Pawpaws...and a new botanical term

 

                                                                         Pawpaws

I am often surprised when my gardening and hiking friends have never heard of the pawpaw, Asimina triloba. The pawpaw is North America's largest native fruit!  It generally grows by rivers, but is also being hybridized and marketed as various varieties (e.g Shenandoah, Susquehanah).  There are a few reasons my friends might not have not heard of this fruit. First, my friends might live outside its range:

Elbert L. Little, Jr., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and others - USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center: Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps from "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr.

Second, they might not hike in the correct ecosystems (rivers). Third, the pawpaw is very fragile and is not suitable for commercial production (yet), though breeding programs might take care of this in the future... but you still can't buy it in a grocery store.

There are a few other strikes against the pawpaw. It has quite a few large seeds (see photo below). It sends up suckers readily (vegetative reproduction). The wild pawpaw produces a little fruit, because its flowers are poor at getting fertilized. It is also not self-fertile. Wild fruit can vary in flavor, with the best fruit tasting a bit like banana, mango, and maybe a tad bit of pineapple. [Side note: Spanish colonizers mistook the pawpaw for papaya,and the name evolved to pawpaw]. This is where breeders have stepped up, creating hybrids with: larger, more consistent fruit; smaller and fewer seeds; better fertilization and; greater hardiness away from river environments and in more northerly climates.

I grow wild pawpaw trees that I started from the wild seed of a tasty fruit. Because my trees are from the same individual (remember they are not self-fertile), I have started hand pollinating them in spring from a few wild pawpaw flowers from another individual [sorry for all these digressions, but it can be hard to determine if you are collecting from different individuals unless they are quite a bit away from each other. Due to reproduction by suckering, a single genetic pawpaw can appear as a string of trees a quarter of a mile or more along a riverbank].

Let me share exactly why I have been really lucky in hand pollinating, and introduce a new botanical term, trioecious. You know that plant reproduction can be complicated, right? Bear with me. Plants can have flowers of only one sex, male or female (monecious). This means a single individual can be male, or female, but not both. Plants can have flowers of both sexes on one plant, male flowers AND female flowers (dioecious).  A plant can have individual flowers that have the parts of both sexes (hermaphroditic), having what are called "perfect flowers."  Generally, each species is ONE way... But pawpaws are trioecious, a tree can be either all male, or all female, or a mix of both. I guess I am lucky that I started seed that resulted in all female trees or a mixture AND that I picked enough  flowers that were pollen bearing (male) for pollinating. [Note: I pick very few flowers]. You know I am going to pay close attention to this next season!

                                                Small "wild" fruit with seed exposed

But, I am still glad I took the gamble and started growing them. Pawpaws are the only host plant for the zebra swallowtail butterfly...and that's worth it right there.

So, grow two varieties of hybrid pawpaws, central Virginians!  They need adequate water when young. If they are in full sun, they will need a shade cloth for the first few years, or you can grow them in part shade.  Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA has them at: https://ediblelandscaping.com/products/trees/Pawpaws/

Red Dragon Cabbage...What I Will Grow Next Year

 

Red Dragon Cabbage, Washed and Ready to Cook

 

I realized as I was selecting garden seeds, I was favoring plants that were red or purple!  Aside from green, these are the two most often-used colors in my colored pencil box. Red Dragon Cabbage is a Napa-style cabbage, heading but not like the standard bowling-ball cabbage.  Planted in early spring, it sprouts easily and grows well, at least until the cabbage worms inevitably arrive.  You can see a little damage on the leaves in the photo above...harvested in the nick of time!  If you do get cabbage "worms" (actually caterpillars of the cabbage white moth), you can wash the leaves after soaking them say, for an hour, in a sink full of salted water (about 2T). And pick out the deceased critters...don't be squemish! Don't let them soak too long, then give them a wash and drain in a colander. Sadly, the pretty electric-purple leaves turn green when cooked. (NOTE: there is another option to dealing with cabbage worms: I feed them to my carnivorous pitcher plants!).

