Edible Yards

As an organic gardener, I pay attention to what is going on in the natural world around me. I look to the wild for understanding, inspiration and sometimes food. In this historic drought, I am reminded that native edible plants will survive and produce, even without water. They may not thrive (I noticed the persimmons are all much smaller this year) but the trees I was picking from were loaded with ripe, delicious prune-tasting persimmons. The Texas persimmon tree (Diospyros texana) is easy to find in nurseries and fits beautifully into a native, edible landscape. Though it is slow-growing, its multi-trunking, semi-evergreen habit is perfect for a screen tree, under power lines (since it is small to medium-sized) or as a afternoon-shade tree (because some of our veggies could use some afternoon shade) planted on the western end of your vegetable garden. If you are interested in a fruiting tree, make sure you find a female!

Persimmons on the branch

Joe Henry, Amy and Kita (the dog) harvest persimmons

Persimmon Harvest in the Bag

How to eat a Texas Persimmon: Squeeze the juicy, pulpy caramel-colored insides out of the skin and into your mouth. Suck all the goodness off around the seeds and spit them out like watermelon seeds. Your face (and hands and fingers) might look like this when you are done eating (especially if you’re a 3-year-old):