EXCERPTS FROM AN ARTICLE I POSTED IN SEPTEMBER OF 2016:

90 Year-Old Horticulturist Takes Care of a Five-Acre Jujube Orchard with 300 Trees

Chris Jacobsen on his tractor with his orchard of 300 jujube trees in the background – September 3, 2016

[Note:  I think Chris has since passed on, but no certain.]

FROM 2O16:

This past weekend I followed my own advice and visited Chris Jacobsen’s Jujube Etc. Farm. As I mentioned in a previous article, you can visit Mr. Jacobsen’s farm during September weekends:  10 to 5 on Saturdays and 2 to 6 on Sundays.  His 35-year old jujube orchard covers about five acres and contains 300 jujube trees.  The exact location of his 15-acre farm is 7904 County Road 572 in Farmersville, Texas 75442.  Chris, a remarkable man, manages this farm all by himself.  If you wish to visit other than on a Saturday and Sunday in September, please call him at 972-784-6480.

Chris began his long life in Denmark.  Like his father before him, Chris was educated as a horticulturist.  His father built one of the largest greenhouses in the southern area of Denmark.  It survived World War II—the teenage years of young Chris.  In the early ‘50’s when he was 26, Chris spent a year traveling all around the world—from the USA to Australia.  He ended up settling in the USA and going to work as a salesman for Stark Brothers Nurseries and Orchard Company. [Founded in 1816, Stark Brothers is one of the oldest nurseries in the USA.]  As it turned out Chris was assigned a sales territory in Texas.  I believe he settled in the Irving area and then in 1974 he bought his present homestead in the Farmersville area and settled there.  Since that time he has been very busy growing his beautiful jujube orchard.

The orchard is beautiful.  Its symmetry is a testimony to the professionalism of Chris Jacobsen who has planted, grafted, and tended each of these 300 trees for over 35 years. 

A few of the 300 trees in Chris Jacobsen’s Jujube Orchard – September 3, 2016.  Begun over 35 years ago, neither chemical sprays nor chemical fertilizers have been used in this orchard.  As far as we know, this is the only commercial jujube orchard in the USA.

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Will Chris Jacobsen’s Work Carry on?

I certainly hope so.  Its fate seems to be largely in the hands of a fellow named Bryan Gordon.  Bryan met Mr. Jacobsen several months ago through a fellow permaculturist and good friend of Chris Jacobsen.  Bryan is a horticulturist, permaculturist, and arborist. 

Over the last several months, Bryan has built a working relationship with Mr. Jacobsen. He volunteers when he can to assist Mr. Jacobsen in keeping his place in working order. In return Mr. Jacobsen is teaching Bryan how to carry on his dream of sharing jujubes and their healthy benefits with the world. In addition to learning how to graft the trees and take care of them, he is also learning how to make the Jujube products Mr. Jacobsen once sold such as soap, skin care products, capsules and more. Bryan hopes to incorporate a jujube orchard into his future farm plans and keep Chris' legacy going.

As far as the future of the farm, Mr. Jacobsen has donated the property to a Christian organization.

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Landon Winery Purchases Some of the Jacobsen Jujubes

Bob Landon served up samples of Landon Winery sherry made from Jacobsen Jujubes. Sherry from Jacobsen jujubes is delicious!  You can only find it at Landon Winery.

As an added treat on Saturday, Bob Landon of Landon Winery was at the farm on Saturday. Landon Winery has two locations: 101 North Kentucky Street in downtown McKinney and also a downtown location in Greenville, Texas at 2500 Lee Street.  Bob was giving out free samples of the sherry from the winery that was made with Jujubes from Mr. Jacobsen’s trees.  It was delicious.  Charlie bought a bottle for me.  It was quite a bargain.  I don’t know if Bob will be there again or not but it’s worth the drive out there to see.  If he is not there, you can always visit the Landon Winery in McKinney or Greenville.

We hope that a local grocery store will soon be featuring this delicious and international award-winning treat.  How special!  Local sherry produced from a local orchard—possibly the only commercial jujube orchard in the USA.  This sherry, a connoisseur’s choice, recently won the Lone Star International gold medal for excellence.

This sherry recently won a gold medal in the Lone Star International Wine Competition.

photo courtesy Jesse Patterson Photography 

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Kari and Jesse Patterson also came to pick jujubes today.  Mr. Jacobsen has some loyal followers and jujube fans!  This is Kari and Jesse’s third year to visit the farm.

