SC - Re: Beestings--where do you get them?

[Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir]

I believe Pawpaws are a new-world food, and others might possibly
appreciate it if we carried this discussion to email only??  PawPaws I have
been told are the North American banana. 

>Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 18:46:47 EST
>From: ChannonM at aol.com
>Subject: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #1907
>
>In a message dated 2/22/00 3:36:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
>owner-sca-cooks at ansteorra.org writes:
>
><< Would anyone on the
> list be interested in splitting pound lots of seeds for the following
> species?: >>
> I will be very interested in about a year. We will be moving from Canada to 
>the US this year and I will be looking for some decent property to start a 
>period garden. I suppose I could consider buying the seed and waiting. But 
>would waiting a year, possibly two be too long?
>
>Hauviette
>

For the PawPaw seeds, yes, it would be too long.  The seeds MUST be kept
moist (or frozen) or they will die.  And I don't think they can be frozen
more than 6 months? or they will still die.  They are terribly finicky.
And difficult to grow as well.  I had specific growing instructions from a
Paw Paw grower in Michigian at one time, but haven't seen that article.  I
had ordered seeds from them, and they sent me the 5-10 seeds with very
specific instructions.  NONE of the seeds I got from them germinated.  I
got a second batch of seeds (about 15 seeds) from someone who had a fresh
paw paw fruit, and after overwintering in pots outside, I got two seedlings
from the batch.  Both my seedlings died in the summer heat that same year.
The seedlings like shade and moisture.  But the adults like part-full sun.
(Not sure how that works exactly...)  They are also reputed to produce
"suckers" which can be separated and produce fruit as individual trees as
well.

I have yet to obtain a plant though, and am anxious to add one to my edible
landscape I'm trying to create here.

- -Laurene