Planting a few fruit trees has got to be the easiest way to grow your own food. Fruit trees are easily added to any landscape (assuming your yard is large enough) and require little to now maintenance. In Alpharetta, one of the easiest fruit trees to grow is the pawpaw.
About The Pawpaw
The pawpaw is a fruit tree native to eastern North America that seldom reaches 25 feet. The species grown in the south are often evergreen with large, attractive, dark green leaves. The fruit is a large edible berry weighing up to 2 pounds and has a flavor that is sweet, fragrant and complex, with a lingering aftertaste (similar to both banana and mango).
Why Grow Pawpaws In Your Backyard
The pawpaw is a great tree to grow in your backyard because it is a native fruit with few pests (easy to grow organically) and it is relatively low maintenance once planted. Pawpaws are excellent fresh but if you ever get tired of eating fresh pawpaw try some of these pawpaw recipes, substitute them for bananas in any recipe, brew some pawpaw beer, give them out to your family and friends, or sell them at a farmers market.
How To Grow Pawpaws
Find a place in your yard that gets full to partial sun (pawpaws will fruit in the shade but perform best in full-sun) that has some protection from wind.
Pawpaws prefer to grow in slightly acidic, deep, fertile, and well-drained soils so make sure to test and amend your soil before planting the trees (this little bit of work up front will be rewarded with a stronger, faster growing tree bothered by few pests).
One downside of pawpaws is they are poor pollinators, so plant at least two to ensure good pollination.
Check out TyTy Nursery to buy your pawpaw trees.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Purdue University - Growing Pawpaws
Image Source: USDA ARS Image Number K7575-8
2 comments:
Hey Mike - Wonderful idea! We are also considering buying fig trees as our family Xmas present this year.
Does anyone know where pawpaws can be purchased (the fruit, not the trees) in the Metro ATL area?
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