A few years ago I discovered the song I loved as a child was actually a harvest song.
Pawpaws are a fruit that grow on a tree. After two attempts at planting the trees, we discovered Winston-Salem has a festival every year where you can taste products made from pawpaws as well as learn about the trees, the fruit, and purchase seedlings. So this past Saturday we went.
It was crowded. Lines were everywhere, and we headed inside where the lectures would be held. Once inside, we realized we needed to divide and conquer. Bobby claimed a spot to listen to the lecture while I waited in the food line and got us both a plate of samples. After the first lecture, we joined the tour of the garden, though the guide told Bobby where he could get an overview as the orchard was planted on a hillside.
I liked the concept of boxing in the trees (which I'm sure they did because the first two years and any non-wet summers they need an irrigation system), though with our chickens I'm not sure any mulch or food we placed inside the box would stay there.
Pawpaws are a fruit that grow on a tree. After two attempts at planting the trees, we discovered Winston-Salem has a festival every year where you can taste products made from pawpaws as well as learn about the trees, the fruit, and purchase seedlings. So this past Saturday we went.
It was crowded. Lines were everywhere, and we headed inside where the lectures would be held. Once inside, we realized we needed to divide and conquer. Bobby claimed a spot to listen to the lecture while I waited in the food line and got us both a plate of samples. After the first lecture, we joined the tour of the garden, though the guide told Bobby where he could get an overview as the orchard was planted on a hillside.
Pawpaws on the tree.
And a close-up.
So what does a pawpaw taste like? I'm not sure. After the tour we headed back outside to purchase a raw one and possibly buy a seedling, but everything was gone. One of the sellers had even moved her truck! The few nurserys left were selling their other plants (blueberries, figs, ornamental stuff) and the only person left with pawpaws had tiny ones, about the size of an orange, that they were selling for $5.00 (when we arrived it was $5 per POUND, not per ITEM!). A lady asked him why so much, and he said his manager told him since the demand was so high to up the price. Talk about inflation!
They did give us brochures and information, which includes several nurseries that sell healthy breads of pawpaws. I'm still not certain I want to plant two trees only to find out I don't really care for their fruit. Of the samples we tried, the ice cream and ham/pawpaw spread was good. The others were just okay. Personally, I'd rather stick with normal banana bread than pawpaw bread. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as good.
So what do you think? Is it worth a $30 gamble?
Comments