As with our acorns, there seems to be a bumper crop of persimmons as well this time. I have trimmed out a few stand sites on three sides of two very large trees that are absolutely loaded. Just waiting for the frost and I'll place my stands and be there for sure.
Persimmons don't do well in da UP (MI). Dang it. Course, there would be bears aplenty.
ChuckC
I noticed that the few on our property were dropping like crazy already ...just laying there rotting.
Yeah, they are bitter until they get a frost. I ate one, yuck! The wife asked me why I looked like a goldfish when I got home.
If they are soft(ripe) you can eat them without the pucker factor but just give the a little taste first. If they are sweet the deer should be eating them.
Same here Tom. I have two persimmon trees on the farm I hunt. It can be fantastic hunting over them if you time it right.
My grandma made a pie out of persimmons about 50 years ago. I had a slice. I still have diarrhea...
^^^ Hahahaha ^^^
Have you ever split a persimmon seed to see what is inside? It is very slick and not east to hold until it dries for a few days. No joke just do it. It must be split on the thin side. I am sure I am not the only one to do this.
Where I hunt the persimmon trees are also loaded, and lots are ripe and falling. Seems early for them to be ripening though, I too thought they ripened and fell after a frost.
May just have been a coincidence around here or something. I'll check them in a week or two and see if the taste improves or there is some deer sign there. There were quit a few on the ground this weekend with no deer sign yet.
About three years in a drought year the Persimmons were ripe much earlier than usual. We have four persimmon groves where we hunt with 1-20 trees each in them. Just discovered the 20-tree patch last week! Some persimmons were on the ground due to wind but they were hard green.
I've put cameras by these persimmon trees in years past; possums, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, coyote, grey fox, and coyotes eat em.
I planted 4 persimmon trees last year. I would have planted more this spring if I hadn't screwed up my shoulder. I will plant more next spring. I will probably be pushing daisies before they bear any fruit though.
Jack
It must be a good year for them. I have some that I planted 5 years ago that are bearing fruit this year. Not much but a few fruits. They are ones that I have babied. The deer like to eat the ones I don't cage. Before this year I haven't seen any bear fruit before their 7th year.
Two varieties of persimmons.....astringent and non-astringent. One ripens before a frost, the other afterwards. I only know cause I had to pick a fruit to research in a production class in college....lol.
I never seen a persimmon until last year Charlie Lamb pointed one out. They were tasty and pretty neat. we don't get them up here but can see why the deer love em.
Be careful eating them before the frost. I have read that they have a certain level of toxicity to them.
I have a bunch of them on my place, but the crop is slight. Persimmons taste great when they are ripe, but, as others have stated, they are horrendous when green. I am seeing persimmon seeds in fox and coyote droppings, so at least some are producing decent fruit.
We had a bumper crop last year, but so did everyone else. I thought that I had hit the lottery, but the persimmons hit the ground and rotted on my place with very little deer sign around my groves. Guess they must have had conditions that they liked elsewhere better.
Makes a beautiful riser wood LOL
First time I ever saw them was in Missouri last year........deer kept them cleaned up........
If you can hunt all day persimmon patches are a great place to be near. Around here if the persimmons are dropping along with the pecans it can be good all day. I usually take either the second or third week or november off, persimmons, pecans and rutting bucks makes for some good action.
QuoteOriginally posted by kbetts:
Two varieties of persimmons.....astringent and non-astringent. One ripens before a frost, the other afterwards. I only know cause I had to pick a fruit to research in a production class in college....lol.
Cool because for years I have wondered why mine are gone by mid October before the first frost .
QuoteOriginally posted by nineworlds9:
Makes a beautiful riser wood LOL
Persimmon lumber is the only true ebony species that grows in North America. We love this lumber here in our shop, but it is difficult to find large trees to harvest. Persimmon also has male and female trees, which makes it more sensible to harvest the males and let the females stand. Premier lumber for reloading benches. LF
QuoteOriginally posted by kbetts:
Two varieties of persimmons.....astringent and non-astringent. One ripens before a frost, the other afterwards. I only know cause I had to pick a fruit to research in a production class in college....lol.
Interesting Kyle, Can I have both kinds on my places or are they regional specific?
I believe they are regionally specific. The types I've found most common are astringent varieties...ones that the flesh must be very soft and almost coming out of the skin to be edible. The non-astringent varieties can be sliced like an apple....never seen those before.
Early fruit drop is something that plagues persimmon varieties. Hence the reason we find them all over the ground weeks before they may get eaten.
I thought once they drop and are orange they are good to eat. It's when you pick them or they are still green they are sour
They are dropping now in south Ga. in the swamp. They are so ripe they bust when they hit the ground and are very good to eat. Deer and pigs run to them.RC
Early fruit drop is a problem with most persimmon varieties.....one of the reasons there are not tons of commercial growers. If you think the orange ones are ripe when they hit the ground....just try one.
Have plenty of them where I hunt, almost too many because they have so many options it can be hard to narrow down to the one they like best.
At least where I am, deer will walk by one tree to eat from beneath another.
Still very green, and will fall mid-October into the second or third week in November. That is if the coons don't get them first.