Date palm: how and where dates grow

Probably all lovers of exotic fruits have known the taste of dried dates since childhood - very sweet and incomparable, no worse than any candy. There are a sufficient number of people who have tried to successfully grow an ornamental plant at home, from the seeds of an eaten date.

The date palm is rightfully considered “bread” for the inhabitants of the desert, and it is also called the “oasis of the desert”, since it provides travelers with the opportunity not only to have a snack on a long and hot journey (date fruits do not spoil even in the most intense heat), but also and enjoy the coolness in the shade of spreading branches.

Countries where date palms grow

This plant is native to Asia and Africa. It is known that already in the 4th century. BC BC, the Arabs, inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), already actively consumed date fruits for food and also for medicinal purposes. The plant is also mentioned in the Bible and the Koran. Bedouins build houses from their trunks and cover roofs with branches.

Palm branches are used to feed horses and camels, and a variety of wines and sugar are made from the juice. In a word: the date palm is indispensable for life in North Africa and Asia.

Dates are grown and exported in industrial quantities to countries such as: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq and Iran, UAE, Syria, Oman and Sudan.

The leader in fruit exports is Saudi Arabia.

Spain is the only country in Europe where dates grow and bear fruit well.

Today you can see these powerful representatives of the flora in countries such as the USA (California), Mexico and Australia.

Beneficial features

Date fruits are shown:

• anemic, suffering from tuberculosis, engaged in heavy physical labor, despondent, nursing and pregnant, heart patients, hypertensive patients, having problems with gums, weakened and cold;
• as a healthy dessert;
• when the diet is poor (fruits contain a lot of minerals and a complex of easily digestible vitamins).

The older the plant, the more decorative it is.

In the homeland of dates, palm fruits are used to prepare drinks, bread flour, and fried dishes.

Young dates are quite sensitive to irregularities in the watering regime and often die during transplantation. But if you set the goal of creating comfortable conditions for the plant, which is expressed in normalized watering, sufficient lighting and the absence of drafts, the hatched palm tree will take root and in five years will delight you with many spreading leaves.

How dates grow in Israel

Israel is known to produce some of the best dates in the world. It's all about suitable natural conditions and the right, professional approach to this matter.

Even the ancient Romans and Greeks described dates growing near the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, but later, in the Middle Ages, for unknown reasons this tree disappeared from the territory of the state. Only in the 50s. 20th century Israeli representatives secretly met in Syria with Arab date growers and learned from them the knowledge and secrets necessary to care for the palm tree and its fruits. They also purchased several seedlings that were smuggled.

Now Israel is one of the main exporters of dates in the world .

High-quality fruits are sold whole, and slightly inferior fruits are used to make excellent sweets, such as marshmallows, candies, jams , etc. A variety of spices are also made from them.

Here, all trees (grown for industrial purposes) are pollinated by hand: pollen is collected from male individuals, and each branch of female palm trees is driven by hand and driven by special machines.

It is also mandatory to thin out dates; this is necessary to ensure that the fruits are as large and of high quality as possible. Thinning is also done manually - each branch is inspected and the required number of shoots is left, removing all the rest.

Benefits of dates

Dates are loved by adults and children. The delicacy is not only tasty, but also healthy. If candies and ordinary sweets only destroy gums and tooth enamel, then dates strengthen them. They contain all the most important vitamins and minerals. They also contain niacin and pantothenic acid. These substances are very beneficial for the skin and hair, and benefit vision and the liver. The potassium and magnesium they contain help prevent heart disease. The dietary fiber (fiber) present in these dried fruits improves digestion. They help lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels. Dried dates contain a high concentration of antioxidants.

In another way they are also called “bread of the desert.” The great advantage of dates is that they are not treated with sulfuric acid, like other dried fruits. For example, among the Chinese there are many long-lived people whose diet includes dates. They not only increase a person’s life expectancy, but also make him hardy, strengthen the liver, kidneys, and heart. Dates stimulate the nervous system and help the body fight infections, including viral ones. These dried fruits prevent diseases such as: hypertension, anemia, breast and lung cancer. They can soothe a cough and speed up the removal of mucus.

Varieties of dates grown in Israel

They mainly grow three varieties of dates:

1. "Majul" - meaning "king" - is a name well justified by its popularity and quality of fruit.
2. Hai'an dates are incredibly tasty and beautiful fruits. They are collected not fully ripe and stored in special freezers at a temperature of minus eighteen degrees, where they ripen. These dates are yellow in color when fresh, but when dried they turn brownish. Very tasty and sugary in any form. They begin to harvest in mid-September at night (due to the intense heat), from two in the morning to six in the morning.
3. Dates of the "barhi" variety - the fruits of this variety also have excellent taste, are yellow when fresh, and can reach the size of a small apple.

