As the weather is getting colder we will be taking orders for fall shipping until mid December. We are offering some plants and cuttings on eBay treesofjoy listings.
The Pomegranate is one of the most ancient fruit that is cultivated today. It is native to the Middle East and central Asia. It is considered a sub tropical fruit; however it is widely adaptable to many climates.
The Spanish explorers brought the Pomegranates to the Caribbean and it adapted well to tropical climate. In the United States it grows well in California and other warm parts of the country zone 8 and warmer. Here in our garden I have evaluated several varieties of Pomegranates but only a few had survived the harsh winters in ground. I’m currently growing two varieties successfully, and one has been fruiting annually. It is an ongoing process of evaluating different varieties for cold hardiness.
Among the best candidates of Pomegranates varieties for cold climate are those collected from Central Asian countries, such as Salavatski, Kazakhe, and several others.
Salavatski variety did not only survive the past 5 winters unprotected, but it also has been setting a crop of delicious pomegranates. There are several other varieties I have been evaluating. You can visit our store for the available pomegranate varieties we currently have.
Salavatski has very delicious flavor with the right balance of sweetness and acidity.
It's the end of June and mulberry season is at its peak. Wild mulberry trees can be spotted everywhere, and they can be messy trees. Birds enjoy them and so do I. I have a few wild trees on our property as well as grafted types such as this "Illinois Everbearing". I enjoy the flavor of the mulberry specially those that have a good balance of sweet and tartness with that unique mulberry flavor. As a young boy I remember helping my mother gather mulberry fruit and make a delicious drink. Besides eating the mulberry fresh, I decided to try it for myself.
Gathering mulberry can be messy and time consuming, but the quickest way to gather them, is by placing a tarp or a cloth on the ground and give the tree and individual branches a good shake and then gather the tarp and place them into a bowl.
Rinse them in cold water for a minute or two. Then process them in a strainer to remove the seeds and stems.
Measure the juice and add 3/4 to 1 cup Sugar for every cup of juice. Add to a pot and place on medium heat.
Cut a lemon in half and allow to boil on low heat for 5 more minutes.
Allow mixture to cool down, then strain any remaining seeds.
Syrup can be stored in fridge and can be made into a refreshing delicious drink, by placing a small amount in a cup and add enough water to dilute it.
Enjoy
Bass Samaan
Black Walnut preserve
I adapted a recipe for English walnut preserve that is popular in Turkey and Greece. There are many variations to it. I have a few black walnut trees growing wild on my property and they are very common in the Northeast.
ingredients:
- 30 green Black Walnuts (picked when they're very young, do not use ones that already hardened. I picked these in mind June)
- 1/2 lbs of pickling lime (Calcium Hydroxide) It gives a nice crunchy texture to the walnuts.
- 2 cups of sugar
- 6 cups of water
- 1/2 tsb whole cardamom
- 1 Lemon
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Pick the black walnuts early in season, usually June/July in our area. You need about 25-30.
- Peel the skin, and poke them with a fork.
- Soak them in a bucket of cold water. and change the water regularly, about twice a day for 7 days, you'll notice the water will get darker every day, and the walnuts will change color.
- 7 Days later, mix the pickling lime with about 8 cups of water and cover the walnuts with and let them soak for one day stirring occasionally. The walnuts will start turning black.
- The following day, drain all the pickling lime and wash the walnuts thoroughly in cold water.
- Place the walnuts in a pot, and add the sugar then the 6 cups of water. Place over high heat, stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Slow down the heat and allow to simmer for 2 hrs over low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Cut the Lemon in half and add to the mixture along with Cardamom.
- Keep simmering for about 30 minutes. check on the walnuts, they should be soft, but a little crispy. You may have to add about 1/2 cup of water to boil them longer if needed.
Once done remove the walnuts and place in jars, and pour the syrup in it. Let it cool. They can be placed on the counter for about a week until the walnuts are ready.
They are best served chilled. Enjoy
By: Bass Samaan
Fig trees are subtropical trees, but they can grow successfully in cold climate if protected in winter. There are several methods to protecting the fig tree, Some growers bury the tree, some wrap it with different materials. If the tree is only a year or two old, it’s safer to bend the tree to the ground and cover it with mulch or other material, however as the tree matures it’s harder to bend down.This is a method that has worked for me successfully.
The planting location is very important in cold regions. Choose a spot that gets enough sun and close to a wall or a structure. The tree benefits from the warmth of the wall in winter, and it is less exposed to frigid wind. An ideal spot is a south facing wall.
Wrap the tree in mid November or anytime after the tree has been exposed to freeze and has lost its leaves. Wrapping it too early, you run the risk of mold.
This is a good time to prune the tree so it is easier to wrap. Select 3-4 trunks and prune all others. This allows enough sun to get to the fruit the following growing season.
Next tie the branches together.
To avoid mice damage during winter, I add a container filled with Moth balls. I used to get severe mice damage before I started using the moth balls, it really works. Place at least 2 to 3 containers, you can use plastic yogurt containers and puncture several holes.
Next, wrap the tree with an old piece of carpet. You can use even a bigger carpet that can cover the entire tree.
Finally wrap the entire tree with a tarp. It’s important not to use a black or a clear plastic, in order to avoid heat build up on a sunny day. You can find different colors at any hardware store. The tarp usually has tiny holes that allows the heat to escape in winter. Some growers leave the top open and place a pot in top of it to allow the heat to escape, it’s up to you.
After wrapping it with the tarp, tie it together.
It is important not to keep the wrapping material on when the weather warms up in spring. The best time to unwrap it is when temperatures stay above 25°F which is usually done in end of March in Pennsylvania. When you unwrap the fig tree in spring you may notice some of the tips are brown, those can be pruned off due to winter damage.
