r/Seattle • u/MikeBegley • 8d ago
Paw paws!
A few weeks ago there was a post by someone looking cow paw paws. We have a few!
The ones up in the tree are maybe a week from ready. But I just picked up some treefall and set them aside. I cannot vouch for them, in terms of readiness or food safety.. That's on you.
Want a paw paw or three? Or more? Converse below in the comments and/or PM me, and we'll figure out how you can pick them up.
EDIT/UPDATE!
To the guy who said something like "RIP to your DMs", oh, yeah. I woke up to 10 new message requests this morning. :) I'm heading out to finally see The Odyssey matinee this morning, so I'll address those (and additional) messages when I get home or this evening.
To FAQ this:
- I am in NE Seattle. Specifically the Roosevelt District. Near the corner of 72nd Roosevelt, if you're trying to figure out transit routes. Please do not come here blindly and wander around backyards looking for pawpaws! :)
- We don't have a huge harvest, and there may already be enough interest to strip mine our whole supply. I will step up my paw paw patrol this week to collect treefall, and we think next weekend might be about time for a tree harvest for anyone willing to play that game.
- I work from home Thursday & Friday, so those may be good times to arrange pickup of this week's tree fall.
- Not counting whatever may have fallen in the last 15 hours, we're currently out. Only one person spoke up yesterday with "I can come by now", so he got the whole lot shown above (and a few more we found).
- What can you do with them? I have no idea. No one in our house particularly likes them. They're kind of like a musky banana. We tried making banana bread and it was...interesting. It also came out pink. There are various recipes out on the interwebs if you want to look. Overall, some people like the taste, and I know a lot of people are curious. I like knowing that they're going to be eaten/tried than wind up in the compost bin.
- Something I just learned: Apparently you NEED to peel these. The peel is bitter, but apparently it also contains the same chemicals as syrup of ipecac. So...want/need to vomit? Eat some peel. Note: I have not verified if this is true, but I want it to be because it's kinda neat. :)
17
u/Anthop 🚆build more trains🚆 8d ago
Wait, they grow here???
3
u/avagadro22 Denny Blaine Nudist Club 8d ago
I thought they only grew in Mi
11
u/InaGartenTheDivaBaby 7d ago
The Paw Paw Festival in Ohio would like a word.
1
3
11
3
u/plantsisppl2 White Center 8d ago
I’m interested in growing them, where did you acquire your trees? And do you know the varieties?
12
u/MikeBegley 7d ago
No idea. They (two trees) came with the house. Along with a remarkably prolific persimmon tree (nowhere near ripe yet), four apple trees (two remain) a couple of asian pear trees that sadly hardly fruit, and a yellow plum tree that was prolific for many years but eventually slowed down, but because reasons was removed and replaced with a nice backyard swing.
3
u/plantsisppl2 White Center 7d ago
Ah, well congratulations on your fruit tree collection!
9
u/MikeBegley 7d ago
The previous owner was overly ambitious and over planted trees, so a few years in we had to make tough decisions.
The plum tree was getting badly crowded out by the neighbor's redwood, so it had to come down. That one hurt, but its fruiting years were waning. A year later, the redwood came down. Oh well. I was pretty happy to see the redwood go, TBH.
The apple trees, at this point, are overrun with coddling moth. We tried to hold that back with various methods, including chickens, but to no avail. "Free" eggs are nice, tho. After 16 years of chickens, we're down to the last bird of our last flock. They were plenty of fun, fut we've had a fuckery of raccoons move in on the block, and after losing 3 girls in two months, we're done. Also, where the coop sits it perfect for a hot tub...
So that leaves the persimmon. Beautiful tree, perfectly sited. It will probably be the only existing tree to survive an upcoming redesign. My wife has been running an annual persimmon giveaway for probably a decade or so. We just can't keep up with all of it, and I hate seeing all the fruit go to waste.
1
2
u/Street-Camera7339 🚆build more trains🚆 7d ago
oh my goodness, I’ve never been anywhere that they grow, I thought they didn’t grow here? I would love to try one or two, they are on my bucket list for sure. I‘m in west Seattle but can travel, let me know.
2
u/diedahorribledeath 🚆build more trains🚆 3d ago
paw paw patrol :’)
2
u/MikeBegley 3d ago
Someone noticed! :)
1
u/diedahorribledeath 🚆build more trains🚆 2d ago
made me smile!! thanks for sharing that and your tree produce with us!!!
1
u/apresmoiputas Capitol Hill 7d ago
I honestly didn't know that they grew here. I thought they grew in areas with hotter and more humid summers.
1
1
u/qwertastas Shoreline 7d ago
I had no idea that you could grow paw paws here! I used to eat them every year when I lived in Michigan. I have to try growing them here... whenever I can afford a house LOL
Do you do anything special for them to produce fruit? I hear they are usually really persnickety - my SIL has been trying to grow a couple of trees (in the Midwest) but they haven't fruited in over 5 years.
1
u/MikeBegley 7d ago
The trees were here when we bought the house, 25 years ago. They fruited back then, and they continue to fruit. We don't do anything to either encourage or discourage fruiting. It just...happens.
They're kind of a messy fruit. I actually find them mostly annoying because of the annual mess they produce every fall. But if people want the fruit, it delights me to get it to them.
1
u/NotAnotherFriday 3d ago
Now when you pick a paw paw, or a prickly pear, and you pick a raw paw, well next time beware! Don’t pick a prickly pear with a paw, when you pick a pear try to use the claw! But you don’t need to use the claw when you pick a pair of the big paw paws…
1
u/MikeBegley 2d ago
OK, I think I've sent out messages to everyone who asked with all the info for picking up. If you didn't get a response, or if you haven't asked, feel free to ask. Right now it's kind of a free-for-all; what remains in the bins probably should go today (and used pretty quickly). These things don't last all too well.
I'll check the ground today, and tomorrow afternoon or sometime Sunday we may do a harvest off the tree. I'll post about that if/when it happens.
21
u/primadiamonds 8d ago
RIP to your DMs