I'm going to answer some of our most common PawPaw questions....
EATING QUESTIONS
Q: What is a PawPaw?
A: They are our nations largest native fruit. They are found in Appalachia area, northeast (but not above lower New York State), parts of the Midwest, and Southeast.
Q: What do they taste like?
A: They are their own thing for sure. Super fragrant! It's hard to say exactly what they taste like but kind of like a cross between a mango and banana with a fermenty finish.
Q: How do I eat them? What is their texture?
A: You slice them in half and grab a spoon. Their flesh is similar to a thick yogurt.
Q: How do I know if they are ready to eat?
A: Pawpaws are like a banana in that they yellow then turn black with ripeness. Usually you know a pawpaw is ready when they drop off the tree but due to food safety rules we do not pick up dropped fruit. We harvest them as soon as they have a little give when squeezed. So shoppers take them home and let them ripen on the counter.
Q: Do they have seeds?
A: Yes, a few large brown seeds in the shape and size of lima beans.
Q: What can you do with them?
A: Eat them fresh is how they're usually eaten. They also make a good pie...follow a pumpkin pie recipe and sub the pumpkin for pawpaw. We have a recipe on the blog under the "cooking" tab. You can also make puddings or pastry fillings. And lastly, brewers can add them to beer. There are a few breweries in Ohio area that make pawpaw beer.
PAWPAWS AT OUR FARM
Q: How many trees do you have?
A: 100
Q: When are they ready for harvest?
A: Early-mid September
Q: When did you plant the trees?
A: We planted most of our trees in 2014 and then planted a few to replace trees that had died or been severely damaged by deer in 2018.
GROWING PAWPAWS
**I did extensive research before tying up a good piece of ground in a crop that 99% of people of have never heard of. I am still learning and do not have all of the answers. I encourage you to also do your research especially if you're a fellow farmer.
Q: Where do I buy trees?
A: One Green World or Nolan River in Kentucky...there are a few other places too so do you research!
Q: Where can I find resources?
A: The book. "PawPaw, In Search of our Nations Forgotten Fruit," Kentucky State University, and through Neal Peterson who is known as the "Johnny PawPaw Seed", Petersonpawpaw.com
Q: How many trees do I need.
A: You need 3 trees of 3 different varieties to get fruit.
Q: How long will it take until I get fruit?
A: From grafted trees it took us 6 years to get a few fruit. 8 years until full production like apples.
Q: What do you think are the best varieties?
A: We haven't been getting fruit long enough to give too much feed back here but so far Susquehanna and Shenandoah
Q: How far do you space them apart?
A: We spaced ours 10 feet apart.
Q: I thought they grew in the shade. Are you growing yours in the shade?
A: It's true, PawPaws are an under story tree. However, we grow them in the fields just like the peaches and apples. This means they need a lot of water. We grow them on landscape fabric with drip running underneath. Young trees need about 1.5 inches of water per week.
As I get questions I'll update this post with the answers. Hope this helps!
