Palm tree fruit

[QueenP]

I had my queen palms trimmed today and had the guys leave me the seed bundles. I've been watching the wild squirrels eat the heck out of the seeds both green and orange and I definitely didn't want to remove a natural food source for them but unfortunately it had to be done. Amazingly we had no babies found which is awesome. My question is... now that I have hundreds maybe thousands of the seeds/ fruits I would hate to see them go to waste since I know they rot pretty quickly and I doubt they'll be consumed in time.

I would love to preserve some of the fruit seed pods things if at all possible. Has anyone done this? I googled every way I could think of but apparently no one else wants to save them for squirrels so I'm kind of at a loss for what to do with them? I am guessing I can just freeze the green ones for wild treats in the winter without ill effect. I'd love to dry some if possible so we can mail some to our squirrel friends. If anyone has tried to do this and has any tips I greatly appreciate any input!

[Diggie's Friend]

Queen Palm is a good source of protein and omega fatty acids for tree squirrels in the wild. Our wild Ms. Diggie loved these!

Laying the seeds single deep on cookie sheets to dry them fully is about as much that should be done. The flesh surrounding the seeds will shrivel up.

Dry and cool storage only; never in the fridge, or freezer, as it is moisture that supports the growth of fungus. Using vacuum-seal bags is perhaps the best option for well dried seeds of any kind. Store seeds no more than 3 months maximum. Each time you feed them check for any signs of fungus; dispose of any in the trash that appear compromised.

[QueenP]

Queen Palm is a good source of protein and omega fatty acids for tree squirrels in the wild. Our wild Ms. Diggie loved these!

Laying the seeds single deep on cookie sheets to dry them fully is about as much that should be done. The flesh surrounding the seeds will shrivel up.

Dry and cool storage only; never in the fridge, or freezer, as it is moisture that supports the growth of fungus. Using vacuum-seal bags is perhaps the best option for well dried seeds of any kind. Store seeds no more than 3 months maximum. Each time you feed them check for any signs of fungus; dispose of any in the trash that appear compromised.

Thanks for the info on dry storage only I would have went about that all wrong. Regarding the flesh shriveling up would that be for the orange ripe ones only? I have green unripened ones as well and I don't know how to gauge that those ones are dry since they seem more like a hard shell right now compared to the orange ripe ones.

[Diggie's Friend]

The Green color would appear to indicate that the fleshy layer is still intact; easy enough to check just try cutting into it.

Once dried the outer layers (exocarp and mesocarp) will eventually fall off leaving just the (Endocarp) seed capsule.

We have Washingtonian palms in our housing tract; the seeds with the flesh on them are dark purple.

These seeds continue to last a long time as they dry in the open air. Drying prevents germination, and so preserves the seed.

Spreading out the seeds on a flat surface like a large cookie sheet and covering them with netting also protects the seed from insect contact prior

to sealing them up in vacuum seal bags to store them.

https://food52.com/shop/products/117...net-food-cover

There are cheaper outdoor domed versions also available.

A dehydrator can be used to do this of course; those with multi-tiers make it easy to support drying a large amount of seed.

All the other foods in the diet can be vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer, just not the nuts.

Squash should be fully cooked before storing in the freezer.

[QueenP]

Thanks for all the helpful information Diggie's Friend!! I have a dehydrator full right now and I'll keep running them through all weekend then vacuum sealing. Our humidity is just too high to air dry anything in a reasonable amount of time.

Squash should be fully cooked before storing in the freezer.

I did NOT know this! Thank you so much for including that note, I just tossed the butternut and acorn squash cubes I had. No need for sick squiggles.

[Diggie's Friend]

Just an update: Our neighbors have a Queen palm heavy with two seed clusters; one cluster is orange, the other green (pre-ripe). It would be good to compare the amounts of key compounds in pre-ripe to that in the ripe ripe, like tannins, and how the various Omega Fatty acids they each contain stack up against one another.
You don't want to dehydrate squash. Instead, bake the squash, as this breaks down the starches it contains, that making it easier to digest. Baking also makes more the nutrients available to the body than boiling does and increases its beta-carotene content significantly.

Though flash frozen raw squash available at markets, doesn't become rubbery when thawed, most conventional freezers don't support this. Baked squash stores well in conventional freezers.

Once baked and cooled, measured out the squash using a 1/2 Teaspoon measure placing it into a freezer tray to store till ready to thaw overnight in the fridge in a covered plastic container to feed to feed the next day.

Do not store raw or baked squash in the refrigerator for more than three days as it will begin to mold.

This kind of silicone freezer tray facilitates ease of both storage and feeding baked squash, but also skinned and cut fruits.

https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Stor...oducts&sr=1-23

Uncut Butternut and Acorn squashes can generally be kept for a few months following its harvest in cool dry storage. The (Ca:P) ratio of Butternut and Acorn squash are (1.5:1) and (1.1) respectively.

Don't forget the squash seeds; after the mash is cleaned off they can also be dehydrated to feed to the squirrels. Like nuts and seeds, store winter squash in a cool dry place to preserve it generally for no more than 3 months. Anytime you see any evidence of mold discard and dispose of the seeds.

The best pumpkin seeds are the dried raw organic Styrian (hulless) variety grown in the US.; not roasted Pepitas from China, that are often old, rancid, and poor in nutrient quality.

http://mypuregoodness.com/styrian-pumpkin-seeds/ (for description)

https://www.nuthut.ca/products/pumpkin-seeds#close-info (one source from Oregon)