Pawpaws

Bring an almost-forgotten fruit back to life-and into your business.

Pawpaws, also called "Indiana bananas," are North America's largest native fruit. Long overlooked, they're now exploding in popularity with chefs, craft brewers, and fruit lovers-and Pawpaws is the first comprehensive guide to small-scale commercial pawpaw production.

Why This Book Matters

Whether you're a market grower, orchardist, or food forest steward, adding pawpaws can diversify your crops, strengthen your bottom line, and connect you with a fast-growing niche market. This book shows you exactly how to cultivate, manage, and market this unique fruit for success.

What You'll Learn

Inside, you'll find practical, field-tested advice on every stage of pawpaw cultivation, including:

• The fascinating botany and cultural history of pawpaws
• How to site and plan a productive orchard
• Tips for selecting top-quality nursery trees
• Descriptions of over 50 cultivar profiles
• Propagation, grafting, and organic growing techniques
• Effective pest and disease management strategies
• Marketing fresh pawpaws, seeds, and nursery starts
• Processing and creating value-added pawpaw products.

Why Trust This Guide?

Author Blake Cothron, organic farmer and nurseryman, brings over 20 years of hands-on expertise in horticulture and sustainable agriculture. He operates Heritage Nursery, a USDA Certified Organic research farm specializing in pawpaws, and is widely recognized as a trusted voice in organic growing.

Endorsements highlight the importance of this work:

"A much-needed contribution to the pursuit of pawpaw culture." - R. Neal Peterson, founder, Peterson Pawpaws

"Blake Cothron is an authority on pawpaws and provides a clear, detailed guide for commercial success in growing this oddly appealing species." - Pam Dawling, author, The Year-Round Hoophouse

The Opportunity Is Now

Interest in pawpaws is skyrocketing. Don't miss the chance to grow this extraordinary fruit, diversify your offerings, and lead the way in a growing the movement for local, sustainable food.

Discover the commercial potential of pawpaws-and start building your own success story today.