What dates look like: description of date palm fruits

The date fruit is like a long cylinder. When fresh, it reaches 6-8 cm in length, about 4.5 cm in diameter.

Hoya flower - what the varieties Carnosa, Kerry, Bella, fleshy, Multiflora look like

The berry can be orange, yellow, reddish, brown. What dates look like on a tree depends on the variety. Also, belonging to one or another variety determines the juiciness of the dried fruit.

Inside the date there is a fairly large pit with a horizontal groove.

Important! For safety, it is recommended to consume fresh fruits only in the areas where they grow.

How dates are collected

Dates on the tree are harvested exclusively by hand. It's very hard work. How dates grow and how they are harvested can only be told by the palm plantation workers themselves. Considering that from 3 to 18 clusters weighing up to 18-20 kg each ripen on an adult palm tree, harvesting is only available to men.

Depending on the geographical location, the harvest is harvested from May to the end of December.

Date collection

Where do dates grow in Russia?

As you know, date palms require a hot tropical or subtropical climate . There are not very many such places in our country, only in the south of the Caucasus Mountains.

Many such palm trees grow in Sochi, but these are not at all ideal conditions for this plant, because the trees themselves grow, and they even have fruits, but the quality of these fruits is incomparable with fruits grown in Asia.

Small bushes also grow indoors, which everyone can admire.

You should not expect fruits from a home plant, not only because the growth conditions do not correspond to natural ones, but also because they need pollen from trees of the opposite kind for pollination.

Growing date palms at home

In Russia, the date palm is grown at home. It plays a purely decorative role. But for good growth, the culture should create conditions close to natural.

Home date seedlings

Rules for transplanting date palms

In the case of a home palm tree, even the shape of the pot matters. It should be deep and narrow. It is better to buy ready-made soil. If desired, you can prepare the soil yourself. Will be required in equal proportions:

• peat;
• humus;
• coarse sand.

The bottom of the container should be lined with drainage material (expanded clay, pebbles).

Important! To ensure that the tree grows evenly, the pot must be rotated regularly.

Transplants are carried out once every five years.

Description of the date tree

Date palms, also called “phoenixes,” are mostly trees, although there are also low shrubs with long, strong, pinnate leaves with spines at the base. The plant belongs to the palm family. They can have one or more trunks and reach a height of up to 20-30 meters (in rare cases, up to 40).

The tree blooms with small yellow inflorescences. These are dioecious plants, they are divided into female and male individuals. The male representatives do not bear fruits; pollen appears on them, which is used to pollinate the female ones.

Transplanting seedlings

As a rule, it is recommended to replant seeds that have roots - each sprout into a separate container. It is convenient to use plastic cups for these purposes, and large seeds can be immediately placed in small pots.

However, some are in no hurry to plant them and initially place the sprouted seeds in a damp cloth and place them in a warm place where there is a lot of light. It is better to pre-treat them with a fungicidal agent. As soon as the seeds have 1.5-2 cm seedlings, they can be moved to a separate tank.

It is also better to send the soil mixture for sterilization or treat it with fungicides.

If a “palm” hatches in a container with another flower, then removing it is not so easy

To do this, you need to take out the plant along with a lump of earth, carefully remove the sprout and transplant it into a separate tank

Most palm trees experience severe stress during transplantation, so when working with the plant, you should carefully handle the root system, avoiding damage

Harvest

In the third or fourth year you can expect the first fruits, but a full harvest appears in the 5-6th year of the tree’s life. Dates usually bear a huge number of fruits; there are cases when, under their weight, during gusts of wind, the palm trees themselves even break. The tree holds the record for the number of years and fruit yield. On average, a palm tree bears fruit for 60-80 years. In the 5th-6th year, each tree bears up to 10 kg of fruit, and from about the 13th year, the yield can reach about 80 kilograms; you can even harvest up to 150 kg of fruit from one tree.

The most delicious dates

The quality of the fruit depends, first of all, on the variety. At the moment, many of them have been released. Deglet nur is rightfully considered the most delicious. These palm trees produce dates that are perfectly soft, sweet and literally melt in your mouth. Where they grow doesn't really matter. The main thing is that you can buy and try them.

Unfortunately, in Russia you can only eat dried fruits. Fresh fruits are very capricious and transporting them is problematic. In addition, the price of dried fruit is significantly lower. If you get the chance, be sure to try a fresh date. Nothing can describe its taste!