 Jesse, a professional photographer, has taken some great photos of Mr. Jacobsen on his tractor and around the orchard.

See more of Jesse’s work at  JessePattersonPhotography.com

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Bowl of Jujubes hand-picked by Charlie from the Jacobsen Orchard– September 3, 2016

So, what’s all the fuss about jujubes?

The Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) is a remarkable fruit.  I would elevate it to the position of a super food such as kale.  It can be grown from Pennsylvania to Mexico.   It prefers hot and dry climates while it will tolerate temperatures a few degrees below zero.  While it’s a good choice for our Garland Community Garden (and we do have a small one growing there); it’s not an outstanding choice for most urban yards—unless you happen to be a dedicated gardener.

Jujubes Contain Betulinic Acid

Betulinic Acid has been found to selectively kill human melanoma cells while leaving healthy cells alive.  Due to its apparent specificity for melanoma cells, betulinic acid seems to be a more promising anti-cancer substance than drugs like Taxoi because Taxoi is a general cell poison and is not specific to cancer cells.  Also, betulinic acid has antibacterial properties and inhibits the growth of both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Sources:  

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304383501007182

http://www.eurekaselect.com/69339 - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/med.10053/full

Jujubes are packed with potassium and magnesium

Potassium is a proven heart strengthener while magnesium works in conjunction with potassium.  Jujubes increase the level of the body’s nitric oxide, restoring and dilating the blood vessels for better blood circulation.

And there is so much more to know regarding the healthy benefits of the jujube.  Just Google jujube and look at all the information that appears—from medical articles, to health products, to recipes.  I simply steep a bunch of jujubes in boiling hot water, strain off most of the pulp and drink the delicious and healthy tea.  The leaves of the jujube also can be used to make tea as well.

HAPPY JUJUBE TO YOU!

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More Information for You

• If you want to see a real jujube, attend the next Loving Garland Green Garland Community event:  Sunday September 19, 2021. from 1 to 3PM.  Bring seeds and plants from your 2021 garden to share.
  
  
• If you want to grow one jujubes, there are nurseries all over the USA that sell them.  Get online and locate the one nearest to you. They are a bit pricey starting at $59.00 per tree.
  
  
• Previous article on topic of Jujubes and Immigrant organic farmers in our area: https://eatgreendfw.bubblelife.com/community/if_liz_were_queen/library/35589271/key/351645852/The_Epic_Saga_of_Judy_Li

I was busy in the garden this morning--busy ignoring guidelines for planting potatoes for a Fall/Winter Gardens in North Texas.  First of all,  sweet potatoes/yams are to be planted once a year in May only.  They are harvested about  two weeks before Thanksgiving.  However, all other potatoes can be planted twice a year:  once in the early spring (Late February/early March)  and once again in early to mid-August for a late fall harvest--110 days prior to the first frost which usually happens around November 24.  These potatoes, unlike sweet potatoes mature in 60 to 90 days.

Thus, today, almost two weeks past the recommended deadline I planted 1.5 pounds of Baby Red potatoes and 1.5 pounds of Baby Dutch Yellow potatoes.  Both of these potatoes are small and rather pricey in the grocery store and they are delicious boiled, cooked with a pot roast, or roasted in the oven or on the grill.

Ignoring the dates on the planting calendar was not the only rule I broke. The potatoes I planted came from the grocery store.  A week ago I had ordered seed potatoes from a nursery on the Internet.  They arrived yesterday and were all mushy with black mold.  So, we will see if these potatoes I bought at the grocery store will even germinate into plants.  Since these are small, I planted the whole potato as opposed to cutting it into several pieces.

Here is the process:

1. Dig up the soil to about 8 inches deep.

2. Level -ff soil with a hoe or rake.

3. Water thoroughly

4. Insert one potato at a time into the soil. Push it into the wet soil so only the tip is showing.  Only the top with a few eyes exposed should show.

5. Cover potatoes with about ½ inch of soil.

6. Spread 6 inches of hay over the bed and water thoroughly.  Keep the hay and soil moist for the next 12 to 16 days.

[Potato sprouts should appear within 12 to 16 days.]
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When sprouts are about five to six inches tall, add a mixture of two parts hay to one part soil to the top of the existing straw layer.  This new layer should be up the leaves on the stem. As the potato grows potatoes will grow from the stem in this layer of soil and hay.  Repeat the process again when the stalk has grown another 5 or six inches.  Potato stalks can reach up to 40 inches.  The dotted box in the illustration below shows how each six inches of staw/soil layer creates a growing area for new potatoes to sprout off the stem.

