5
My wife says Banana trees when she was growing up, were great places for wayward palm bugs. She forbids them in our sector. She did enjoy those very small bananas from a neighbors trees. Just what she says…
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Post by stc1993 on Jun 22, 2024 18:39:25 GMT -5
I liked them finger bananas too. I'd get a bunch if I saw one when I was a kid.
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Post by whitebacon on Jun 22, 2024 19:02:03 GMT -5
I think I want a banana tree for my backyard. I assume they don't need acidic soil. My questions are: What kind is good for this area? Where can I buy one? Last question is primarily for Cyclist, seems like something he might know. But if anyone else knows, please post. Are they easy to grow or a pain in the ... I googled a little and didn't know there were so many varieties. There are over a hundred varieties , just like mangos. We've probably have at least 20 varieties here on the island. They are all bearing fruit right now, about the same time, as the mangos, maybe slightly later, June vs. May. Like mangos, they are cold sensitive. I doubt they would survive long term in Gainesville. I know coconuts and citrus won't survive long term, north of the freeze line, which is roughly I-4. They are easy to grow in the right climate, but you must have a cluster of them to get started. They will multiply off the same root system once you get them going. Keep in mind, the fruit bearing trees die once they bear fruit. So you must have a cluster to get started. We have one variety that only grows to about 3-4". I fry them in butter, sugar, and cinnamon . Best thing you've ever tasted. Like candy.
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Post by bullfrog on Jun 22, 2024 21:26:43 GMT -5
I have 2 kinds of bananas. The first kind are the sort that are naturalized on a lot of old Cracker homesteads. I didn't save any of the family bananas from the family farms, but I got these from an old farm in Mariana. They make the little bananas. The second kind are fiber bananas. They do not fruit. I didn't know this when I got them. Mine are called Northern Wonders. They don't really go dormant in the winter. They'll die back in a frost but then wake right back up on a warm winter day. My homestead bananas stay dormant through the winter. My chickens like to eat the fiber banana trunks and leaves. They'll cut down stems up to 6 inches across. Here's a video of my chickens eating some of the Northern Wonders: They don't bother the fruiting kind of bananas. You can't go wrong with Fuji persimmons. Or figs. These are honey figs. The previous owner planted them but mowed over them as if he was aggravated with them. They were just a few small shoots when I moved in and even I mowed over them a couple of times by accident. One winter killed them back to the roots (2 winters ago I think). They really took off when I built a chicken coop beside them. This is an Anna apple. I thought it had died last year, but I cut it back and it rebounded this year.
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Post by stc1993 on Jun 23, 2024 0:07:34 GMT -5
When i was a kid lake Apopka had acres and acres of bananas. Don't know what kind they were nobody ate them that I know of. Looked like plantains we called them square bananas. We dug worms out there to go fishing with. Guarantee they're all gone now nothing but houses now.
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Post by cadman on Jun 23, 2024 8:26:25 GMT -5
I'm thinking Persimmons, but figs is the other option. I like figs. But fig trees grow out as much as up.
I'm thinking Fugi since they are non-astringent and you can pick and eat. The others you pick and let them ripen according to Google.
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Post by swampdog on Jun 23, 2024 8:32:50 GMT -5
We have a fig (not sure the variety) and yes it grows out and up. I pick the ripe figs, cut them up and add fresh to my oatmeal just before I cook it. My wife made a dessert cookie thing, that was really tasty. Unfortunately she often creates a dish that when it turns out great she can’t seem to duplicate it…
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Post by cadman on Jun 23, 2024 8:42:44 GMT -5
I had a fig tree at my old house on the side. It took over that part of the lawn. Before I sold the house, cut it back to the base. That was 6 years ago. I am sure the new owners are pissed about now as that tree has likely taken over that part of the yard. Some animals ate all the figs. I got very few.
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Post by One Man Gang on Jun 23, 2024 8:55:25 GMT -5
So my banana plant sucks. My young mango tree lost its first set of blooms this year, my young orange tree ain't doing squat, my Barbados cherry tree is giving up some fruit but the birds usually beat me to it. My avocado tree is finally bursting at the seams with fruit, but my question is, what can I do with date palms?
My date palms flat out PRODUCE every year but harvesting them leaves a man looking like he was wrestling a tiger. How does a man successfully harvest them without getting scratched up or having them rot before you can get to them? Are they even worth the effort? Remember, my time is at a premium.
A persimmon tree sounds like a pretty good addition. Thanks for the idea.
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