Pawpaw Planting
Work Day
Come spend the morning putting pawpaw seeds and seedlings in the ground at a private property in Kingston, IL. Open to all — no experience needed.
- When
- Saturday, June 13, 2026
10:00 a.m. - Where
- Michael Haines’ property
32932 Glidden Rd, Kingston, IL - Parking & directions
- Use the pull-off just north of 32932 Glidden Rd and park. Walk east to the far end of the adjoining alfalfa field — we’ll meet you there.
- What to bring
- Long pants and work clothes, sun protection, your favorite work gloves, water. Tools provided.
We’ll be planting pawpaw seedlings using the barrel method described by James A. Little in his 1905 pawpaw 1905 pamphlet — and putting in a good number of seeds as well. The idea is simple: pawpaws are native understory trees and can’t survive even one day’s full sun as seedlings. A barrel (both heads removed) placed over the planting hill provides exactly the dappled shade they need for the first year or two.
Austin will be on hand and will walk through the barrel method in characteristically thorough detail. If you’re interested in taking home a seedling (not just seeds), reach out to Austin before the event to let him know.
Pawpaws are native understory trees.1 In the wild they germinate in the shade of a forest canopy, and young seedlings are essentially defenseless against direct sun — even a single hot afternoon can kill a first-year plant. That biological reality shapes everything about how you establish them from seed in an open field.
The barrel method is the solution: plant seeds in a mounded hill, then set a barrel (both heads removed) over the hill like a chimney. The barrel blocks harsh direct sun while still allowing light, air, and rain through. It stays in place for the first year or two while the seedling builds out its root system underground — the top barely moves, but the roots go deep. Once the plant is established enough to handle open exposure, the barrel comes off.
We’re using this method on June 13 because it works, and because it was documented in detail by James A. Little in his 1905 pamphlet2— 120 years ago, before anyone had a better idea. The biology hasn’t changed.
“Make a hill like a watermelon hill and plant about five seeds two or three inches deep in the fall. In part for protection but mainly for shading the plants when they come up I place a barrel with both heads out over the hill and let it remain for a year or two.”
“The pawpaw tree is by nature an undergrowth and necessarily must be shaded when it first comes up.”
“I allowed the barrels to remain the second year for, as before stated, the pawpaw plants cannot survive even one day’s hot sun.”
James A. Little, The Pawpaw (Asimina triloba): Some Reasons Why It Has Not Been Cultivated, Directions How to Propagate It, Etc. (1905), digitized by the Internet Archive.
Can’t make June 13? See what else is coming up.
2 sources
- Pawpaws as native understory trees and the critical shade requirement for seedlings: KSU Pawpaw Program, Pawpaw Planting Guide; and James A. Little, The Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) (1905): “the pawpaw tree is by nature an undergrowth and necessarily must be shaded when it first comes up.” ↩
- The historical pamphlet shown in Plate 1: James A. Little, The Pawpaw (Asimina triloba): Some Reasons Why It Has Not Been Cultivated, Directions How to Propagate It, Etc. (Clayton, Ind.: O. G. Swindler, 1905), digitized by the Internet Archive; also viewable on Google Books. ↩