|
Post by dvg on Apr 12, 2018 14:06:07 GMT -5
A friend with some Asimina triloba trees in his back yard was kind enough to send out some of the rather large seeds from last year's fruit.
The seeds are larger than a kidney bean and are currently doing a soak for better germination before they are sown.
They've just come out of cold stratification in the fridge, so hopefully in a few weeks or a couple of month's time, some of these Hillbilly Mangoes will be pushing up though the soil.
Plan to put them in a warm damp environment between 75F to 80F for germination.
Going to take some pics of the seeds and follow up with an update once the seedlings pop up.
dvg
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Apr 15, 2018 15:43:36 GMT -5
Paw Paw seeds, post-presoak, prior to sowing. dvg
|
|
|
Post by shoggoths on Apr 16, 2018 7:42:49 GMT -5
Nice, Last year, I planted hardy kiwi shrubs in the bakcyard. At the same time, I saw a Paw Paw tree which looks very interesting but I do not have the right spot for it Good luck with them. Looking to see you on the new forum.
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Apr 17, 2018 11:18:41 GMT -5
Hi Shog, yeah some cultivars of hardy kiwi can be quite productive. A mature vine of one hardy variety claims to produce up to a thousand kiwi fruit. Another hardy fruit bush of interest is Lonicera caerulea , commonly known as haskap or honey berry. It's basically an edible honeysuckle, native to Siberia. It is hardy to -47C and bears blue fruit in July and August. It can bear fruit in its second season and after 5 to 6 years, each bush can produce 8 to 10 pounds of fruit. The haskap: From Russia with Love. dvg
|
|
|
Post by shoggoths on Apr 17, 2018 12:29:29 GMT -5
Great, thank for the info DVG. I'll see if I can fit two of them beside the kiwi
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Apr 21, 2018 9:54:02 GMT -5
Haskap does very well in La Belle province.
Quebec had a record crop of them last year, trailing only Saskatchewan and Alberta in overall production.
The cultivars 'Borealis' and 'Aurora' are selections that were bred to go together.
They are both compatible for one another as pollinators and they do flower at the same time as each other.
dvg
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Jun 23, 2018 13:51:32 GMT -5
Have had some success with the germination of some of these seeds so far.
Seven of the twelve seeds have sent out large tap roots.
Apparently these seeds will send down a large tap root deep into the ground before the seed coat is shed and the cotyledon leaves finally work their way up through the soil surface.
These seeds were germinated under tissue paper, in front of a south facing window in the open air.
They were misted a few times daily to ensure moisture levels were adequate.
Going to pot all of these up tomorrow into soil in small pots, time permitting.
Will try to post pics when the leaves start peeking through the tops of the pots.
dvg
|
|
|
Post by lloyd on Jun 27, 2018 17:23:59 GMT -5
I'll wait for the leaves to show.
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Aug 13, 2018 12:26:42 GMT -5
So these Paw Paw seeds ended up staying under the tissue in a south facing window until today. For the past week or so, had noticed green leaves trying to push their way up through the tissue paper and one was succeeding in breaking through! Of the twelve seeds, ten of them had germinated and a few had green leaves either showing or emerging out of their seed casing. They were carefully extracted from the damp tissue and once again carefully potted up. If i were to do this again, the seeds will be sown into soil media immediately and placed inside a dome, over a heating mat. Apparently, with a heating mat providing temperatures of 85F (~30C), germination of these seeds can be accomplished in as little as two weeks, according to the link below. permaculturemag.org/2018/03/paw-paw/Will provide some pics soon! dvg
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Aug 13, 2018 16:33:23 GMT -5
The emerging leaves look similar to small strips of iceberg lettuce. The tap root seems to be wrapped in between and within the unfurling leaves. [ It looks like a convoluted process for the seed to sort out its leaves from its tap root, so best to leave it to nature to solve this problem by itself - it does have the expertise for favorable outcomes, when it comes to these types of situations. dvg
|
|