Growing dates with your own hands

To grow this plant you don’t need to put in a lot of effort, but a little work is still worth it. To successfully grow palm trees indoors, you need to follow some rules:

• The soil must be fertile and light; for this it is necessary to prepare a substrate consisting of the following components: sand, turf soil (clayey), peat, leaf and humus.
• The seed can be used from fresh, dried or dried fruit; it has virtually no effect on germination. Israeli scientists even conducted an interesting experiment related to the germination of this plant: during archaeological excavations, a dried date seed was discovered, which, in their opinion, is about two thousand years old; it was planted and after some time the palm tree sprouted.
• Dates can only be grown from seeds. There are many complicated options for planting a plant, when the seed is subjected to various treatments. However, such “procedures” are not at all mandatory; their benefits for the seed itself can be debated for a long time, since they do not correspond to the natural conditions of tree germination. The simplest and most natural way is to plant in the prepared soil, which is described in the first paragraph.
• In a small container with small holes at the bottom - for the passage of excess moisture, and prepared soil, you need to deepen the seed (in a vertical position, with the sharp edge up) by approximately 1.5 - 2 cm. After which, water a little.
• Next, you need to place the pot in a well-lit and warm place (at room temperature: 20-25 degrees), water moderately about once a week, and wait for the palm tree to germinate.
• After approximately 2-3 weeks (but there are also cases when you need to wait 2 months), a sprout should appear.
• Date palms have a very fast growing, strong, powerful and extensive root system. Therefore, they need to be replanted into a larger pot approximately once a year. After germination, literally after 2-4 weeks you need to transplant the plant into a medium-sized container (if you do not transplant the date in time, its overgrown roots will become tightly intertwined near the walls of the pot, then the transplant will threaten to damage the root system)
• The plant loves well-ventilated rooms (without drafts). And despite their natural origin, phoenixes love well-humidified air; it is advisable to sometimes spray the leaves with settled water at room temperature. Under conditions where the plant stands near the battery, it is necessary to place a small container of water nearby to humidify the air, or, for the same purpose, you can put a piece of cloth moistened with clean water (without powder and detergents) on the battery.
• Watering is moderate (about once a week, and in the summer it can be a little more often).
• They can be damaged by pests such as: mealybugs (mealybugs), scale insects and mites (spider mites). If they are found, you should immediately treat the sheets: this can be simply wiping with warm water, or water with a small amount of soap (preferably for children), or you can also buy special chemicals in the store.
• Cats love the leaves of small palm trees, so it’s worth hiding the plant at first until the leaves become a little coarser.
• Feeding - in winter, the bush is at rest, so it is better not to fertilize it at this time, but in the autumn-spring period it is advisable to take care of feeding, which can be organic and mineral. Organic: humus, compost and bird droppings; mineral: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. Complex mineral fertilizers containing several useful elements are also effective. You can find out how to use mineral fertilizers in the instructions or from the seller; organic ones are prepared as follows: one tablespoon of fertilizer is added to two liters of settled and cool water (in this way, you can fertilize the soil every two weeks, using a moderate amount of this “solution”). .

Date palm at home - how to care and replant

At home, the date palm will not bear fruit. Domestic palms bloom rarely and only in adulthood. Caring for an oriental beauty is different from ordinary indoor flowers and requires patience.

Is it possible to grow from a seed at home?

If the date seed is in favorable conditions, it will definitely germinate. The main thing is that the fruit is not subjected to heat treatment. As planting material, you can take a seed from a dry, dried or fresh fruit.

Growing dates from seeds

Tips on how to grow a date palm from a seed

The main aspects of growing palm trees from seed:

• Seed preparation. The seed should be placed in warm water for several days to soften. When a characteristic bump appears on the bone, you need to carefully make an incision in this place with a stationery knife or blade. After two days in the water, a white sprout will appear in this place.
• The seed is planted in light soil, deepened no more than 1 cm.
• For optimal humidity conditions, it is better to put a bag on the pot.

The result of planting will be visible after 3-4 months. This will be a single thin leaf. The palm tree grows slowly, and full-fledged carved leaves will appear on it after a few years.

Useful properties of dates and their use in the food industry

1. This exotic fruit contains a large amount of dietary fiber, some of which are soluble and others insoluble; they prevent the rapid absorption of sugar, so their glycemic index is low. Eating dates gives you energy and gives you a long-lasting feeling of fullness.
2. Date honey, silane, is very highly valued and very popular in the east. To make it, the fruits are peeled and pitted, then the juice is extracted, which is diluted with special sugar water and evaporated until the liquid reaches the consistency of molasses, then the “honey” is poured into pre-sterilized jars and closed. The shelf life of such a product is very long, and the benefits of eating it can hardly be overestimated.
3. A natural sweetener is made from dates.

The fruit contains a huge amount of useful substances : vitamins A, B1, B2, folic acid, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, etc. They also contain a large amount of calories - approximately 200 kcal. per 100 g. Many claim that a person can live for a very long time on dates and water alone.

In cooking, there are a huge number of recipes for preparing various dishes with the addition of date palm fruits: sweet pilafs, a variety of pastries, sweets, jams , drinks and much more.

Why do date palm leaves turn dark?

