Growing dates isn’t like planting a tomato. It’s a soap opera with genders. Date palms are dioecious, which is a fancy way of saying trees are either male or female.
Only female trees produce the fruit. But they need a male tree nearby to pollinate them. In the old days, farmers would climb up and hand-pollinate each flower.
Imagine dangling 75 feet in the air with a paintbrush, playing matchmaker. That’s a job. Today, they use drones. Drones! The future is romantic, apparently.
Why They Are Basically Desert Candy
Dates grow in some of the harshest places on Earth. They need intense heat and very little water. The tree’s roots can burrow 30 feet deep to find moisture.
When a date ripens, it goes through four stages. The final stage is called “Tamar”—the sticky, brown, wrinkled version you buy at the store. That’s when the sugar content hits 80%.
That’s sweeter than grapes, bananas, or even most candy bars. But it’s natural sugar, so you can pretend it’s health food.
