The Tropical Fruit Forum

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself to this post chain since I started some pawpaws. I just recently joined this forum because I started gardening and getting interested in fruits and unique plants. Pawpaws were one of the first on my list to try to grow haha. Last year, I threw a bunch of pawpaw seeds in a wine barrel planter in the shady corner of my garden and some (about 10) of them are coming up and putting their first leaves out. They seem somewhat slow to grow, is that normal for pawpaws?

I know they'll take a long time to get to fruit (or even if they will), but I'm excited to test if any will work out where I'm at since I don't think my climate is the best for pawpaws. I live near San Francisco by the coast, and get a decent amount of fog and is quite mild all year long -- not too hot, not too cold. Hopefully one of the sprouted seedlings will somehow be suited for my climate. I look forward to chatting and learning from you all here. Anything I should be aware of as I start this pawpaw journey?

Hey! Welcome to the forum and to pawpaws!

Quickly - yes, pawpaws are slow growing, generally, compared to other fruit trees. You might get anywhere from 8 to 18 inches in your first year. In ideal conditions and with favorable genetics I have had seedlings reach 30 inches in the first year (not common).

If your wine barrel gets any direct sun, especially in the afternoon, it could be too much for the babies. Keep an eye on them and be prepared to cover them with 30 to 50% shade cloth until they reach roughly 18 inches.

In the world of plants I try to "never say never" but your climate will probably be a challenge. Generally pawpaws need a few months of hot summer temps to ripen fruit, and they need chill hours over the winter too.

Keep us posted along the way!

Good advice - I agree!

Good luck....I can't believe this is happening.
actually, i had a very strong feeling that winter was not done with us....it would've been too good to be true. Some friends had already set out tomatoes like a week or more ago, and I told them for sure I was not confident enough for that!

Another friend with a commercial peach orchard also seemed to be counting his chickens early as of a couple weeks ago but i was skeptical.
Good thing he has an elaborate frost protection system paid for by grant money. Well, not that elaborate - it basically just allows him to install huge frost blankets over his entire orchard.

Fun indeed, W 

Your experience last year doesn't bode well for me.

Awesome!
Keep us posted.

I have several baby fruit clusters but am worried about some cold low temps coming this week....could frost, and I'm not sure from experience what that will do.
I may try to cover the clusters in foil or something.

Sorry to hear this.
I don't have any wisdom to offer, as i do not grow blueberries. Good luck!

Mine is variety "Purple Possum", is that a tropical variety?

Yep

Some folks use helicopters

I believe there are durian fruits in Super Mario Sunshine.

I told my nephews to please let me know if durian seeds ever appear in Animal Crossing 

Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating!
Blessings and good vibes to all members and their families.

One last thing that I will mention is that muscadine peels can make my mouth itch when I eat large amounts of fruit. I think this is a very mild allergic reaction and no one else in my family gets it. I have never had that reaction with Jaboticaba.

Happens to me and my wife too. I think it's pretty common. It's lessened if the fruit is really ripe, it seems. Not sure if it's technically an allergy or just a sensitivity that varies genetically.

Sorta to my earlier point, there is something fun about using free or cheap stuff (organic waste) and sorta doing a science Project in order to make fertilizer. The appeal of alchemy I guess.
I went down that road early on, and it was fun while it lasted.

Beyond that....?

The extreme stuff about spraying all kinds of concoctions and constantly adding inputs to the system is to me, well, extreme and wasteful.

Test your soil/tissue, find out what’s lacking if anything and only input what you need. You CAN have too much of anything.

The only way i know to lower soil pH reliably is applying granulated elemental sulfur.
I think a lot of the stuff you read, such as pine straw, peat moss, etc doesn't actually work.