Pawpaw Experiments and Results

This Pawpaw Experiments and Results post highlights the tests that I’m running on pawpaw seeds and propagation this fall and gives you a little more detail than my overview video on YouTube does.  The results of these tests will be posted later. I’ve listed in this post the tests that I’m doing, how I’m performing the test, and what it takes to make the test successful. 

Success does not mean getting a result that I want, but rather a good test that provides results that I can refine and hone in on more details in the future.  A failure of a test is where something goes wrong or there was something I didn’t account for and the results are unusable now or in future tests. 

More detail of each test and the results of each test will be posted in a separate post when that specific test is complete and results have been compiled.  The softwood propagation test and results should be posted in November or December of 2024. The germination tests will not have results until the summer of 2025 when they should have germinated.  I will post the long stratification test results in the fall of 2025 and will update that individual post as time goes on because results will trickle in for the next couple of years.

We currently have the following tests underway and I will post the videos of the test and results on our YouTube channel as well as on our website www.GreatEscapeFarms.com.  The tests underway right now are as follows:

Pawpaw Experiments and Results Test Summary

• Softwood Cutting Test – 4 different tests on trying to root softwood cuttings.
• Pawpaw Whole Fruit Test – Experiments with germinating seeds in the fruit planted different ways.
• Long Frozen Seed Germination Test – We are freezing seeds from 1.5 days up to 60 days and testing germination.  We are testing in a standard refrigerator/freezer and in a colder chest freezer.
• Short Frozen Seed Germination Test – We are freezing seeds from 15 minutes up to 24 hours and testing germination.
• Long Dry Seed Germination Test – We are drying seeds out for 1 to 30 days and then testing germination.
• Short Dry Seed Germination Test – We are drying seeds out for 1 to 24 hours and then testing germination.
• Short Stratification Germination Test – We are stratifying seeds in various increments from 15-days up to 105 days and testing germination to see where the sweet spot is for seed stratification. 
• Long Stratification Germination Test – We are stratifying seeds in monthly increments from 8-months up to multiple years and testing germination to see if there is a time-based expiration of seeds in the refrigerator.
• Misc. Seed Tests – We are trying two different tests of stratifying and trying to germinate seeds with the seed sack still on.  We also separated out seeds that floated when we were cleaning the seeds and will germinate them separately to see if a floating seed is a dead seed.
• Future test (Starting in Spring 2025) Hybrid Hardwood Cutting Test – We are taking hardwood cuttings in March which will transition over to a mist system and be treated like softwood cuttings in the summer and test results in the Fall.

Pawpaw Experiments and Results Test Details

Below I will list each test that we are performing and the bounds of that test.  I also include in the overview what will make this a successful test.

Softwood Cutting Test

We have been running this test since the end of July 2024.  We are running 4 different tests trying to root softwood cuttings.  Kentucky State University ran a softwood cutting test a number of years back and had a success rate of 1 rooted cutting out of 1000.  That to me is promising 🙂 Why you may ask?  Because they proved that it is possible, just not at a commercial scale.  My goal and what would make this a successful test would be to get 1 or more cuttings to root, as I’m doing this small scale with a dozen plants in each test vs. 1000.  If anything roots or even calluses over, then we have something to work with next year.

All cuttings were taken on 7/25/24. The 4 Softwood Cutting Tests were very similar except 3 used different medium and each had various top nodes cut off.

Pawpaw Whole Fruit Test

In this test we are leaving the seeds in the fruit and trying to get them to germinate in different ways.  All of the fruit were stratified in a refrigerator and kept between 34 and 39F.  They were placed in the refrigerator in mid-September and removed on 1 February of the following year.  When removed, the fruit was placed in Great Escape Farms Potting Soil (recipe at the end of this post) as outlined below.  The soil was watered when planted and checked every couple of days to ensure the soil remains moist.  We made notes on each test as to the amount of light it received based on its placement in the office.  The pots are kept in the office (60-68F) until the danger of frost passes at which time they were moved out to a hoop house with a shade cloth and ends open.  Success is finding whole and half fruit methods of planting and determining which strategy produces successful seed germination vs. no germination.

Test#1 – Whole fruit placed in soil with the top of the fruit 1” below the soil. 

Test#2 – Fruit cut in half and placed cut side down on top of the soil.

