by Lance Hill | Jan 8, 2021 | Mirliton
Chrissy and Ryan Rockefeller
Rockefeller Heirloom Mirliton Donated to Mirliton.Org
By Lance Hill
I am delighted to announce that Ryan and Chrissy Rockefeller of St. Rose, Louisiana have donated several sprouts to Mirliton.Org to propagate. This is a previously unseen dark green and slightly spiny variety.
Image 1. Rockefeller Heirloom Mirliton.
Chrissy Missios Rockefeller has been regularly posting about their mirliton vine on the Louisiana Edible Gardeners Facebook group. We were intrigued that it produced some dark green and spiny mirlitons. Similar varieties exist throughout the word, but Louisiana growers have favored pale green and smooth varieties. Somehow this variety survived. Mirliton.Org plans to carefully cultivate this variety to preserve and repopulate it. We have, as is our practice, named the variety after the family that had owned and preserved it for years.
Image 2. Rockefeller Heirloom Mirliton Vine growing in St. Rose.
People often ask us if different varietal colors and characteristics indicate differences in flavor. Imported mirlitons (chayote) have been selected for uniform color, size, and smoothness, all at the expense of flavor. We know that there are differences in flavor in Louisiana-grown heirlooms and plan to flavor- test the Rockefeller variety.
Image 3. Rockefeller Heirloom Mirliton sprouts.
If you are interested in growing the variety to provide it to aspiring growers, and if you have adequate trellis space and frost protection in place, please email me at lance@mirlton.org for an application.
Special thanks to Paul D’Anna for his help in securing this donation.
by David Hubbell | Jan 8, 2021 | Mirliton
Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – November/December 2020
By David J. Hubbell
Background:
On June 20th, 2020, Mirliton.org announced the we were kicking off The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project in an attempt to bring back, from the brink of extinction, this rare ivory white variety of the mirliton grown and cared for over four decades by Opelousas, Louisiana’s Ishreal Thibodeaux. If you haven’t already checked out the Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – July 2020 , August/September 2020, or October 2020 please do so by clicking on the respective links. They contain an in depth look at all of our growers and efforts from the start of the project.
Reports from the Field:
The month of November was one of peak production for the Ishreal Thibodeaux Mirliton growers in Louisiana, followed by a winding down and getting ready for the 2021 growing season. While some of the growers in Baton Rouge and further north would start to encounter frosty conditions in December, there had still been plenty of time for at least two great crops from Chef John Folse and an unofficial grower in Folsom, Louisiana. Both produced 80-90+ Ishreal Thibodeaux’s each, many going toward our next round of spring growers.
Chef John reported back in November, “Our mirliton vine is still healthy and prolific in Baton Rouge here in late November. We still see numerous small mirlitons and many flowers producing numerous small vegetables. It really has been a banner year in our efforts to preserve this rare and special Ishreal Thibodaux variety.”
Image 1. First group of mirlitons picked by Chef John Folse at White Oak Estate and Gardens.
Image 2. Some additional yields picked at White Oak Estate and Gardens in Baton Rouge.
Image 3. The largest Israel Thibodaux Mirliton picked this year from Chef John Folse’s Trellis in Baton Rouge. 1 pound 14.5 ounces!
As the readers will observe, White Oak Estates and Gardens in Baton Rouge has quickly become the center of Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton production in the United States. We appreciate all of Chef John’s efforts in documenting his yields as well as his techniques. As you will see here, on November 30th, Chef, his gardener Brian Ainsworth, and staff took great care to prepare the mirliton vines against the impending freezing conditions on that date.
Image 4. Large Ishreal Thibodeaux vine at White Oak Estate totally covered in anticipation of 30 oF.
Image 5. Four Ishreal Thibodaux Mirliton beds covered from frost at White Oak.
White Oak is also preparing for the future with there overwintering of over 35 pots of the Ishreal Thibodeaux Mirlitons shown below. Chef John notes: “… Brian and I are getting 20 three-gallon pots ready with proper soil to plant the mirliton as they show vine potential. “Later in December he reported the following projection – “35 potted by next week all doing well and vine protected in the covered vine house with heaters.”
