More f'me more fuyu.

[rubato]

But mostly more Fuyu.

More than we've ever had before. A wealth of large orange fuyu weighing down the branches until I was worried they would break. The heaviest yield is on the side facing the beehive and it woud be tempting to assign that as the cause except that side always has more fruit even when there was no hive. It is also the south-facing side so perhaps that is why unless there is a mystery hidden in the tree's plumbing which causes it. I picked off 20 lbs to take some weight off the branches and I'll pick some more later today when I have some shoes on. I really do need to stop working in that area barefoot, there are a lot of 'walkers' around there and when you step on them they really give it their all when they sting you. I like running around the yard barefoot and don't think I have learned my lesson yet.

I don't actually care much for fuyu so it is nearly all going to be gifted away in the coming weeks. I like a little thinly sliced in a salad where the astringency balances well with the other flavors but I cannot eat a whole fuyu by itself.

The yield varies a lot from year to year and finally one of my Chinese colleagues told me that the secret was heavier fertilizing in the winter. Seems to work. I have to trim the tree every winter to keep it 'right-sized' for the yard. It turns a spectacular flame-orange in the fall after which the leaves all drop in about a week leaving a circle of orange fire on the ground.



yrs,
rubato

[BoSoxGal]

pics?

[Joe Guy]

I have a tree that has produced hundreds of Hachiya persimmons.

I have two Fuyu trees and between the two of them I might have about 20 total if the squirrels don't eat them before I pick them. Fuyu is my favorite because it isn't astringent like the Hachiya so it doesn't attack my taste buds and make my face pucker up, twist and sputter.

They are nutritious fruits. Some people don't even know what they are but those that do want as many as possible after I pick them.

[rubato]

I love the way hachiya look when they're nearly ripe; red-orange fruit on bare branches.



We had some fuyu on our salad last night, soaked in lime juice.


yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

Never heard of it before. Looked it up and seems to be a nice fruit. Have to try it if I see them around here.
Thanks for the info.

[TPFKA@W]

They look like persimmons.

[Lord Jim]

They are.

[BoSoxGal]

Pretty! Thanks rubato.

I've never eaten a persimmon; it's something to add to the bucket list.

[wesw]

make sure they re ripe...

[TPFKA@W]

I never cared much for persimmons. It is amusing to watch a horse eat a green one though.

[rubato]

You really don't like animals, do you?

Post Persimmons Kill Horses

A Warning on Persimmons and Horses: Cut your trees down or move your horses

Our family has just lost two horses this week and 3 others are sick. We did not know that Persimmon fruit was lethal to horses. Here are a few Email excerpts from my wife on the details of what happened. While searching the Web, i found a simular string on Persimmons at this site and decided to continue getting the the word out.

Please advise everyone to check their pastures for persimmon trees. This year is a bumper crop in Alpharetta Georgia. All of the animals in my pasture have been very sick and two horses have spent the 10 days at UGA. We now know that Persimmons can be very toxic to horses. They can cause a blockage in the intestines and the seeds are toxic. When they remain in the system to long they cause all kinds of problems you don't want to deal with.

Look up, chances are the horses eat the fruit as soon as it hits the ground. It has been about three weeks since my horse has ingested any fruit and he is still sick, I am very concerned that other horses in the area are ingesting this fruit as well. First signs of persimmon poisoning I noticed was that my horse seemed lethargic and later he was not interested in food then he went into a colic. It is my understanding that small quantities of this fruit is not harmful but this year the trees are full of fruit. If you suspect your horse has eaten to many persimmons call a vet and have him oiled immediately. The longer the seed remains in his system the sicker he will get.



UPDATE:

This is what we have learned about persimmons. There is not much information out there. Two of the best vets in the Atlanta area knew nothing about persimmons other than horses shouldn't eat'em, not to mention the UGA staff knew nothing at the onset of our treatment.



The number of persimmons our horses ingested is uncertain. An article I read said that 33 to 35 persimmons can cause a horse to develop a blockage. We have an 8 acre pasture with really great grass. There were 4 average sized ( 6 inch in diameter at the trunk) persimmon trees in the back of the pasture. The trees have been in this pasture forever. I do not know if this year the fruit was any different than in years past.



