Growing unusual fruits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

And without them, we wouldn't have figs. They are less than 2mm long, they polinate the fig, and they don't sting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

Yup. This is why strict vegans do not eat figs.

My friend in Bethesda has a lot of success with persimmons, but I find them mushy and too sweet. Maybe the one plus side of climate change is that we will be able to grow more tropical fruits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

And honey is bee breast milk. Sometimes it’s best not to overthink.

It’s a tiny fruit fly sized wasp fyi

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, I am growing a pomegranate fruit tree!
Would love a persimmon, fig tree next.

Please tell me more about your experience growing a pomegranate fruit tree in this area. Do you have a hardy variety or do you grow it in a pot and keep it inside during very cold winters?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

Yup. This is why strict vegans do not eat figs.

My friend in Bethesda has a lot of success with persimmons, but I find them mushy and too sweet. Maybe the one plus side of climate change is that we will be able to grow more tropical fruits?

There are different species of persimmon (I have both, the previous owner planted them). Some are mushy and sweeter, some are crunchier and have what I would describe as a mild honey taste.

Persimmons are fine in my opinion. They're quite easy to grow but if I'm being honest I give away the vast majority of them.

[Anonymous]

Fruit is my hobby and I have grown everything mentioned in this discussion.

In this area persimmons are the easiest relatively popular fruit. They need full sun (like everything in this list except paw paws) but otherwise are almost care free. I fertilize and prune mine but they require no sprays.

Another increasingly popular option is the paw paw, a native fruit that requires no care and that is almost unique in that it can grow happily with only part sun. One catch is that they can take 5+ years to fruit.

Paw paws: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z4IMpar36fk&ra=m

Figs grow well here, particularly in DC/Arlington/Alexandria where it is slightly warmer. Farther north and west you can grow them but cold winters will kill them to the ground and they will regrow from the roots.

Pomegranates can be grown here but you need to pick a particularly cold hardy variety. (Not the variety Wonderful.) Salavatski or Nikitski Ranni are good options.

Kiwis grow here but need a strong trellis and will grow to house eating proportions if you don’t prune them. You need a male and a female. They take 5+ years to fruit but are otherwise easy. Local trivia… there is a variety called Dumbarton Oaks from DC.
https://raintreenursery.com/products/dumbarton-oaks-hardy-f-kiwi-gal-pot

There is a native passion fruit called a Maypop. They aren’t as tasty as the Asian ones but the flowers are just as beautiful and they can survive our winters. These require no care but beware, they are ravenous vines that spread beneath the ground. Plant in a large pot or an area you don’t mind being taken over.

[Anonymous]

If you can protect from birds, try blueberries! They grow well in a zone 7ish area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

And honey is bee breast milk. Sometimes it’s best not to overthink.

It’s a tiny fruit fly sized wasp fyi

Thank you - I was talked down then right back up then down again.
I have no problem eating a fruit fly sized bit of protein.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

And honey is bee breast milk. Sometimes it’s best not to overthink.

It’s a tiny fruit fly sized wasp fyi

Thank you - I was talked down then right back up then down again.
I have no problem eating a fruit fly sized bit of protein.

The wasp story is mostly untrue anyway, particularly in America.

https://www.foodandwine.com/are-there-wasps-in-figs-11800121

If you are growing figs in the DC area wasps in figs are not a thing, period. (Though sometimes bald faced hornets eat their way into over-ripe figs… but nobody is going to accidentally eat one of those)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew figs for years, until a super cold winter killed the tree. I grow currents now, along with crab apples. I make a current-crab apple jelly that is very nice.

I planted native plums last year and got one plum. Hoping for 3 or 4 this year!

I would love to grow figs but I get eeked out about wasps? And parts of wasps that are in the fig? Someone talk me down.

There are no wasp parts in figs! I never noticed that there were more wasps around my figs than around super ripe peaches or raspberries. Wasps like sugar, and figs are sugary. One thing you can do is pick the figs at the right time and not leave them on the tree to get overripe and split. Then the wasps really do like them. I interact with more wasps at a park picnic table than I ever do at my fig tree.

Wrong.
Any fig that is pollinated will have a dead wasp inside. You don’t notice it because the wasps are tiny and digested by the time you eat the fruit.

And honey is bee breast milk. Sometimes it’s best not to overthink.

It’s a tiny fruit fly sized wasp fyi

I'm a beekeeper and what in the world?! Bees process honey from flower nectar.