The culture is very attractive to insects such as:

• mealybug;
• spider mite;
• Scale insects.

Infestation by these pests leads to darkening and drying of the leaves. You can get rid of the scourge using a solution of laundry soap or diluted garlic juice. You can use an insecticide, such as actellik.

A healthy plant serves as decoration for residential premises and recreational areas in institutions. This is where the benefits of palm trees end. You cannot expect flowering and fruiting from them. However, the decorativeness of the exotic completely compensates for this shortcoming.

Eating dates to improve well-being and health

This fruit is recommended to be taken for many ailments, such as:

• Digestive disorder. The fruits should be eaten in the morning, on an empty stomach - this stabilizes the gastrointestinal tract and gets rid of harmful “representatives” of the intestinal microflora.
• Eating dates frequently improves appetite.
• Useful in restoring vision.
• It is advisable to consume fruits for pregnant women to strengthen the health of the child.

With all the above-mentioned beneficial properties, you should still not abuse dates. For their beneficial effect on the body, it is enough to eat no more than 10 pieces per day.

The date palm is an inaccessible plant for cultivation in our latitudes, but for those who want to bring a little exoticism and the atmosphere of distant countries into their home, growing an ornamental date is an ideal option!

How to care for a palm tree at home

When growing palm trees, experts recommend adhering to certain rules. The following points are important:

• absence of drafts;
• watering with soft, settled water;
• wiping the leaves with a damp cloth;
• weekly warm shower;
• fertilizing with minerals and organic fertilizers every two weeks during the growing season and monthly in winter.

Important! Where the date palm grows, cold winds are not allowed in the house.

Watering mode

Watering the date tree is done on the verge of drying out, that is, when the top layer of soil is dry 2-3 cm deep. Watering should be plentiful, and the remaining moisture from the pan should be drained. In summer this is an average of 2-3 times a week. In winter, watering almost stops, but the earthen ball should not dry out completely.

Lighting requirements

Palm is a southern crop. She needs at least 10 hours of daylight. South, south-east, south-west windows are suitable. Very young plants should be shaded from direct midday sunlight.

Home palm

The benefits and harms of dates

Dates are rightly considered an extremely healthy delicacy. Unlike the sweets we are used to, they strengthen rather than destroy gums and teeth. It is believed that a person can live for several months eating only these dried fruits without depriving himself of vital vitamins and minerals. It’s not for nothing that they gave it the name “bread of the desert.” By the way, dates, unlike other dried fruits, are not treated with sulfuric acid, which also speaks in their favor.

If we talk about vitamins, these fruits contain a lot of vitamins A, C, B, as well as niacin and pantothenic acid. It is these substances that help strengthen skin and hair, and have a positive effect on vision and liver. And dates are also not useless for the heart - due to their potassium and magnesium content, they are indicated for the prevention of heart disease.

Additionally, these dried fruits are exceptionally rich in dietary fiber, which means they aid digestion, lower cholesterol, and stabilize blood sugar levels.

We have all heard about the benefits of antioxidants. So, dried dates have the highest concentration of these substances of all dried fruits.

It is clear that without a timely portion of dates, your health will not decline, but even doctors recognize the benefits of these fruits. Thus, according to health workers, these dried fruits do not serve as transmitters of dangerous bacteria or parasites and, on the contrary, fight harmful microbes, such as amoeba, especially when taken on an empty stomach. Dates are included in the menu of astronauts as a healthy food and medicine.

Dates are indicated for pregnant and lactating women as a beneficial health support.

There are a lot of medicinal recipes known. Something like this: to lengthen eyelashes, it is recommended to line your eyes before going to bed with powder made from ground and burnt dates. To get rid of dystrophy, drink a decoction of rice and dates more often. For nervous diseases, it is recommended to simply eat them with milk. A couple of dates and walnuts will relieve exhaustion and thinness, and poultices made from date sugar are effective for muscle pain.

The optimal daily dose is considered to be 10-15 pieces of fruit. And all this is not counting the fact that they are simply delicious and this alone can lift your spirits and ward off depression. We also note that fruits with seeds are considered the healthiest.

There are still no known precautions in using dates; they are useful for absolutely everyone, with the exception of people suffering from diabetes. It’s not for nothing that people living in the desert call dates bread; they claim that even if you eat only dates and water for a whole month, the harm to the body will be minimal.

How to choose

In order not to make a mistake in your choice, it is enough to inspect the dried fruit carefully. Its skin should be dry and dark, with wrinkles. If the fruits are light, this means that they are not ripe. There should not be too many wrinkles on the skin - this indicates an overdried product.

There should also be no foreign deposits or formations - sugar, mold, on the skin. And, of course, the fruit must be whole.

There are extremely many varieties of dates. Let's say there is a variety called deglet nour, which comes to us from Algeria, or finger variety - they are also called medjool.