Paw Paw Picking Time Arrives In The Alleghany Highlands

One can visit health food stores year-round to purchase paw paw extract supplements or wait to pick paw paws in late Aug. and Sept. in Virginia.

Paw paws are full of nutrients, and the fruit that goes by the nickname, “Kentucky banana,” are harvested and sold at roadside markets in the South. The problem with paw paws is that they have a short shelf life.

Similar to a green tomato that can be picked and set where the sun will reach it, a green paw paw can be picked from a tree and set in the sun to ripen.

Uriah Ray Dean rests in a tree he climbed to pick paw paws. (Photo by M. Ray Allen)