All About Pawpaw Trees
Sat, Aug. 29th | 1pm | Choose Your Price ($30 to $5)

The largest edible fruit native to North America grows wild in these mountains, and most people have never tasted one.
Pawpaws taste like banana, mango, and melon met somewhere in the middle, with a texture closer to custard than anything you'd expect from a tree in Macon County. Indigenous communities and early settlers ate them for generations.
But, pawpaws are easily bruised, and have a quick shelf life, which is why you won’t find them in your local grocery store. Your best bet is to grow them yourself!
We'll have fresh fruit to sample in class, so you can enjoy this oh-so-unique treat!

In this class, you'll cover:
• Where to site a pawpaw and why young trees want shade before they want sun
• How pawpaws are pollinated, which does not involve bees and is a stranger story than you might expect
• Why you need more than one tree, and how to choose
• Care through the first few years, from planting to fruit
• When to pick, how to tell ripe from almost, and what to do with the fruit once you have more than you can eat
• Cooking with pawpaw: smoothies, breads, and where the flavor holds up

Craig Mauney brings more than 25 years with the NC Cooperative Extension and a lifetime of growing rare edibles in these mountains, which is how he ended up known as the Pawpaw King.
Class attendees get 10% off any pawpaw tree purchased the same day.