In this exciting new series, @papa-pepper will share about different plants that they plan on growing on the homestead, and why.
The first up is the Passionfruit, which has become one of our absolute favorites. It combines an excellent vine with amazing flowers, and at the end, a delicious fruit too! Check out the video!
PASSIONFRUIT VIDEO
BACKGROUND
Back before Hurricane Katrina, when @papa-pepper lived in New Orleans for a while, I first stumbled upon this incredible plant. It was while living in New Orleans that a real appreciation for plants was developed in me that I never had before. I think that it was all of the amazing varieties combined with their incredible will to live.
I can still remember seeing my first passionflower. It was on a climbing vine on a fence, and it completely amazed me. Between the colors and structures, it boggled my mind. At the time, I had no clue that it eventually would produce a delicious edible fruit, but I still stood in awe of the flowers alone.
Back in those days, having my own homestead with as many of these plants growing on it as I would like was not even an idea. Today, though, I'm glad to be hard at work making it an reality.
PLANT INFO
The Passiflora incarnata plant itself is a perennial vine. It is common across the southeastern United States. We have found it in the wild many places in our local area in the Ozarks. Since it needs a good amount of sunlight, you won't find it in the tall woods, but fields, fence lines, thickets, and the edge of the woods can all be good places to spot it.
Because of it's growth as a vine, it can sometimes be seen climbing debris or along fences. Often, it'll just be a long, tangles mess lying out in a field, when it cannot find anything to climb. Thankfully, it is also drought tolerant.
The leaves usually contain three lobes. I know that many of you may have heard, "leaves of three, let it be" in reference to Poison Ivy, but in this case, three leaves is good!
GROWING CONDITIONS
This particular variety of Passionfruit (there are over 500 kinds worldwide) can be grown outside in zones 7-11. It is a perennial plant that can die back to the ground in the winter and regrow again the next spring. The plant usually takes a couple years to produce fruit.
While it can be grown with some success in wet or acidic soil, it prefers a well drained medium for optimal growth. Also, it should get at least half a day of full sun. Though the individual flowers do not last long, many will bloom on the same vine, often in succession.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
As a food source, getting a ripe fruit can be a little tricky at first. The one on the right in the photo above is fully ripe. The one with the white inside on the left is not fully matured yet. I was pretty much hit or miss when attempting to harvest them from the vines, but recently found out that if you wait for the fruit to drop to the ground prior to eating it, you are almost guaranteed to have a fully ripe and delicious fruit, which is commonly also known as a maypop.
As far a nutritional value, like many wild foods, it can be a good source of some essential vitamins and minerals. Among some of the other nutrition they contain are: 36% Vitamin C, 12% Iron, 11% Riboflavin, 10% Niacin, & 10% Phosphorus.
We like to enjoy them as a midday snack when we are working in the garden. Though some use them in juice mixtures or desserts, so far we have only enjoyed them fresh.
MEDICINAL BENEFITS
While there are some health benefits to eating the maypop, the leaves can also be used to make an herbal tea. This is one of the most common medicinal uses for the plant.
Since the plant has the potential to act as a sedative when used this way, it has long been brewed as a tea to fight insomnia and anxiety. Additionally, it can act as an antisconvulsant which had lead to many using it to treat epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
PROPAGATION
I've been practicing propagating the Passionfruit vines for over a year now. Though they can also be grown from seeds, propagating the vines is a great way to get a head start.
By taking cuttings of the mature vines and removing all but the top few leaves, you will be able to plant the bare stem. I like to use a little rooting hormone to encourage success, but I'm experimenting with other methods too.
Since the Passionfruit vine can spread rather rapidly, it can be considered to be invasive and many would strongly recommend against growing it in your garden. On our homestead, we will be concentrating the planting of it along fence lines and other areas where it will be free to grow, without overtaking other crops.
To see my post from last year on how I propagate this plant, please follow this link: https://steemit.com/gardening/@papa-pepper/papa-peppers-guide-to-plant-propagation-passionfruit-and-elderberry
CLOSING THOUGHTS
To have stewardship over a portion of the earth is an incredible opportunity. One of our main goals is growing food, so we will be experimenting with a large variety of plants and methods. Eventually, we hope to have a large food forest to forage.
