For the Love of Paw Paws by Michael Judd

Book Review: For the Love of Paw Paws, by Michael Judd.

I would give this book 9 out of 10 acorns.

Michael Judd really knows his stuff about pawpaws.  He goes way into depth, and explains many aspects of growing, harvesting, preparing and storing pawpaws.  He explains about choosing varieties of pawpaws, grafting them, fitting them into the landscape, and combining them with permaculture, about which he has extensive knowledge.  He goes on to explain how they could fit in with agroforestry, marketing and running a business based on pawpaws.  In each section, it is clear that he truly understands the details of how to make each aspect work.   For example, he explains about the interaction of the zebra swallowtail butterfly with pawpaws, and even some varieties that he will admit, aren't really worth growing in his opinion.  I have one minor criticism.  He says that they need to grow in summer humid climates and I have been growing them in a very dry arid summer climate successfully for 20 years.  Don't miss this book, though, you might miss the pawpaw cheesecake recipe, including a vegan one.  With any luck, you could be eating healthy cheesecake!

John S
PDX OR

They grow wild here ans I plan to grow some when I get a spot set up. The State nursery here sells the native version but they sell out quick. I'm guessing one would graft a cultivated variety onto native rootstock?

$7.00 for the e-book. Even I can afford that.

Yes, they graft well and he goes into detail on that.  Just make sure to have more than one unique specimen.  I knew someone who had three of the same variety and never got fruit. I had to explain to him why.

JohN S
PDX OR

I am growing paw paws in the Pacific Northwest.  I ordered mine from "One green world" a nice company that sends fruit trees and berry bushes UPS.  Some of the paw paws started blooming 2 years ago. I tried hand pollinating for fruit but no luck yet. They are a pretty small tree with a tropical look.  Some of the trees are sending up small trees near their bases.  Should I allow these to grow?  I am also wondering if I should remove crossing branches on the older trees?  It is nice to have an experienced grower to chat with.  Thank you permies for creating this opportunity!!

Pollination is probably the most complex aspect of growing pawpaw trees.  Michael Judd goes into this.  The Kentucky State U. site about pawpaws also explains this in detail. It is somewhat hard to understand. I had to read it like 9 times.   On the same tree, each flower changes from being female to male over a few days.  You also need a distinct genetic partner to grow pawpaws.  Using a child's artist paint brush, it is easy to transmit the pollen from one flower that has usable pollen on one tree to a flower that is ready to be pollinated on another tree. Some people use small vials or tiny pharmaceutical containers to store the pollen, but it should be used within a week or so.  

John S
PDX OR

I give this book 9 out of 10 acorns.

This is a superb book, and exactly the one I needed as it's been difficult to get my hands on a good all round source of information about pawpaw trees.  I fell in love with the idea of growing pawpaws when I first heard about them, and have a few 18 month old seedlings growing in pots but really wanted much more information than was readily available so I could make sensible decisions on where and when to plant them out and how to care for them as my conditions aren't perfect for them, being rather too hot and dry and sunny for most of the year.

My son was delighted that there is a non-tropical version of the anona, or custard apple, that he loves so much so I'm quite determined to do what I can to grow them here in Portugal and encourage other people to do the same.
This book gave me everything I wanted to know, and more, in one easy to read and beautifully illustrated resource.

There are seven chapters -
Where can I grow pawpaws?
Choosing a good pawpaw tree
Growing pawpaws from seed and grafting
Pawpaw planting 101
Eco-logicial tree care
The art of harvest: fruit handling and processing
Recipes - what do I do with all this fruit?

There is also a selection of appendices covering topics such as pawpaws in permaculture, commercial growing and marketing, Long Creek homestead, nursery and pawpaw festival, and a list of resources.
The author, Michael Judd, describes the book as a "How to Pawpaw" mini-manual which focuses on growing, caring for, harvesting, and using pawpaws from seed to table. And that's exactly what it is.
Pawpaws are quite different to most popular commercially grown fruit trees.  There are still many wild pawpaws still growing and as yet few commercial varieties. The pollination is reliant on "ants, flies, beetles, fungus gnats and humans", not the bees that we usually assume take care of the pollination of our crops.  So they are best sited near a compost heap, not a bee hive! And the fruit does not store well, so they tend to be a home-grown hand-to-mouth fruit that aren't available in stores.

I don't live in the US, and I've never even seen a pawpaw tree except for the few seedlings I've managed to grow, but I know that some are grown here as I bought some of the seeds fairly locally. I was very pleased, therefore, to see a section in the book about growing these fruit trees from seed, which I find is very rare in a book about fruit trees as it's so much easier to simply recommend that people buy established cultivars suited to their climate. I managed to get two sources of seed from different countries in the hope that I will have fairly wide genetics to play with. Some cultivars are known to be self-fertile, but Michael points out that "it is always best to plant more than one cultivar or seedling to improve seed set" so I think I did right to try two seed sources.