Purple Cosmic Carrot...What I Will Grow Again Next Year

                                                First harvest of purple cosmic carrots

Root crops, except for turnips and garlic, are not my specialty. After seeding in loose and fluffy soil, most require vigilance, to make sure the soil does not dry out and crust over.  This is true for beets (which one day I WILL successfully grow), but especially true for carrots, with their tiny seeds.  Now, with retirement (though I am busier than ever!) I have the flexibility to water every morning, and in the afternoon or evening if it is very dry. Some gardeners cover the newly planted seed bed with newspaper, and keep it damp.  Try it, but it never worked well for me, and I forget to remove it soon enough. You can also try carrot seed tape (strips of paper with seeds embedded at proper spacing, but I have only ever seen a few varieties commercially-prepared this way. DIY here: https://www.finegardening.com/article/make-your-own-seed-tape).  Make sure you thin your carrots after they sprout. Despite all this trouble, this spring, I had great success with Purple Cosmic Carrot. It seems to sprout more easily and quickly, and grow lushly, and tastes good.

But, bad gardener Judy, I let a second crop of carrots grow and mature through a hot, dry spell.  This usually turns carrots bitter, but this variety did pretty well.  It was tasty, with occasional bitterness.  How to cook the bitterness out of carrots?  Slice and shallow steam in water or stock, with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar.  After the liquid steams off, I add an Asian-inspired sauce (made with hoisin sauce, tamarind concentrate, or gouchujang) (I am an improvisational cook and make it up as I go).

And, as a botanical artist, I find the color to be AMAZING (carrots studies below).

 

Burgundy Okra...What I Will Grow Again Next Year

 

 

Chinese Red Asparagus Beans with Burgundy Okra

 

The plants grow 4-5 feet tall 

I grow vegetables to eat!  Well, duh.  What I means is that I grow for flavor, but I also grow for texture, productivity, and disease resistance. And, as a botanical artist, I grow for beauty.  I acquired a liking for okra when I moved to the deeper south decades ago.  Yes, fried okra is tasty (and slimy sometimes), but I like okra for its mild taste, for thickening soups, stews, and pasta sauce, and for the appearance of the sliced pods in my bowl. But is is a also a beautiful plant, with it's deep red stems and leaf veins, large leaves, light maroon pods, and stunning creamy yellow flowers.  Did you know it is a member of the hibiscus family?

                                                                        Just beautiful!

Planting okra is easy. It likes warm soil and thrives in hot weather.  When the pods begin to form, make sure to harvest regularly. Long pods (over 3 inches) are often too woody and fibrous to eat.

Where Am I?

 The Red House Residency

The house, nestled in a valley

The woodland path to the Cowpasture River

The uncommon wreathe goldenrod, the only goldenrod that grows in shade

The Red House Artists' Residency, Bath County, VA 

As I have mentioned before, I am a botanical artist.  I was lucky to become the inaugural artist at a new residency, on the Sycamore Bend Farm.  Thought I would share some images of this beautiful place!

Fall Cleanup? Take Break

This is typically the time of year when we begin doing a fall cleanup, which includes raking and disposing of leaves, cutting back spent plants, etc. The horticultural and landscaping industries have sold us on images of the perfect yard and garden,with charming and quaint touches, well-ordered flower beds, and precisely trimmed grass.   But should you do a fall cleanup?  There is an important movement in gardening and landscaping that suggests maybe you shouldn't. 

Why?  As many of you know, we are in an ecological crisis, losing may important insects, which are the basic building blocks (aka food) for birds, mammals and us (no pollinators = little food). We have even been taught to be frightened of insects! But these vital links in our ecosystems often overwinter in leaf litter, in the hollow stems of plants that have died back, and in brush piles.  Remove them, and you kill an entire generation.

So, leave the plants standing until spring.  Gently tidy that brush pile, but don't destroy it or move it about too much. If you must rake leaves, do so gently and leave them in a pile.

The A Way to Garden podcast with Margaret Roach recently had an interview with Doug Tallamy, one of the most visible and thoughtful proponents on this approach:

 A Way to Garden Tallamy

For more on Tallamy's work, suggestions, and ideas, go to:

Bringing Nature Home

A Lagniappe*, or, A Little Sumptin' Extra

Guess which hobby can keep you healthy and alive for longer?

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/people-who-live-100-longer-share-this-hobby-longevity-experts-say-it-can-add-years-to-life.html

*A lagniappe is something given as a bonus or extra gift.