harveyc

Update: my friend replied to the e-mail I sent him. He said that she indicated she grew the fruit which he listed (see above) as seeing there.

Pretty awesome, eh?

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momoese

Wouldn't it be easier just to call her and ask if she actually has Coconut trees producing? I could take a drive out there but I'd want to be sure that I was at the correct place and hopefully get a photo op and tour/interview while there. I must say that I'm very skeptical though. It gets really cold there, way colder than here at my house and I have no illusions of growing coconut tress here.

I remember several years ago one of the Santa Monica Farmers Market sellers used to eat fresh Durian with a really satisfied look on his face so maybe he was getting it from her brother? Hmm

harveyc

I don't remember if I tried calling back in 2007 or not but don't have the phone number now.

I am also not confident that the coconut comment in the article is correct (note that is something my friend did not report seeing her sell), though there are some hardy types that most of us wouldn't consider a coconut. I have a small Bolivian coconut. Maybe the grower made some vague reference to something like that which got picked up by the reporter.

If I recall correctly, the directory listing I found had the name "Tran Family Farm". I can't find it now.

Come on, Mitchel, a field trip is in order! :P

Harvey

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chong

Growing Durian in So. Cal. and actually producing fruit for market is awesome, but pretty surprising. According to the Echonet website, "Durian is extremely cold sensitive and poorly adapted to Florida soil." But then according to TopTropicals,they have a variety, "The red and yellow-fleshed fruits are Durio graveolans, more tolerant of S. Florida conditions and taste like peanut butter." I have never seen a "red and yellow fleshed" Durian, much less a Durian that tastes
like peanut butter. And as warm as it gets in the Philippines, though they may grow everywhere there, they do not thrive well in the areas north of Mindanao, the southern most region of the country.

To be fair, I can tell you that in 1988, I used to see a couple of coconut trees near the beach in Manhattan Beach, when I used to spend weekdays in El Segundo for our project with Xerox for several months. (We went to Manhattan Beach for dinner.) The first time I saw ithem, I was so mesmerized, because I always read that they couldn't grow in this area. I don't believe that even these will thrive, if not live long enough to produce fruit. Although seeing them, I was so fascinated that when I got back home in Seattle, I just had to have them, so I ordered a couple of them from Florida. They are now in coconut heaven.

I am not aware of any coconut that can be considered hardy. There are some palms that have the name "coconut" that are in fact not coconuts, not just not considered as such. There are ornamental coconuts that are true coconuts and are members of the "Cocos" family.(The ones we had in pots in the Philippines came from Malaya (now Malaysia). The specie that you have is not. It's a very pretty plant though:
PlantFiles: Pictures of Pasopaya Palm, Bolivian Mountain Coconut (Parajubaea torallyi)

Tog Tan

Chong, Durio graveolans is a wild species which is not considered palatable by the locals here. It has a much thinner pulp and is not overly sweet nor does it have the bitter tang which the locals prefer. It does have a colorful pulp but it can't beat the Sukang, Durio oxleyanus, from Sabah which grows to 130+ft and has a dark red pulp. Another teaser, cos the taste is no where as intense as its color. Also thin pulped. When I get a pix from my friend, I will post it.

Finally there is the Durio testudinarum, or Durian Kura (tortoise) as the fruits are found at the base and buttress of the tree. This is a smaller tree at about 80ft in height. There are about 30 species of wild durians in this region and most of them have a high chlorophyll taste. When I am with the Orang Asli during the wild durian's fruiting season they will treat me with them. Being gracious, I will say it's nice and it will only result in them giving me till I go green. Species with the fancy colors are used for hybridizing with the cultivars and they cost more because of the novelty.

Currently there are too many cultivars to name and the most popular staple is the D24 which has a few seeds with a very thick and sweet creamy pulp infused with a very bitter taste. Kind of like a very bitter white choc! This is what the M'sians love. We do not like the Thai durians as they are firm and taste like frozen butter cream. The Thais can't stand the pungency of our durians and they say M'sians eat rotten durians!

About the sarong, durians and the Malays... It goes like this, when the durians come, if they don't own any trees, the Malays will pawn their sarong to buy it...
I have mentioned this before, it is believed that if a tiger is found eating the durian of a particular tree, it has to be the best tasting tree in that area. It's a fact that tigers here like durians, so do most of our cats and dogs.

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Tog Tan has sadly suddenly passed away 6/16/09. We will miss you Tog Tan.

harveyc

Whether you consider it a "real" coconut or not, my point was that the grower may have made some mention of something such as this and the reporter picked up on it in a more general sense. It does supposedly produce edible fruit that sort of tastes like coconut. I'm almost tempted to buy another one when looking at the pretty pictures at Bolivian MOUNTAIN Coconut 5 GALLON Cold hardy LIVE Palm - eBay (item 220369932327 end time Mar-29-09 22:32:06 PDT).

Still, the main point of mentioning this grower to begin with was of her being a supplier of fresh durian since that's what Bob was wanting to try.

I asked my friend if he happened to get a card or phone number for her but he said he did not. He said she was very busy at the market (as I would imagine) and didn't have much time to talk.

Harvey

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momoese

In searching for her I found this. I don't think I've ever tried these or even had the chance to. Anyone here grow them?

Pawpaws at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

Sorry about the major thread derail Gabe. It just sort of happened!

Bob

[quote=momoese;67534Sorry about the major thread derail Gabe. It just sort of happened![/QUOTE]

Same here Gabe. Just happened.

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harveyc

It's all Bob's fault, Gabe! :P I think Gabe gets more $B for us replying to his thread, though, even if it has absolutely nothing to do with his topic. I would like to come see your student farm sometime, Gabe.

Mitchel, I have some pawpaw seedlings that are pretty old and had planned on grafting them but am not so sure I want to go through with it. There is some controversy over annonacin (sp?) content that Richard can also add to. It has had some neurological consequences but it's not known if fruits like pawpaw and cherimoya are also potential problems. There are some pawpaw varieties which have been found in tests to have lower levels so I probably should graft my seedlings to those.

The same friend that visited the "durian lady" has a couple of pawpaw in the Sacramento area that produce decent crops for him. A couple of years ago he brought a bag of fruits for me to try. They tasted great but I really found the large number of seeds to take away from the experience for me.

Since I'm on a roll of suggesting road trips for you, you could drive to Ohio this summer where they have a pawpaw festival! lol

Harvey

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momoese

I found the thread, yes it's called annonacin. Scary stuff!