Pawpaw by Andrew Moore

Author:Andrew Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Published: 2015-07-24T13:55:47+00:00

Steve and I are lost. It’s okay, he tells me, it happens every time. We have GPS, but after a few minutes we conclude that for whatever reason the maps Steve downloaded won’t merge with the placemarks, so we’re looking at free-floating pinpoints with no context. Steve discovered the patch we’re looking for a year ago. It produced a good amount of fruit, even when other patches didn’t during last year’s hot, dry summer. The fruit wasn’t too bitter either, he says, and neither vibrant orange nor stark white.

One theory that Steve is contemplating is that the pawpaw may affect surrounding forest composition chemically via its Annonaceous acetogenins. Another factor might be leaf size: A dense patch of broad-leafed pawpaws could shade the forest floor to the exclusion of other species. In his Geauga County tramping, Steve notices that pawpaws overwhelmingly occur in the understory of beech, sugar maple, and black cherry. Kirk Pomper also suggests pawpaw might inhibit the spread of invasive exotics, such as Japanese honeysuckle. However, his research shows that only the largest, densest pawpaw colonies stand much of a chance in this fight.

We’re now following blue blazes because at least we know they will lead us to some destination, though Steve isn’t sure what that will be. We cross TRAIL CLOSED signs, ominous clouds hover above us (it has been raining for days), and a cool breeze blows, signaling more precipitation. Steve isn’t worried. After about a mile we stumble upon the next pawpaw patch. I’m getting hungry and have already eaten my apple, so I munch on the greens of as many ramps as I can pick, though it seems I could pick for days without doing much harm. In this forest, I can anecdotally confirm that ramps grow quite well at the roots of pawpaws. We collect the last of the day’s data and manage to beat the rain back to the stream and to the car.

We come out of the woods and return to Steve’s orchard. In addition to the trees he has ordered, he is raising trees from seed. KSU recommends sowing seeds to a three-centimeter depth (about an inch and a quarter) in a “moist, well-drained soil or other medium that has good aeration.” California grower Ray Jones observed that planting seeds one inch deep, with the small end up, and after a warm-water soak, worked best.11 And experiments have shown that germination is hastened by ten days if the soil is heated to 29 to 32 degrees Celsius (or 84.2 to 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit) after sowing.12 At least one OPGA member starts his seeds in containers in his basement, which are placed on heating pads. Taking things a step farther, Arkansas’s Blossom Nursery pre-germinates all seeds before planting its nursery stock in containers (and offers excess germinated seed for sale online). Because of its long taproot, pawpaws should be grown in tree pots—four-by-fourteen-inch containers are commonly used. Other less orthodox methods include PVC pipe and, my own method, ten-and-a-half-inch repurposed milk and juice cartons.

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