Since January 14, 1999,
have visited our page.
We've lived on these five acres in central Kentucky for thirty years with our daughters, Abby and Molly. Abby and Molly have now graduated from the University of Kentucky. We built our home out of stone found on this property using a modified slip form method described in Helen and Scott Nearing's The Good Life.
We grow pawpaws, persimmons, elderberries and Mayapples for our own enjoyment. We are interested, however, in developing a pawpaw orchard and selling both fruits and trees. We've made some wonderfully delicious pawpaw custards, ice creams and pies. We've also made an elderberry wine that is reminiscent of Miers 44--only better. Please share your experiences and recipes with us. Thanks
Dr.
Desmond Layne's Pawpaw Fact Sheet
Great New Pawpaw
site from Kentucky State University
Pawpaw
Narrative
Home: Berry and Jeannie, Waddy, KY 40076
or
Feel free to drop us a
line, Jeannie and Berry
I have claimed in the past that it was a bad idea to buy bare rooted Pawpaw trees from a nursery. I'd like to amend that advice. I just attended the Pawpaw field day at Kentucky State University in Frankfort KY (10/21/99), and had the pleasure of meeting Annie Black and Diana Lalani of Hidden Springs Nursery in Cookeville TN. You can feel safe ordering bare rooted pawpaws from them, as they are very knowledgeable, and take great care in digging their trees. Contact them at Hidden Springs Nursery, 170 Hidden Springs Lane, Cookeville, TN 38501. Another nursery that knows its pawpaws is One Green World, 28696 S. Cramer Rd., Molalla, OR 97038-8576. Ask for their catalog. Once you get your pawpaw, you'll need to protect it from the sun for a year or two. Build a little lattice shelter; use the translucent plastic protectors sold by some nurseries; or, prop a cedar or pine on the south side of your new tree to protect it from intense sunlight. I buy the cheapest three-legged tomato cages, and place them over the young trees. I then put a white kitchen garbage bag over the cage and poke some holes in the top to keep too much heat from building up. The tree will do well in full sun after that second year.
Do you have some seed from a pawpaw you really enjoyed? Clean it well and place in moist sphagnum peatmoss in a baggy in your refrigerator over the winter. Never let the seed dry out. By late February or early March, the seed will have been stratified long enough to sprout. The best pot to start your seed in is a 12" length of 4" plastic sewer pipe. The plastic base of a 2 liter soft drink bottle makes an excellent bottom for this pot. Fill the pot with growing medium or top soil and plant the seed about an inch deep. The reason you need this tall skinny pot is because when the seed sprouts it sends down a ten inch tap root before you ever see anything. The seed itself should stay in the soil while the first leaves emerge. These aren't cotyledons, but true leaves. Usually, when the seed itself emerges from the top of the soil, it means your pot wasn't deep enough, and the tap root pushed the seed out of the soil. Don't expect to see anything for quite a while. Keep the soil moist, and don't give up until almost September. The seed will sprout sooner in a greenhouse, but always requires the four months or more of stratification.
You found a patch that produces really fine fruit and you want to dig a small sprout for transplanting? Most pawpaw patches consist of a parent tree and many root suckers. Digging these root suckers is usually unsuccessful because there isn't much of a tap root. Best wait for the fruit and plant the seeds. Another unusual characteristic of the pawpaw is that it should be transplanted when it is not completely dormant. This is because in the dormant state, the root is also dormant (unlike most deciduous trees). If it's wounded at all during the transplant, rot or disease will set in and the tree will die.
Pawpaws aren't real easy to grow, but they're well worth the trouble both as an ornamental and fruit tree.
HERE ARE A COUPLE SAMPLES OF ABBY'S WORK. THEY MAKE WONDERFUL AND UNIQUE GIFTS. SHE HAS LARGE AND SMALL GOURDS AVAILABLE. THE DESIGNS ARE BURNED INTO THE GOURD AND COLORED WITH ACRYLIC PAINT. I'LL SHOW YOU MORE AT A LATER DATE.
Drop Abby an email line: Gourd Art or, visit her HomePage to see more gourd art and learn more about it.
Please, feel free to drop us an email line: Jeannie and Berry
And his name is Chris Chmiel. Chris, called "Dr. Pawpaw" around Albany, OH, is extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of pawpaw culture and use. Here's what he says about his pawpaw pulp product: "I am selling the 1 pound bags for $4.50. The 2 pound bags are $8.00. I am also willing to ship small quantities, because I have a better shipping system. I am also willing to ship fresh fruit boxes of the pawpaws for $5.00 a pound, which is 4 to 6 fruit. Contact Dr. Pawpaw, with your questions and orders. If you want the fresh fruit, you'd better contact him in August or September.
