Posted on 09/01/2024 6:06:00 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Sorry I just reread your earlier post. Central Indiana, great. There is a facebook page for paw paw growers. It’s harvest time now I would ask there.
The only other ‘exotic’ this season was a Katydid - but a big one. Last year I saw one too, but much smaller.
Haven’t seen a Walking Stick since I was a kid! Well, maybe I HAVE, but they’re SO well camouflaged. ;)
Dahlias would be beautiful! I have only had medium luck with them at this house. I just need more sun, which it sounds like you have plenty of. I don’t have much experience with snapdragons but I think they have a nice place in the garden and in arrangements. It’s cool that your mom likes to have so many zinnias that she can give away extras as gifts. That’s cool.
Thank you! I learn so much from everyone here.
I can understand why people might think I’m in a warmer climate. I am a native of Florida, and my ways are pretty southern at heart, but I’ve been in the Midwest for about 35 years now. Still learning new things every day.
I had to look up stratify. Makes sense. Thanks for that tip. I had no idea when it came to seeds.
Here is link to info on pawpaw festivals out there. (I have never tasted a paw paw, so this is all academic for me!)
Unlike supermarket fruit, things like pawpaws and figs do not ship well. You almost need to grow them to have a ripe one. Wild varieties have lots of seeds. Cultivated and named varieties have fewer seeds and are larger than wild. Note....Pawpaws are also tolerant of juglone, allowing them to be planted in the shade of walnuts!
Sunflower PawPaws are self fertile so you only need one of them. Do a search for nurseries, lots of different prices for this variety. (Checked Jungs, Out of Stock now and do not offer this variety, but they do sell pairs of Paw Paw trees.) Raintree Nursery Sunflower PawPaw "One of the rare partially self-fertile paw paw varieties! A well-known and exceptionally hardy northern selection from Kansas with large, flavorful fruit tasting of mango, apricot, pineapple, banana and vanilla. Ripens later than most varieties." (More on hardiness and required cold day hours at link) Peterson Paw Paws
Info on other varieties and links to other nurseries that sell them.
Here is a discussion about benefits (and toxicity) of Pawpaws: (Eat them sparingly!)
Here is a discussion regarding the neurotoxic compound the fruit contains:
Annonacin in Asimina triloba fruit: implication for neurotoxicity
"Discussion: Pawpaw fruit contains a high concentration of annonacin, which is toxic to cortical neurons. Crude fruit extract also induced neurotoxicity, highlighting the need for additional studies to determine the potential risks of neurodegeneration associated with chronic exposure to pawpaw products. "
Here is a link showing research by Kentucky State University on PawPaws use in chemotherapy and as pesticides!
Other things I found here; Wheelhouse and assassin bugs, and Preying mantises, gardener friendlies! I have lacewings about, and have even found their egg cases on a cucumber plant. What I want is something in concentrations that will take out all the cucumber beetles that are damaging both squash, okra, and tomato plants. I have even found them eating cauliflower plants, as if there is not enough problem with cabbage loopers already! (See the earlier paw paw post...KSU is are looking at using chemical compounds from pawpaws as a possible control for cucumber beetles!)
Being in Central Indiana I would store them in your garage, unattached is fine. I follow my Chicago upbringing, Dad always made great sauerkraut in his unattached garage and stored his seeds there too. In west Michigan it has to be the attached garage (not quite so cold). NI never store seeds in plastic or bottles, always halfs of discarded mail paper envelopes . Lots of room to write on. And any leftover moisture in the seeds will wick away.
Thanks for this valuable info. I, too, have never tasted a pawpaw before, but I am intrigued by the description I’ve read. Like a banana mango as I understand it.
Thanks for the tips! Will do!
What is the name of the plant that has purple garlic growing from the top of the stem, sort of hanging in the air, rather than in the ground? My sister sent me a root from hers along with a photo and I’d like to care for it properly. She doesn’t know what it is either, except to say that the stem tastes like chives/onion and the garlic grows out from the top of the stem in the air. A photo of her plant will follow.
Looks just like Egyptian walking onion. We have been growing them for years. The little bulbs are seeds for a new plant. If you just have the plant and it has roots I would plant it and break off the bulbs and plant them too.
I agree with what Mom said. :)
The white part will just keep getting bigger if you don’t eat it. When mature like that the white part can be chopped and eaten. I have had some older shoots get almost as big as a leek. The greens are very tasty when young and tender. I am in west Michigan and they root deep and stay alive all year long, new shoots coming up even through the snow. You’ll always have onions.
Thank you for the response. So the purple hanging bulbs/cloves are NOT garlic? My sister 1100 miles away swore it was garlic. It’s all onions?
They taste a bit like garlic. Closer to shallots. If I have a bunch of big ones I will peel them and use the like shallots. But no they are onions.
Well, if she planted an onion, the bulbs on top will produce more onions.
If she says planted garlic, it’s then garlic.
They do look similar, but these ‘baby bulbs’ are bigger than what garlic would normally produce, so our first guess was a ‘walking onion’ or regular onion of some type.
I’d call her for clarification.
I took all advice and talked to my sister ON THE PHONE (not by text) and she cut into one of the hanging bulbs. She’s confirmed that it’s onion, not garlic. The woman who gave her the plant told her it was a “garlic and chives” (??) combo plant. After further discussion, my sister added that her friend had brain surgery a year ago and lost some brain function and some sense of taste afterwards. I wish I’d known all of that before I made a single post today 🙄 Thanks to all of you for your help. It’s Egyptian or Walking Onion and now I know how to grow and care for it.
I have had My patch forever and always glad to have them on hand. a couple of years I had let some get huge almost leek size. I tossed the white part in oil and seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled them. YUMMY.
Another mystery solved thanks to Free Republic and The Garden Thread, LOL!
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