By the time I add the third layer of hay and soil, I may build a wire enclosure around it, or  I may continue to add layers Ruth Stout style with a somewhat unconstructed mulch pile. 

This method gives a high yield in a small space--ideal for growing potatoes in an urban garden since growing potatoes can take up a lot of space.  There are many ways, some of them quite elaborate, for constructing towers for growing potatoes vertically.

We want people to visit and enjoy our garden.  I hope our new sign strikes a happy compromise in communicating that we do not want visitors harvesting our produce and at the same time showing compassion for those who may visit who are in need of food.  Thus, we provide the name and address of the Garland Good Samaritans, a local food bank that Loving Garland Green shares 50% of our produce with.

WELCOME!

We hope you enjoy the peace and beauty of the garden. Our mission is to raise community awareness of the benefits offered by urban gardens.

If you are in need of food, please contact Good Samaritans of Garland 972-276-2263 - 214 North 12th Street Garland, TX 75040.  We donate 50% of the food we grow in this garden to them.

• Please do not pick our produce. Members of Loving Garland Green work hard to grow these vegetables.

• Please take your trash with you when you leave.  We do not have City trash pickup.

• Please be aware for your safety.  We are a wildlife habitat and share our space with other creatures, including snakes.

• Please do not plant anything or harvest seeds without permission.  972-571-4497

REGROW PRODUCE YOU BRING HOME FROM THE GROCERY STORE.

The photo shows Romaine lettuce I have growing on the window sill in my kitchen.  It gets indirect sunlight which I’ve found is great for lettuce.  Once the root hairs appear, after about a week to 10 days, I transplant it into a half-gallon milk carton filled with soil. [Cut milk carton in half with a utility knife.  Put drain holes in bottom.  Fill with potting soil.  One container is enough to grow one head of lettuce.]

Peanuts for saving?  Depends on your definition of peanuts.  One bag with three heads of Romaine lettuce costs me about $2.99.  I eat about six heads of lettuce a month so my lettuce bill would be about $6.00.  That comes to $72 a year just for lettuce.  By cutting that expense in half, I save $36 and that is just on one produce item.  This is also a great project for children.

Celery is another vegetable that is easy to re-grow (in the same fashion as lettuce by cutting the end of it off and sticking it in water).

I just ordered some seed potatoes* online.  They should be here by August 17--in time for fall planting.  I’ll be growing mine in hay mulch, the Ruth Stout way.  Potatoes (other than sweet potatoes) can be grown in the spring and fall.  In our area, most gardeners recommend planting potatoes in mid to late August but  by September 1.  I ordered Yukon Gold (Botanical name: Solanum tuberosum) which is my favorite, but there are many other varieties as well.  The Yukon Golds will mature within 60 to 80 days.  Thus, if  I plant them by August 20^th, I can expect potatoes in time for Thanksgiving, if not before.

 * New potato plants sprout from the buds (called eyes) on the surface of potatoes. These are the “seeds” for new plants.  The eyes appear as dimples in the potato’s skin. Each eye has the potential to grow into a whole new plant.  Purchase new certified seed potatoes at the start of each growing season. Potatoes are prone to many diseases (bacterial, viral, and fungal) that can easily be introduced to the garden when planting your own saved tubers. Purchasing and planting certified seed potatoes is the only way to ensure a “clean” crop. Certified seed potatoes are guaranteed to be free of disease, and they have not been treated with the anti-sprouting chemicals often used on grocery store potatoes.

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I Grow Seed Potatoes in Hay to Minimize Work.

To plant seed potatoes in hay, prepare an in-ground garden bed or a raised bed for planting. Then, nestle each piece of seed potato down into the soil by no more than an inch or so. Some gardeners who plant seed potatoes in hay don’t even bury them.  They simply place the pieces on top of the soil and then cover them with 5 or 6 inches of loose straw or hay. [I do cover mine with an inch of soil so as to discourage foraging critters.] As the plants grow, add more hay to the top, covering all but the very top leaves of the plant, until the bed has about 18-20 inches of hay. Although the layer of hay serves as an excellent mulch, keep the bed well-watered through the growing season.

When the mature potato vines die at the end of the growing season, wait two weeks then peel back the hay and collect the potatoes.   Happy harvesting!