Test#3 – Fruit cut in half and placed cut side down with the top of the fruit even with the soil.

Test#4 – Fruit cut in half and placed cut side down with the top of the fruit 1” below the top of the soil.

Test#5 – Fruit cut in half and placed cut side up with the cut side of the fruit 1” below the top of the soil.

Long Frozen Seed Germination Test

We are freezing seeds from 1 day up to 60 days and testing germination.  All seeds were washed and thoroughly cleaned.  We used 10 seeds per test.   Testing was done with the seeds placed in a plastic sandwich bag with a moist paper towel in the bag in the freezer part of a refrigerator/freezer and a chest freezer (colder) for varying lengths of time as outlined below.  The average and coldest temperature will be noted for each test.  The seeds were then moist stratified as follows: All of the seeds were stratified in a refrigerator and kept between 34 and 39F.  They were placed in the refrigerator when their test was done beginning in mid-October and continuing on until they were in the refrigerator for 90-days or on 1 February of the following year, whichever was later.  When removed from the refrigerator, the seeds were placed in Great Escape Farms Potting Soil (recipe at the end of this post).  The soil was watered when the seed was planted and checked every couple of days to ensure the soil remained moist.  We made a note on each test as to the amount of light it received based on its placement in the office.  The pots were kept in the office (60-68F) until the danger of frost passed at which time they were moved out to a hoop house with a 50% shade cloth and ends open. Success is finding the point in time when no/some/all seeds germinate.  If no seeds germinate the “Short Frozen Seed Germination Test” will likely catch the results.  If all seeds germinate we will need to run longer tests next year.

Short Frozen Seed Germination Test

We are freezing seeds from 15 minutes up to 24 hours and testing germination. All seeds were washed and thoroughly cleaned.  We used 10 seeds per test.   Testing was done with the seeds in a plastic sandwich bag with a moist paper towel in the bag in the freezer part of a refrigerator/freezer and a chest freezer (colder) for varying lengths of time as outlined below.  The average and coldest temperature was noted for each test.  The seeds were moist stratified as follows: All of the seeds were stratified in a refrigerator and kept between 34 and 39F.  They were placed in the refrigerator when their test was done beginning in mid-October and continuing on until they were in the refrigerator for 90-days or on 1 February of the following year, whichever was later.  When removed from the refrigerator, the seeds were placed in Great Escape Farms Potting Soil (recipe at the end of this post).  The soil was watered when the seed was planted and checked every couple of days to ensure the soil remained moist.  We made a note on each test as to the amount of light it received based on its placement in the office.  The pots were kept in the office (60-68F) until the danger of frost passes at which time they were moved out to a hoop house with a 50% shade cloth and ends open.  Success is finding the point in time when no/some/all seeds germinate.  If no seeds germinate we will need shorter tests next year.  If all seeds germinate the test “Long Frozen Seed Germination Test” will likely catch the results.

Long Dry Seed Germination Test

We are drying seeds out for 1 to 30 days and then testing germination.  All seeds were washed and thoroughly cleaned.  We used 10 seeds per test.  The dry testing was done in a heated (65-70F) environment for varying lengths of time as outlined below.  After the dry time period the seeds were soaked in water for 1-hour and then cold and moist stratified as follows: The seeds were placed in a plastic sandwich bag with a moist paper towel.  All of the seeds were stratified in a refrigerator and kept between 34 and 39F.  They were placed in the refrigerator when their test was done beginning in mid-October and continuing on until they were in the refrigerator for 90-days or on 1 February of the following year, whichever was later.  When removed from the refrigerator, the seeds were placed in Great Escape Farms Potting Soil (recipe below).  The soil was watered when the seed was planted and checked every couple of days to ensure the soil remained moist.  We made a note on each test as to the amount of light it received based on its placement in the office.  The pots were kept in the office (60-68F) until the danger of frost passed at which time they were moved out to a hoop house with a 50% shade cloth and ends open. Success on this test is finding the point at which seeds do germinate vs. do not germinate.  If no seeds germinate then the results may be caught in the short dry seed germination test. If all seeds germinate we need to do more testing next year to find the limits.