Image 6. First round of Ishreal Thibodaux White Mirlitons potted for overwintering.
Image 7. Sprouted Ishreal Thibodaux White Mirlitons potted for overwintering.
Just as we reported in the last update that our Carolina growers, Chris Smith and Keith Mearns, are having success with propagating cuttings, gardener Brian Ainsworth and his wife have found success in rooting Ishreal Thibodaux White Mirliton in the White Oak Estate greenhouse from cuttings.
Image 8. Mrs. Ainsworth displays a successfully rooted mirlitons vine from a cutting.
If you’d like to see more about the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation operation at White Oak Estate and Gardens in Baton Rouge, please click the photo below and check out Chef John Folse’s video included below:
Image 9. Virtual Visit to White Oak Estates and Gardens
In addition to our official growers, our Metairie grower Paul d’Anna reports one of his contacts whom he gave an Ishreal Thibodeaux vine to in the spring produced 92 mirliton this year. Paul shared with me the that the vine didn’t really take off until September. Up to that point it was about 18” long. He said that neither he nor the grower did anything special. They just watched for potential issues due to squash vine bore and protected it from the evening sun especially in July and August. They also have guarded against anthracnose by removing the bottom 4 feet of leaves once the vine has really started to take off. Paul also said that the gentleman in Folsom cut his vine back due to the freezing weather in December. Mirliton.org acquired a good number of these to be able to supply growers to the second wave for 2021.
The last, but not least, of our official Louisiana growers, James Cobb shared this great picture of his vine and reported “These 2 of mine will be used to get new vines growing, hoping to make way more next season.”
Image 10. James Cobb’s two beautiful Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirlitons.
We are really looking forward to James’ success in 2021.
As we have previously mentioned Carolina growers had some good success with their attempts at cuttings are basically in the overwintering stage to get an earlier start in 2021.
Finally, the Ishreal Thibodeaux Mirliton in Mobile is doing well despite the late start. It is slowly growing and we will try to avoid cutting it back and simply take measures to protect it so it will have a great head start in the spring.
Image 11. David Hubbell’s mirliton slowly adjusting to being transplanted in Mobile.
Tee Shirts:
In the last update, I alluded briefly to the new The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project tee shirts, but failed to share more information about them. At the beginning of the project, Dr. Lance Hill had a great idea to create a shirt for our initial growers commemorating their participation in the project. Working with a local Louisiana artist, the following design was created and several shirts were printed. It was then decided that we would make these shirts available as a special offering for those wishing to donate $30 per shirt to Mirliton.org. We posted our first ad in late November and almost immediately sold out of many popular sizes. The good news is that we received a second shipment and have more available for the $30 donation (which includes postage and handling cost). To order you own, simply click here or send me an email at rpcajun2r@gmail.com.
Image 12. The official tee shirt of The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project.
Image 13. The official tee shirt of The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project.
Education and Inspiration Through Food:
In addition to the great documentation on the growing process at White Oak Estate and Gardens, Chef John Folse provides us a little further inspiration with the following recipe for a Mirliton Pie. Check this out and please “Like” and “Subscribe” to Chef’s new YouTube page.
Image 14. Chef John Folse’s Mirliton Pie.
