Monthly Archives: August 2011

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Starting Your Own Medjool Date Farm

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A lot of people dream about starting their own farm, very few dream about starting a medjool date farm or any other date farm for that matter.  Starting a date farm is no small feat and it is really something that should not be undertaken by someone that is too old.  Too old for the purpose of starting a medjool date farm is really anything over 50.  A date farm will not start producing fruit for about 5 years after planting 3 year old shoots.  If you are 50, you may be 55 or older by the time of the first harvest.  The tree will not mature until it is about 10 years old that would make 60 if you start at 50.  A medjool date farm is really a business to leave for your children and grand children, except that is very hard work and you have enjoy living in the desert, where it is 90 degrees in the middle of the night !  The first step is to buy a land in the desert with water.  Then you prepare the soil level the land and prepare a drip irrigation system.  Then you big your holes and prep them.  Then you get your shoots and plant them.   The success rate for shoots is about 70%, if you buy them in planters it is closer to 100%.  After you plant them you have to water them and get the drip irrigation system going immediately and even flood the field.  Then you put in a lot of time and effort and invest a lot for the next 5 years.  Then you are ready for your first harvest, probably about 100 pounds for every 5 acres, you will find that it is not enough to pay your bills for one month.  Then 10 years later you will finally have a decent harvest and decide that it was not worth it, except that if you have plenty of land you will find that you have now planted four times more acreage than you started.  Another 10 years and you have a viable business, or in the alternate you may just buy an existing farm and cut the wait time out to a few months.

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A Little Info About The Medjool Date

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Dates fruits are grown on date palm trees. The Cultivation of the date fruit as a food is believed to have started in the Middle East approximately 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. Many types of dates are an essential part of Middle Eastern cuisine, but perhaps none are as prized as much as the medjool date which is considered the King of dates.

Medjool dates have been called many names the “king of dates” and also the “crown jewel of dates.” Like most dates, the fruit is needs to ripen,  prior to being eaten. What really makes these dried fruit  so special is that they are exceptionally large, contain a large amount of “fruit meat,” and are extremely sweet. In fact the medjool date is known as nature’s candy.  The  center of the medjool date has an elongated pit, which is easy to remove.

The medjool date is very sweet, but contains about 66 calories per date. They are an excellent source of potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese. They do have a significant amount of fruit sugar, but this is a much healthier sugar than processed sugar.  The medjool date makes for a perfect alternative to other forms of dessert.

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Eating The Date Fruit Instead of Junk Food

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About one third of all date fruit consumption takes place during the Passover-easter season.  The date fruit originated in the Middle East and is one of the oldest cultivate fruit trees.  Dates were not only enjoyed during biblical times, but were also part of the staple diet.  The date fruit has a lot of calories, but it has a lot nutrients as well.  It has a lot of fiber, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, B vitamins, and trace minerals.  The glycemic load for dates is around ten, minute it is as bad for a super sweet and delicious fruit.  You can not get that from a candy  bar.  The Date fruit contains antioxidants including beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.  These antioxidants protect against harm to the brain and other cells as they from from free radical damage.  Dates contain tannins which have anti inflammatory and anti-hemorrhagic properties.  If you are a junk food junkie, substituting dates for snacks may be the way to enhance the quality of caloric intake.

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Dates Fruit Medjool Dates