Short Dry Seed Germination Test

We are drying seeds out for 1 to 24 hours and then testing germination. All seeds were washed and thoroughly cleaned.  We used 10 seeds per test.  The dry testing was done in a heated (65-70F) environment for varying lengths of time as outlined below.  After the dry time period the seeds were soaked in water for 1-hour and then cold and moist stratified as follows: The seeds were placed in a plastic sandwich bag with a moist paper towel.  All of the seeds were stratified in a refrigerator and kept between 34 and 39F.  They were placed in the refrigerator when their test was done in mid-October and until on 1 February of the following year (approximately 105 days).  When removed from the refrigerator, the seeds were placed in Great Escape Farms Potting Soil (recipe below).  The soil was watered when the seed is planted and checked every couple of days to ensure the soil remains moist.  We made a note on each test as to the amount of light it received based on its placement in the office.  The pots were kept in the office (60-68F) until the danger of frost passes at which time they were moved out to a hoop house with a 50% shade cloth and ends open.  Success on this test is finding the point at which seeds do germinate vs. do not germinate.  If no seeds germinate, we will need to do more testing with shorter time periods.  If all seeds germinate we have a success because the Long Dry Seed Germination Test will take over and find the limits.

Short Stratification Germination Test

We are stratifying seeds in various increments from 15-days up to 105 days and testing germination to see where the sweet spot is for seed stratification.  All seeds were washed and thoroughly cleaned.  We used 10 seeds per test.  The seeds were moist stratified for varying lengths of time as outlined below.  The seeds were placed in a plastic sandwich bag with a moist paper towel.  All of the seeds were stratified in a refrigerator and kept between 34 and 39F.  They were placed in the refrigerator in mid-September and stayed in the refrigerator for the time outlined below.  When removed from the refrigerator, the seeds were placed in Great Escape Farms Potting Soil (recipe below).  The soil was watered when the seed was planted and checked every couple of days to ensure the soil remains moist.  We made a note on each test as to the amount of light it received based on its placement in the office.  The pots were kept in the office (60-68F) until the danger of frost passes at which time they were moved out to a hoop house with a 50% shade cloth and ends open.  The purpose of the test is to see the minimum number of days required for stratification to successfully germinate.

Long Stratification Germination Test

We are stratifying seeds in monthly increments from 8-months up to multiple years and testing germination to see if there is a time-based expiration of seeds in the refrigerator.  All seeds were washed and thoroughly cleaned.  We used 10 seeds per test.  The seeds were moist stratified for varying lengths of time as outlined below.  The seeds were placed in a plastic sandwich bag with a moist paper towel.  All of the seeds were stratified in a refrigerator and kept between 34 and 39F.  They were placed in the refrigerator in mid-September and stayed in the refrigerator for the time outlined below.  When removed from the refrigerator, the seeds were placed in Great Escape Farms Potting Soil (recipe below).  The soil was watered when the seed was planted and checked every couple of days to ensure the soil remains moist.  We made a note on each test as to the amount of light it received based on its placement in the office.  The pots were kept in the office (60-68F) until the danger of frost passes at which time they will be moved out to a hoop house with a 50% shade cloth and ends open.  A successful test is seed germination for a period of time and then no germination and that is the maximum amount of time a seed can be cold stratified.  If all time periods germinate it is still a success and we know that pawpaw seeds are good for at least that amount of time and future testing will have to be done to determine max limits.

Misc. Seed Tests

We are trying two different tests of stratifying and trying to germinate seeds with the seed sack still on.  We also separated out seeds that floated when we were cleaning the seeds and will germinate them separately to see if a floating seed is a dead seed.  Success will be recording the germination rates of each test as it is unknown at this time by the author if any will germinate or not.  Whether germination is successful, partially successful, or not successful at all, we have a starting point for future testing.

Hybrid Hardwood Cutting Test

Future test (Starting in Spring 2025) We are taking hardwood cuttings in March which will transition over to a mist system and be treated like softwood cuttings in the summer and test results in the Fall.  More to come on this in the future.

Great Escape Farms Potting Soil Mix

Here is the recipe we use to make our potting soil.

45% compost, 45% Peat Moss, 4.5% vermiculite, 4.5% perlite, 0.5% Azomite rock dust, and 0.5% worm castings.

If you have any other tests we should try, please comment on a post or video or send us an email and let us know.

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