As our passion for growing fruit trees grew, our collection of fruit trees have grown. We've moved to a bigger property near Bethlehem, Pa. 3 miles from our previous location.
We've built a new greenhouse and planted a small orchard of pawpaw, persimmons, jujube, and figs. We will keep you updated on our progress.
Here's a method that has been practiced for hundred of years to hasten the ripening of figs. I have done this with success and the figs were about 1-2 weeks earlier than normal. A few fig growers benefit with this process which allows them to sell their fresh figs 2 weeks ahead of normal fig season.
First I chose a fig that is almost full size, and took a a cotton and soaked it with Olive oil. I rubbed a little of the olive oil on the fig. I only did this on one fig to compare the results. This is the breba crop (the first crop) of the Vista variety.
2 days later, the fig that had the oil was looking larger and darker.
6 days after the fig has been rubbed with oil it is now ready to be picked. Make sure when rubbing oil you're only applying it very lightly. This can be done on the breba or the main crop, but make sure that the timing is done on figs that are not yet developed attainable size. Once the figs are about 2-3 weeks away from being fully ripe. This is done in in the heat of the summer, rubbing oil in fall or when the weather is cool will not have the same results.
Figs are commonly propagated by using dormant cuttings, however there are occasions when you come across a fig that I need to propagate in mid summer using softwood cuttings. Here’s the method I’ve been using and found successful.
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A branch broke off of one of my valuable trees and I didn’t want to lose these cuttings.
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Cut the branch into cuttings 6"-8" inches long.
- Keep about one leaf on and cut it in half.
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Dip the cuttings in rooting hormone powder.
- Prepare the rooting mixture, I use half perlite and half professional potting mix.
- Place the cuttings in a 1 gallon size pot with the soil mixture. You can put up to 5 cuttings to a pot.
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Place a bamboo stick in the middle of the pot that is about twice the height of the cuttings.
- Water the cuttings well.
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Then place a large ziplock bag over the cuttings.
- The Bamboo stick keep the plastic bag up as the leaves grow.
- Seal the ziplock bag.
- Next place the cuttings in a warm but shady spot. If it is left in the sun the cuttings will dry up and burn.
- Water only about once a week, you will notice the soil will not dry up quickly.
- After about 2 weeks new leaves will emerge.
- About 3 weeks later, the cuttings will be rooted.
- Remove the bag after 3-4 weeks, and keep the cuttings in semi shade to harden off for about a week.
- A month later the cuttings can be repotted into individual pots.
This is a pot of cuttings that was started about 3 weeks ago in the same way. You will notice that they have rooted quicker than the hard wood cutting in the same pot.
Bass
Certain class of figs is referred to as a Smyrna type. It requires pollination by the fig wasp. The process of pollinating the figs is referred to as "Caprification". The fig wasp can only be found in the Mediterranean region, but in early 1900's it was imported to California from Turkey.
Here's the common method used in Syria.
In the middle of June, fig growers in Kefranbel, Syria work on pollinating their fig trees. They do so by picking the male figs and hook them on a string and later hang them on fig trees that require pollination.
The locals buy the male figs (aka Capri fig) from merchants that bring their male figs from a different town, since the local capri fig ripens late.
Here's the Capri figs for sale at the town market. You can see small insects emerging from the figs, these are the fig wasps.
After purchasing a quantity of the Capri figs they are carried over to the fig orchards to begin the process. The whole family is gathered to help.
A metal string is inserted into the figs, about 8 figs to a string.
Later the string figs are taken to be hung on the tree branches to start the method of pollinating the figs.
The male stringed figs are then thrown on the tree, aiming towards the middle or the top of the tree is ideal.
The male figs remain hung on the tree for 3-5 days as the wasps continue to emerge and pollinate the figs.
The pollinated figs continue to grow developing a large size.
Within the next two months the pollinated figs are ready to be picked. Pollinated figs are of known to be of excellent quality. Too many stringed male figs on the tree can cause spoilage, too little and the unpollinated figs of the smyrna type will drop without maturing.
We first learned about the Cudrania tricuspidata aka Che several years ago and decided to grow it. We planted a tree and after a few years we harvested a tasty crop. It is related to Osage Orange, Mulberry, and Figs. It has several other names including Che, Chinese Che, Chinese Mulberry, Cudrang, Mandarin Melon Berry, Silkworm Thorn.
It is native to Eastern China and is common in Japan. In China, the leaves of the Che serve as a backup food for silkworms when mulberry leaves are in short supply. The tree was introduced into England and other parts of Europe around 1872, and into the U.S. around 1930.
The deciduous tree have the potential of growing to 25 ft. tall, but it can easily be trained as a bush or a small tree. The tree in our garden survived cold temperatures reaching -10º F. I’ve heard reports of it surviving -20º F. The fruit requires good amount of heat to ripen, in our Pennsylvania garden fruit begins ripening around the end of October. Areas with short summer season may not get the fruit to fully ripen. It's also drought tolerant.
The che is dioecious with male and female flowers on separate trees. Which means a male and a female tree has to grow side by side to bear. However there is a variety known as Seedless Che, which bears fruit with out the help of a mate. We grow the Seedless che in our garden. Some of the differences between the seedless and seeded Che is that the size. Seeded Che tend to have bigger fruit and tend to have 3-6 seeds per fruit.
while the seedless Che variety tend to drop most of its crop when tree is still young.
The flavor of the che is somewhat like watermelon, cotton candy, or mulberry. The fruit is ripe when it’s it’s deep red/maroon color and a somewhat soft. Unripe fruit contains a milky sap, resembling an unripe fig.