The Passionfruit is just one of the many food bearing plants that also have other purposes. We will enjoy the blooms and have some excellent evening tea from this plant as well. Our efforts in growing it so far have been incredible, and we can't wait to shift into "full STEEM ahead" mode down on our land!
All photos, video, and writing are original, but some research was done at the following websites: Source 1, Source 2, Source 3.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-passionfruit
Until next time…
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We have plenty of these around here. They definitely come back every year. I didn't know they had medicinal value. Thanks for the info.
Thank you for the comment! Now you know!
Do you think they would grow here in WIS zone 5a?
I could mail you some seeds to try. I was born in that city!
I was born here too. I could send you some Steem dollars to cover the shipping. Along with my address. Let me know.
I got some ready for you, so get me a shipping address on steemit.chat or discord. I'll send them on up!
What is your Steemit.com user name?
WI?
I think that you would just have to plant them in pots and overwinter them in the house>
I love reading your posts! Thanks for listing all of the edible parts and medicinal uses! I have severe anxiety and my fiancé @Charlesarthuriii and I are saving up to travel and find a place where we can build our own home and garden just like you! Thanks again. I always leave your posts feeling I learned something useful!
Glad to hear it. I may be sending some leaves up to a friend with Parkinson's to see if it helps him any.
Well I'm definitely interested to see if that helps any🙂!
I hope so. I’ll pray for them!
Thank You @papa-pepper I learned something Brand New today. I have never eaten a passion fruit or did I even know it's many benefits. It is a Blessing to have Steemit and people like yourself to take the time to post about the Wonderful Things on the Homestead.......
You are welcome!
Wow i love passionfruit i miss eating them you can also see my post thanks ;) https://steemit.com/homesteading/@julstamban/my-benefits-from-homesteading-healthy-living @originalworks
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hey @papa-pepper !!
awesome post , and info as well ........!!
thanks for sharing :)
Here in Florida growing up we always called them Maypops, because when you squeeze them they pop. I do really enjoy eating them though. Thanks for the post.
We really like eating them too! Thanks!
Passion fruit is one of my favorite man! Their flowers are really very special and so beautiful, what a great work of nature!
You said it right, the best way to get perfect passion fruit is to wait for them to fall on the ground!
Aha! You knew ahead of time and never told me?
Hahaha! Oh no my friend, i learned that from my dad but reading your post made me remember it and him again! It's nearly 9 years that he passed away.
@papa-pepper I remember , when I was in primary, my dad planted passion fruit in front of our house. It was the yellow one...I love to put salt in it before eating, as simple as that. Thanks for sharing interesting things in here!
Very cool! I almost with I lived even further south, since there are so many varieties out there.
good morning friend hurricane affects in the province where you live ?? @pap-pepper
No, we are inland.
I am very glad to know that, that hurricane does not affect you
That passionfruit is also rumored to be an aphrodesiac never crossed your mind, I'm sure.
5 kids in 10 years anyway.... What do we need those for? Lol. Good point
@papa-pepper - Amazing plant. I love the structure, symmetry and color of the passion flower. The flower has a lot of religious significance too in many parts of the world. We have a variety in our garden which is mainly a flowering plant. It's fruits are not considered edible and are quite small.
Your variety looks great and it is fantastic that it gives such nice fruit too. You are right - it is amazing to have the stewardship of even a small piece of earth!
Thanks for your lovely elaboration of the passionflower and passionfruit. Upvoted Full
Regards,
Sometimes great ideas just pop in one's head. Sometimes we chase after it and at other times we let it go . It's really interesting to know that you picked your interest or passion for plants along the line and the interest even attacked suddenly!
I picked this part out because it's a good source of motivation with benefits if we do them right (Just like you)
Until next time or rather until your next post.... Seems I have a thing for these lines... Haha!