In short, the book is absolutely perfect for me. And will be for anyone interested in growing this not-yet-widely-known fruit. There are abundant photographs, superb illustrations, there's enough detail to help growers of all abilities to do a good job, it's beautifully laid out and a joy to read. If you have any thoughts about growing them, this is the book you need by your side. If you are an experienced gardener or a complete novice, it will guide you through everything you need to know, whether you want to start by buying a young tree, grafting, or starting from seed.  Hopefully with its help everyone with a suitable climate and enough space will be able to have a pawpaw patch of their very own.

I'm confident that in a few years I will.  

And maybe by then I'll find out if our local swallowtail butterfly species will also be able to raise their young on pawpaw leaves.  

I'll let you know if they do!

Hey Michael, we're close in proximity, 3hrs as the crow flies. I live in Central Virginia and I have many Paw Paw's planted for about 6 years now on my site. Two of them are doing really well and seem to be happy. They flowered this season but no fruit yet... The others are in a series of swales that stay pretty moist and in the winter really wet. The ones in the swales are not as happy as the ones on flat ground out in the pasture. I just purchased your two books on your site, looking forward to some good winter reading. I'm also looking forward to learning more about you. See you soon

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns easily, I’d give 20 if I could!
Everything I have ever wanted to ask about pawpaws is covered, things it never occurred to me to ask are covered, it’s an amazing amount of information!

If I had to pick ONE thing that will help me the most from this, with all the tons of information about how to plant them, where and why, it would be the nugget “Pawpaws grow well with black walnut trees.” That just gave me a ton of info about where I can put them, and gave me a great companion tree to my black walnut population that is being a bit problematic to deal with.

The table of contents does not do this book justice. The chapter entitled Pawpaw Planting 101 covers what type of soil, how to dig the hole, sheet mulching, companion planting, fungi, and ... wow, way more than I would have expected from one chapter. The book also covers what fungi affect them, what those fungi do to the fruit, how to harvest them, recipes that look absolutely wonderful, this is definitely a long tem keeper book, not just one you read and return to the library.

Fantastic book Mr Judd! You love your pawpaws, know a LOT about them, and communicate it VERY clearly! Thank you for the best book I have seen on pawpaws!

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns!

Judd's book is full of great information, illustrations, and pictures. I am so grateful for the amount of information covered in this book. Being on a north-facing, very-damp-in-the-winter hill, my pawpaws have not been doing very well. They're surviving, but not thriving. This book not only told me WHY they were struggling, but also things I can do to raise their chances of success. I love all this historical tidbits throughout the book, and the reasonings behind all the suggestions in the book. The book doesn't just tell you to avoid bare root pawpaws, but tells you why those are usually not successful, and how to mitigate the risks of bareroot trees, and also how to select the best potted pawpaws and WHY those are the best. I love all the explanations!

This book truly takes you from seed to table, detailing the different varieties (many of which I'd never heard of) and their attributes, as well as how to how to care for and sprout seeds, how to plant and protect young plants, grafting, when and where to plants, how to care for it, what to plant it with, how to harvest it, where to forage for it, and so much more.

This truly is a valuable resource for those looking to grow--and eat!--pawpaws!

the ones he shows are so big. the ones that grow buy me are just skinny you can count the seeds with out opening them

Just started my paw paw forest. Finally found a reliable source and ordered them. Looking forward to my first ones. Also found a local grower and got some seeds. Just came across this book and will be ordering  it shortly. Looks like an excellent source of information for me. Can hardly wait to receive it.

I give this book 9 out of 10 acorns

The author covers everything from how to grow from seed, grafting, pruning, choosing a nursery tree, how to harvest and use the fruit. He describes the attributes of selections of cultivated and named wild discovered varieties. To help you have the best possible success, included in the book are reputable sources for seeds as well as bare-root trees. He even finds room in his book to address the importance of fungi and layers of beneficial companion plantings!

Did you know that while pawpaws require shade for the first two years, shade inhibits fruiting and the tree will produce best in full sun? The author includes methods for providing this necessary shade.

Included in the methods of pruning are practices to contain the tree for picking the fruit from ground level, or if you must contain them within an allotted space in your yard.

Now that your tree is producing, now what? How about some original recipes? They are in the book! Yay! Happy growing!

ill have to buy a copy of this book. im growing pawpaws in PNW i dont hand pollinate i just plant them close together. i love the idea of a pawpaw patch. the leaves of the pawpaw makes it such a cute looking tree

So wait,will two pawpaws grown from seeds from the same fruit pollinate one another?

Did my permaculture nursery sell me a pig in a poke?