I was also invited to do a follow up call with local Mobile gardening radio show about the efforts so far. Mobile’s horticulturist, Bill Finch, is a great supporter of the traditional Gulf Coast vegetables and is very interested in mirliton. I am including the link to the show for those interested. The discussion on the Ishreal Thibodeaux’s starts around 18 minutes in: Plain Gardening with Bill Finch Hour 2 12-13-20 – FM Talk 1065
Thoughts for the 2020 Growing Season:
This fourth update hopefully showcased what I consider to be a successful end to our efforts in 2020. As I write this on the last day of the year and look back on all the negative things that have impacted the world and even my personal life, I have to think that by far the formation and initial successes of this project and the efforts of the growers has been for me the brightest spot in my year. What started as a simple text from Chef Folse in March asking for help locating more Ishreal Thibodeaux white mirliton vines has grown into a movement to not only preserved that single vine, but to save and propagate a special variety for others to experience. Thanks to the guidance of Dr. Lance Hill and the efforts of these growers we now have roughly 14 new vines plus over 100 potted plants for the second wave of growers for 2021. The fate of the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton vine could have easily become another causality of 2020, but thanks to the unselfish efforts, dedication, and desires of our first team of growers we are happy to report that we feel we have a great foundation to build upon in 2021. If our future efforts can have similar success, then by next year at this time we will be poised to have hundreds of Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton vines plus a network of growers going into 2022 and should have successfully restored if not exceed the number of vines growing in the United States to probably record numbers.
As a final note, I have gone through my list of growers for the second wave and will finalize their commitments for 2021. If you are interested, please check out this link. Thank you all for the interest and support in 2020 and we wish you and your family and friends a safe, healthy, and wonderful New Year.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please send them to me David J. Hubbell at rpcajun2r@gmail.com. Thank you.
by Lance Hill | Nov 24, 2020 | Mirliton
Old Family Tradition of Mirliton Growing Flourishes in St. John Parish
By Renee Lapeyrolerie and Dr. Lance Hill
First, a little genealogy. In the 1970s, Joseph “Junior” Remondet started his first mirliton (chayote) vine in Reserve, St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana. Remondet’s uncle had handed down the old family variety that they had for generations. Junior shared it with his bother-in-law and next-door neighbor, Earl Perque, who bequeathed it to his son Paul Perque It’s a bit like the begats in the bible, but Louisiana mirliton growers believe in preserving family traditions.
Figure 1 Remondet-Perque Heirloom Mirliton
Mirlitons are in the Remondet-Perque family’s genes. The family has grown them for generations. Junior Remondet is a big, garrulous man with a thick Louisiana French accent. His uncle told him to plant two mirliton seeds in keeping with an old myth that you need a male and female plant; but it was good advice since it doubled his chances of success. The family heirloom mirliton is now primarily in the care of Paul Perque. The trellis 15′ X 10’ and is made of fence posts and covered on top with livestock panels (4”x4” mesh) and receives full sun.
Figure 2 Joseph ‘Junior’ Remondet, Paul Perque, and Ryan Remondet.
Figure 3 Paul Perque with his current vine, has yielded over 300 mirliton at publishing.
Paul Perque’s late mother, Sylvia, took careful notes of the harvest in the back of her address book. Her records include years of family and friends who would call and request mirliton for purchase by the dozen to make stuffed mirlitons. Miss Sylvia was a great cook, known for making pastries for the local church and school.
Figure 4 Sylvia Audiffred Perque’s family notebook of 2013 Mirliton Harvest.
Ryan fondly remembers helping his father tend to the mirliton trellis, running new wires across the top. Ryan is in the grocery produce business and recounts when a colleague from the West Coast visited him and was mystified by the enormous quantity of chayote coming into Louisiana since there were few of the Latino and Asian populations that valued the squash. Ryan told him the history of home growing mirlitons in Louisiana. For the coup de grace, he had his mother prepare his colleague some of the traditional shrimp-stuffed mirlitons.
Figure 5
The vine is located at the end of the family lane and adjacent to a large drainage ditch alongside the Canadian North Railroad. Junior’s uncle had suggested that he plant near a water source such as this, and Paul credits the vine’s success to this location.
The vine has a traditional Louisiana overhead trellis (arbor) and access to an adjacent tree that it likes to climb. In 2019, an early frost—the first in over a century—killed the top of the vine but it recovered and regrew in the spring of 2020.
Figure 6 Full Vine.