We did find some information on line added to the autopsy results of Duster we now know what happened. The persimmon fruit forms a ball of skin seeds and musous which hardens into a concrete textured mass in the stomach or it could be anywhere in their system. This ball has the texture of concrete with the sharp persimmon seeds embedded in it. After the mass has formed it can not be broken down with oil or any kind medication. Oiling is recommended if the horse has just ingested the seeds in order to move them on out of the body. In our case we found out a few weeks to late. The autopsy could not even show where the ball was because it ripped everything up inside Dusters body. Horses that are developing this may loose weight and show slight sign of colic, stretching and lethargy in the beginning. Duster would feel better and try to eat but digestion would make the seed mass move and cause further damage his stomach. This seed mass can become very large, after the mass forms only surgery can save the horse. Smaller masses can pass into the intestines and cause damage and blockage.

Our horse Bruce is undergoing surgery at this very moment. By scoping him we have learned that his mass is at least the size of a grapefruit. UGA gave him a 50% chance. We should know the result this afternoon. We also have a mini pony (Cocoa) and two mini Donkeys (Nester and Brownie) who have been showing signs of pain over the last three weeks. They will be scoped at UGA this week to see how big the seed mass is. ... "

yrs,
rubato

[wesw]

yeah, I just let that go...

[Crackpot]

persimmons can do the same thing to humans

[Scooter]

Yeah, I would imagine that a human that ate 33 to 35 persimmons wouldn't have an easy time of it either.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Being neither a lugnut-bore nor a vapor-bore, I decided to try being a fruit-bore. Sadly, I have nothing constructive to say. Status quo ante, then.

We often drop the word persimmon because of the various misconceptions and confusion with the native American persimmon grown in the South or the more common pointed Hachiya persimmon. Both of these must be very soft to be eaten. They are astringent varieties and do not lose their astringency until the fruit becomes soft. If eaten when firm, they will pucker the mouth and cause a very unfavorable reaction!

The Fuyu is a non-astringent variety. It is sweet and delicious when it has become orange to orange-red in color and is still firm. The traditional use of the Fuyu is to eat it out of hand. After harvest, the Fuyu will stay firm two to three weeks if kept at room temperature and will gradually soften like the Hachiya variety. Many people feel it is sweeter at a somewhat spongy stage, so it has a long useable time. Some people use the Fuyu in American persimmon recipes for cookies and pudding.

Persimmons botanically belong to the family Ebenaceae, the ebony family. The Fuyu is of the genus Diospyros, species kaki. Dios means God and pyros means grain or food, hence the reference to persimmons as food for the gods. The Fuyu is an acceptable gift to Buddha

[TPFKA@W]

Yeah, well it was back in the 70's and we also fed the dogs a lot of things they now aren't supposed to have, like raisins, things that had onions in them and so forth. The logic was if the horse would eat it, it could eat it. And they never ate that many, just 1or 2 at a whack. I have read theories that horses used to be omnivorous. I can tell you from first hand knowledge that they will eat a bologna sandwich with mustard without batting their long eyelashes.

Bet you never did anything stupid in your youth, just saved it all up for now.

[rubato]

"... It is sweet and delicious when it has become orange to orange-red in color and is still firm. ...

matter of opinion.

" ...
Persimmons botanically belong to the family Ebenaceae, the ebony family. The Fuyu is of the genus Diospyros, species kaki. Dios means God and pyros means grain or food, hence the reference to persimmons as food for the gods. The Fuyu is an acceptable gift to Buddha

This is the "all suffering comes from desire" Buddha? So its acceptable because he doesn't want it?

Cwazy religion. Buddha does emotionally and intuitively what Georg Hegel does philosophically.




yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

[rubato]

Picked another 20 lbs. Seasonably warm weather is ripening them faster now. Most will go to my co-workers. Some of whom are Buddhists (the Vietnamese women).


Speaking of whom, one of them broke up with her fiancee a few years ago because he (a Christian) demanded that she stop going to the Buddhist temple and praying to Buddha (ya got me, I don't know how that works either. You pray to Buddha for something hoping that he won't give it to you thus allowing you to free yourself from desire for whatever and achieveing "Mushin-no-shin" "empty mind" or "nevermind". I think I understand the greed and fear-based religions better than that. )* and refused her Solomonic offer of her going to both his church and her own. She was in tears for days.

Didn't understand how he could be so unreasonable.



yrs,
rubato

*Don't you love parenthetic clauses so long and tangental that you have to go back and read the sentence to figure out how it connects to what comes after? Nevermind.

[Lord Jim]

Speaking of whom, one of them broke up with her fiancee a few years ago because he (a Christian) demanded that she stop going to the Buddhist temple

So they got all the way to being engaged before this came up?

I throw the bullshit flag...

Leapin' Lizards, this garbanzo manages to work some anti-Christian fairytale into a thread about a friggin' fruit tree...