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Pepino

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Pepino (aka melon pear, melon shrub, pear melon)

Pepino (Web)Solanum muricatum ait.

Origin: wet and cool highlands of Colombia, Peru and Chile

Plant: Sept – March

Harvest: Oct – March

Propagate: by stem cuttings.

The Pepino is a small bush closely related to the tomato. This shrub grows in a sprawling habit and makes an excellent ground cover plant. It tends to fruit better when grown over a trellis. The foliage is susceptible to damage by light to moderate frosts, however, will quickly recover with warmer weather.

Pepino Fruit
Pepino Fruit

To determine if Pepino are fully ripe, press with the fingers into the flesh and you will find a bit of “give”.  Colour should also be a pale yellow to gold with purple flecks. Eat only when fully ripe for a taste between a cantaloupe and a melon. Great garden snack and for fruit salads and sweet curries. Once the fruit has started to grow, cover with a white paper bag for insect protection.

 

Paw Paw

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Paw Paw (aka papaya)

Pawpaw (Web)Carica papaya

Origin: Highlands – wet, cool

Plant: Sept – March

Harvest: Anytime except for Jan – April.

Paw paw take approx. 18 months from planting the seed to fruit production, so a nutrient rich soil is necessary for fast growth. Plant several seeds then select the strongest female plant to grow on. Only one male tree is necessary to pollinate the female trees, however, if you grow the red paw paw, you will not need to grow a male tree as the red is a hermaphrodite, meaning it has both male and female flowers to enable propagation.

Fruit is ripe when there is no green on the fruit. Eating ripe and green paw paw is most beneficial as an aid to digestion. Green paw paw can be grated for salads, used as a cooked vegetable in stews and is also nice stuffed and baked in an oven.

Medicinal Value: the dried seed of the ripe paw paw can be put through a food processor and ground to a powder. Sprinkled onto our food (and for livestock) it can be used to expel worms from the intestinal tract.

 

Jackfruit

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Jackfruit

Jackfruit (Web)Artocarpus integrifolia

Origin: Hot, humid tropics

Plant: Sept – Mar

Harvest: Mar – Nov

Immature fruit is used for its seed and can be made into a delicious curry. The ripe fruit is eaten raw and tastes like banana with a vanilla flavour and a pineapple texture. Remove outer shell of mature seed and boil. Always remove gummy latex centre.

 

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