Figure 7 Earl Perque with his mirliton vine in background.
by David Hubbell | Nov 13, 2020 | Mirliton
Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – October 2020
By David J. Hubbell
Background:
On June 20th, 2020, Mirliton.org announced the we were kicking off the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project in an attempt to bring back, from the brink of extinction, this rare ivory white variety of the mirliton grown and cared for over four decades by Opelousas, Louisiana’s Ishreal Thibodeaux. If you haven’t already check out the Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – July 2020 or August/September 2020 please do so here: https://www.mirliton.org/2020/08/10/update-on-the-ishreal-thibodeaux-white-mirliton-preservation-project-july-2020/ or here https://www.mirliton.org/2020/09/26/update-on-the-ishreal-thibodeaux-white-mirliton-preservation-project-august-september-2020/. They contain an in depth look at all of our growers and efforts from the start of the project.
Reports from the Field:
The month of October was a one in which we expected to start seeing some rapid fruiting of the Ishreal Thibodeaux Mirlitons. While the weather was cooler, the Gulf Coast was again rocked by another set of hurricanes with Delta and Zeta making landfall in October. Luckily, our growers didn’t sustain any issues.
Starting with the Carolina growers we learned the following:
Chris Smith’s reported that “I’ve taken cuttings to root out and sent one to a greater greenhouse in CLT. I’ve got mine under cover and will overwinter. The main difference in learning is that my vines will flower and fruit in fall when the daylength drops, yours will flower and fruit in spring when it warms. If they survive the winter here, I’ll plant out next May and hope to get to fruit that fall. I may try to force flowering with daylength restrictions.” To note: the Ishreal Thibodeaux will actually flower and fruit in both the fall and spring in an established vine. Chris’s information and hopeful success on taking cuttings and overwintering will be of great interest to us in the future months on
Image 1. The first of two potted mirliton Chris Smith and his group are nurturing.
Image 2. Another view of Chris Smith’s potted mirliton.
By mid-October, Keith Mearns plants were also doing well in Columbia, South Carolina. He sent updated pictures of the one in the ground as well as one in the pot (see below). In addition, he had successfully started one from a cutting. He reports
“…I had success with cuttings with at least three nodes, cut end dusted with Hormodin 3, inserted into 100% perlite, kept under mist (3min every 45 min) “. This is very encouraging as it gives us a second way to preserve this and other mirliton plants other than simply starting them from seed mirliton! This is definitely something we hope to explore further and share with the Mirliton.org community in the future.
Image 3. Keith’s mirliton cutting. This looks to be doing well!
Image 4. The first of potted mirliton Keith Mearn’s is nurturing.
Image 5. Keith’s planted mirliton has seen some substantial growth since last month!
James Cobb’s vines in Houma was also doing well in mid -October with the emergence of several new tendrils.
Image 6. James’ potted mirliton doing well in October.
In addition to just the propagation of the plant, Dr. Lance Hill and I worked with a Baton Rouge area designer to come up with a Team shirt to also propagate awareness. We have elected James our “poster boy” due to the joy in his face as he sports this new shirt. (More to come on this below).
Image 7. James sporting the new Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project Tee next to his potted mirliton.
Metairie grower Paul D’Anna reported that his vine is still surviving, but was struggling. However, he noted that one of the unofficial growers he had previously given an Ishreal Thibodeaux vine to was seeing some tremendous success. We will follow up and see if they are willing to participate in the official project.
Some exciting news from Chef John Folse was that once again he was producing some nice sized Ishreal Thibodaeux mirlitons. He reported early in the month that, “Today at White Oak Estate & Gardens in Baton Rouge, I picked seven of the largest Ishrael Thibodaux White Mirliton I’ve ever grown! For some unknown reason, this Fall season is producing some of the most unbelievable white mirliton I’ve seen both in size and quantity. Might be the rabbit cages next to the arbor!!!!!”
Image 8. John Folse’s older vine is starting to produce in Baton Rouge.
By October 26th, Chef John reported the following. “Counted 36 mirlitons on the vine today…WoW! … I’ll pick about 6-8 very large ones to add to the 5 large ones picked yesterday.”
