For the Love of Pawpaws
A Mini Manual for Growing and Caring for Paw Paws–From Seed to Table
By Michael Judd, Ecologia, August, 2019
I spend quite a lot of time in one of several U.S. towns called Paw Paw (or Pawpaw), but it wasn’t until a year or so ago that I learned the name comes from a fruit that looks a lot like a mango but grows wild in the eastern and central U.S. It is also cultivated. We don’t see pawpaws in stores because they bruise easily, ripen quickly and are only ripe for a few days before they begin to go bad. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of food item that many of us want to try at a time when the Travel Channel and Food Network have made us yearn for the exotic and unusual.
“For the Love of Pawpaws” by Michael Judd is one of several books that have been published about the fruit in the last few years. I chose it from among the various offerings because it seemed to cover every aspect that I could think of about pawpaws – how to grow, harvest, and buy and sell them. It even has several recipes – and lots of photos and illustrations.
The book proved to be a good choice and one I will hang onto as I consider whether I might want to try growing some pawpaws. I bought some frozen pawpaw puree from one of the vendors in the book and it was quite tasty. What makes me hesitate about trying to grow some is that you have to grow at least two for cross pollination, and it takes eight years before you get any fruit.
Perhaps I’ll try finding some pawpaws in the wild first – and the book offers some tips about that, too. Like with wild asparagus, it’s a good idea to look for wild pawpaws in the late fall, then remember to go back to where you saw them at harvest time the next year.
Part of the book’s appeal comes from the author himself, who brings tremendous enthusiasm for doing things organically and in an eco-friendly manner – and not just for growing pawpaws. The book touches on a range of other activities that he and his family are engaged in on 25 acres in Maryland, and he applies what he has learned about mulching, fertilizing and more to the growing of pawpaws.
I might even pick up his other book, “Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist.”
Reviewed by Joan Engebretson, who, when not writing, spends time cooking and gardening in Chicago.