Thanks @papa-pepper. You keep showing us new food I have never had before. It is very interesting the things that are out there that can be eaten and don't know about.
First time coming across people who plant passion fruit. Do share with us the harvest.
thats pretty cool about maypop! I didn't even know that existed.. I may try that at night because I do have some sleep issues :/ the natural way is much better!
Cool! Might was well give it a try. Thanks for checking it out!
that is the strangest looking plant with beautiful flowers !! What it taste like , I have never seen it before !? 😋 Upped and resteemed for my foodies blog !! Thanks for following @papa-pepper !
It is both sweet and sour, and a real treat!
Mmmmmm ! Sounds good , I will have to try it someday !😋😋😋💕
Wow. Nice. I like passion fruit. Unfortunately its not growing here.
J
The fruit that @papa-pepper post tastes sweet. in Indonesia the fruit. there are many in Brastagi North Sumatera.(Medan City) I really like the fruit. thaks.
We really like it too!
Ooooh nature wonderful
Looking forward to your plant posts, plants are so important to understand when creating a nourishing forest, many people end up causing more harm than good by introducing non-native or invasive plants into nature. It's so encouraging to know that the piece of land you have is being cared for, that your kids will be a new generation aware of all these things. The land is in good hands, that's good for everyone! Two thumbs up for the pepper family 👍🏻👍🏻
I've got more coming, and a series on animals too!
Great post and I wish steemit had a sticky or pin option because this is one of those special posts. ??
Thank you for that encouragement!
Papa you're a botanist! Great info on the Passiflora incarnata. I love how almost everything has a use if you have the knowledge. Great to see how you can create your own grocery and pharmacy in the backyard. We grow herbs on a window sill and even that tiny bit of useful nature is a blessing.
I agree, we can really enjoy a lot if we only know about how to use it! Looking forward to the future and sharing along the way!
I have found several ditch banks around here that are covered in passion vines, and I have been wanting to try the fruit, but I had no idea how to tell when it was ripe. I thought they were supposed to change color or something, so I've been waiting. I guess I'll just go pick some and try to find some ripe ones!
Also, which part of the fruit do you use to make your jams and jellies?
Give them a try. I guess it is the part around the seeds, but I'm not sure about the whole process.
Its always great to grow your own crops and then enjoying it after harvesting. Tastes so much better then buying it from the store and gives such a better feeling when eating it after all the care you have to give to it.
Keep on gardening my friend :D
Yes, you can almost taste the effort that you put into it!
Man just thinking about eating a passionfruit is making my mouth water. I love em! I wish they grew up here in the PNW. I have never seen the leaves used to make tea. Good info.
Glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks man!
Hey, @papa-pepper! These vines look amazing. Providing beautiful flowers, fruits and leaves for medicinal teas. I have some fence rows where these would be a perfect place for these to grow. Another edible food for the homestead. Thanks for sharing @papa-pepper!
There are over 500 varieties worldwide so I am sure that an edible variety in your area.
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didn't know passionfruit looked like that 😊 👍 🌄 don't know why i thought it was red or purple? lol 😆
They do come in different colors, with over 500 varieties worldwide.
My granddad always had a maypop vine up the side of his garage in the St. Louis area. It died back most years and spread like an invasive. Those maypops were sour, but good! Good luck in growing lots of them at your new place!
Yeah, we enjoy that sweet and sour flavor. They mostly die back here, but return with friends in the spring!
Very informative. I would love to know if you hear back from your friend with Parkinson's. Always interested in learning home remedies or herbals. I have managed chronic kidney disease with "Kidney Stuff", which is a cold milled flax seed, so I am a firm believer in natural remedies. Thanks for your article.
Yeah, we will have to see how it works. I'll try to do a post on the results after he tries it for a bit, if he wants to give it a go.
@papa-pepper thanks for this post. When I was a child a neighbor had a passion vine. I loved the flowers, but did not know they produced an edible fruit. Now I will be off trying to find one to propagate and plant along my fence line, Great post as always.
Cool! I hope that you can find one propagate it, and watch it flower and fruit!