Image 9. Chef John Folse showing the bounty from his harvesting of mirlitons at White Oak Estates and Gardens in Baton Rouge.
“How big is that mirliton?” you’re asking. It measured 12” diameter and 1.113 pounds!
Image 10. The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton picked from White Oak Estates & Gardens is definitely a keeper.
From my end, the one I received from Chef John was plant in Mobile and is doing well, though I don’t expect to see any fruiting until the spring.
Image 11. David Hubbell’s mirliton slowly adjusting to being transplanted in Mobile.
Closing Thoughts for Effort So Far:
This third update hopefully showcased the fruits of the efforts so far. As I write this in mid-November, we know that the yields we are seeing so far aren’t as great as we had hoped, but if we can preserve these vines through another growing season, we should have an even better spring than we saw this year. Right now, I am thinking of maybe only have a smaller set of additional growers, say maybe two more to overwinter a few and plant in the spring. I will go through the list of previous applicants and narrow down the field to between 2-5 to be prepared. More to come in the next few weeks.
For information on the tee shirt James was wearing, please click on this link to take you to detailed information on how to get one. – Mirliton Tee.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please send them to me David J. Hubbell at rpcajun2r@gmail.com. Thank you.
by David Hubbell | Oct 18, 2020 | Mirliton
INTRODUCING THE FIRST PRODUCT AVAILABLE FROM MIRLITON.ORG!!!!
The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project Tee
This festive unisex tee shirt is made out of 100% cotton and is a soft and comfortable way to show your support for this exciting project and your love of mirliton!
The Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project Tee
Designed by Artistically Yours
Grower James Cobb proudly sporting his Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project Tee next to his Ishreal Thibodeaux vine.
Click the Mirlitons Classifieds to order.
by David Hubbell | Sep 26, 2020 | Mirliton
Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – August/September 2020
By David J. Hubbell
Background:
On June 20th, 2020, Mirliton.org announced the we were kicking off the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project in an attempt to bring back, from the brink of extinction, this rare ivory white variety of the mirliton grown and cared for over four decades by Opelousas, Louisiana’s Ishreal Thibodeaux. If you haven’t already check out the Update on the Ishreal Thibodeaux White Mirliton Preservation Project – July 2020 please do so here: https://www.mirliton.org/2020/08/10/update-on-the-ishreal-thibodeaux-white-mirliton-preservation-project-july-2020/ . It contains an in depth look at all of our growers and efforts for the start of the project.
Reports from the Field:
The month of August was basically one in which the growers were nurturing their potted mirlitons to encourage growth and good root development as well as protect against the summer elements…including hurricanes! In addition, the two Louisiana growers with vines in the ground also worked to protect these so that they could thrive despite the aforementioned elements. September was our anticipated month to have the mirlitons in the ground to shoot for a small fall crop.
First off, it was good to hear that our Carolina growers fared well with Hurricane Isaias.
Chris Smith’s sprouts in Ashville, North Carolina were coming along nicely in early August and was hoping to be on course for the September planting. However, he noted on September 23rd, the mirliton were still “alive but small and still in containers. We’ve hit a low of 40F here already so I’m taking precautions. I’ve taken a cutting and sent it to a heated greenhouse in Charlotte where it should overwinter quite happily. I’ll keep mine in containers and move them inside as well as taking extra cuttings as the vines grow. The ‘season’ here is to grow early in spring, set out in summer and harvest in fall. Hopefully we’ll see that pattern in 2021…”
Image 1. The first of two potted mirliton Chris Smith and his group are nurturing.
Image 2. The second of Chris’ two potted mirliton. This one was just starting to sprout.
At the end of August, Keith Mearns plants were also doing great in Columbia, South Carolina. He reports “Both my plants are doing well. One started later than the other and is about 12” long. The large one is now beginning to branch from lower buds. “
Image 3. The first of two potted mirliton Keith Mearn’s and his rooster are nurturing.
