Persimmon and Pomegranate Festival

I went to Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA (http://ediblelandscaping.com/) a plant nursery dedicated to finding, growing and selling plants with edible parts.  Some of these are plants for outside landscaping, some are indoor or greenhouse plants (or need overwintering), and some are for dreamers (they will produce a little, but are great conversation starters!).  I have written about this nursery before, and I am enamoured of its organic practices and mission.  This last weekend (Oct. 26, 2013), the nursery held a "Pomegranate and Persimmon" festival, which included tours of these (and many other) plants.  My favorite plant sold at Edible is the Ichi Ki Kei Jiro persimmon (fondly called "Itchy" at the nursery. Search persimmon entries on this blog for more informatiom). This seemed to be a big favorite during the festival, and were all sold out!  Here are some images with captions and my new acquisitions!

I did not purchase the plant in the photo below, but I will one day soon: a pineapple plant (Ananas comosas).  This is a bromeliad and the main plant dies after fruiting, but see the sprouts below the pineapple in the top photo? These are new plants that can be potted up to start it all over again!

This is an edible cactus: both the fruits and the large paddles are edible (with care taken to avoid and remove the spines!).  The paddles are the basis of dish nopales in Latin American cooking) (Opuntia tuna, the native Prickly Pear cactus):

This is the Hachyia Asian persimmons (Diospyros kaki), a persimmon that must be eaten soft. Gorgeous!  It can stay on the tree and take some frost.

Unfortunately, what I thought was a fully charged camera was not, so I so not have more photos of the festival to show you (search this blog for Edible Landscaping for more photos).  But....

...below here are my two new friends, the taller is a coffee plant (Coffee arabica) and, yes, if I am lucky and diligent, I can make a cup of coffee from it...eventually!  The shorter plant is a Owari Satsuma Mandarin (similar to a tangerine) (Citrus reticulata).  I am able to get fruit from my other citrus, so am hopeful about this one!  Both are waiting to be repotted and placed under lights in my attic.

Go online and look for these fun and unusual festivals in your region!
Happy gardening!

Edible Landscaping Field Trip Report

Edible Landscaping Field Trip [photos above: Che fruit, Pakistan pomegranate, hardy fuzzy kiwi]
On September 20, 2008, I made my second trip to Edible Landscaping (EL) in Afton, VA. My first trip there was over the summer and I was incredibly impressed by the passion shown by the people there and by the place itself. I consider myself to be a knowledgeable gardener, but I was introduced to some great plants I had never seen before, or varieties I had not experienced.

First off, it is a lovely place, at the foot of Afton Mountain in the Shenandoah Valley. Can’t get much lovelier than this! As you wind up the little hill, you pass an adorable pond and private home with little bark-covered outbuildings. When you get to the nursery, you see several large greenhouses, which you quickly learn are stuffed with seedlings.

The first plants I noticed were figs. EL has a nice collection of fig varieties, not just the brown turkey that is grown widely here (thought I love my brown turkeys, don’t get me wrong!) I show several photos in the blog. Two unusual and lovely figs grown here are LSU Purple and a green variety, Conadria. They also have hardier varieties, including Hardy Chicago. Figs are nutritious, taste great and the lovely leaves make it a great landscape plant.

An oddity I encountered at E.L. was Che fruit. The fruit grows right on the branches of the tree, in clusters. It looks like a cross between a raspberry and strawberry, but tastes like neither. It is small, but has a crisp bite similar to an apple, with apple and kiwi flavors. I need a few more acres! I would love to grow this fruit!

I usually don’t care for Asian pears, one of the few fruits I’ve met and have not liked. But one variety they have, Shinko, is great- not too perfumey, good crisp bite, nice flavor. The plant is lovely, with the golden bronze pears. I would plant this if I had the room!

Paw paws are an under appreciated fruit. They are native to our country, relatively pest and disease free, and, according to Pierre at EL, if the leader is cut, the tree stays within bounds (or it can get 40 feet tall). The fruit is oblong and green, with cream flesh and large seeds in the center, and earns its nickname “banana custard.” It has a sweet, banana-like flavor, though it not at all cloying.

One of the most exciting plants was the kiwi. EL has several varieties, including a hardy version of the large fuzzy kiwi, Saanichton. This plant produces kiwis similar to the large, fuzzy ones you buy at the grocery. It does need some time past our frost date to soften, so is picked unripe. I have one on my counter that I got at EL and it is still not ripe, about 2 weeks later. They also carry the small, hardy kiwi (Issai among others) that is smaller and smooth and tastes just as good as his bigger cousin, and will ripen in season.

There are so many other plants to write about- the green tea camellia, rose hips, passion flower, fragrant hops, pomegranate, persimmon, all sorts of berries, but you just might have to take a trip yourself to experience these wonders! Visit EL at http://www.ediblelandscaping.com/