Image 4. The second of Keith’s two potted mirliton. This one is doing well!
Keith reported the following on September 16th, “In anticipation of some decent rain, I planted one of my plants today on one of the trellises I sent photos of. I’m thinking that I’m going to up-pot the other plant into a 15gal pot and keep it in my heated cold frame greenhouse. I’ve also just stuck a few cuttings to see how they do.”
Image 5. Keith’s planted mirliton.
James Cobb’s vines in Houma were really thriving at the beginning of August and he states this one is in a “10 gallon nursery pot and the top of the cage is 6′. Tallest plant is now at the 4′ ring or about 3-1/4′ above the soil. The fruit on that one is still very firm. The other fruit basically rotted but the plant itself is doing well, but not as tall as the other, but does have a couple of new shoots coming up from the bottom.”
Image 6. James’ potted mirliton doing well in early August.
Then our Louisiana growers had to deal with a double whammy the last week of August: Marco and Laura. While Marco seemed a relative non-event to some, Laura did some major damage to the west side of the state. One of the Ishreal Thibodeaux growers not in the first group of official growers unfortunately lost hers during Laura.
In an effort to protect his plant, James lashed himself to the plant during the storm as seen here. 😉 In reality he was showing the incredible growth his vine had seen in a three-week period.
Image 7. James’ “lashing” himself to the potted mirliton before the arrival of Laura.
Luckily for us, Paul D’Anna and Chef John Folse didn’t see any damage on their ends from the storms.
Chef John, shared these updates early in August on his plants in the pots that were also looking fantastic.
Image 8. John Folse’s potted mirlitons in his greenhouse in Baton Rouge.
By September 6th, Chef John and his Gardener Brian Ainsworth had planted a few more Ishreal Thibodeaux’s at White Oak Estates and Gardens.
Image 9. Brian Ainsworth planting more mirlitons at White Oak Estates and Gardens in Baton Rouge.
The newly planted mirliton from earlier in the summer were also doing quite well on September 22nd in Baton Rouge.
Image 10. The Ishreal Thibodeaux mirlitons planted earlier this summer at White Oak Estates & Gardens.
From my end, my seed mirliton started to drop the “embryo”, and while I expected to see sprouting, none occurred. Lance Hill noted that “The tendency for spring mirlitons to not sprout was first identified by Ervin Crawford. This is a little-understood quality called “parthenocarpy”: a fruit that sets and grows but does not contain a fertilized seed “embryo”). There is almost nothing in the literature on this but it means we best wait for fruit to sprout before we give them out as seed.
I assumed that it was a fluke, but I just read that some plants deliberately produce parthenocarpic fruit to distract herbivores. Animals prefer fruit that has not sprouted because sprouted fruit is filled with roots that consume moisture. “
Image 11. David Hubbell’s seed mirliton not doing so well in early August.
Since mine wasn’t looking too great, I received one of the extra potted vines from Chef John to plant in Mobile by the first week of October.
Image 12. Potted vine to be planted in Mobile.
Education and Inspiration Through Food:
Chef John and I had planned to do some more videos in August, but unfortunately the dual hurricanes caused us to delay this effort. However, a friend of mine, Jaime Callahan of Buddy’s Cajun Spice did release his Cajun Stuffed Mirleton Slipper recipe on Youtube that looks pretty good. Please check it out:
Image 13. Jaime Callahan’s Cajun Stuffed Mirelton Slippers https://youtu.be/6Goqi8ncJMM
Closing Thoughts for Effort So Far:
This second update hopefully showcased the efforts needed to nurture and protect potted mirlitons against the elements for a Fall planting. As I write this in late September, we know that the heat and humidity are just starting to let up along the Gulf Coast. Hopefully the next report will detail further updates and showcase more of the planted efforts of the various growers as the vines adjust being in the soil and focus on hopefully what will be a successful but possibly small first crop.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please send them to me David J. Hubbell at rpcajun2r@gmail.com. Thank you.
Recent Comments