Papaya is a perennial plant that grows in countries with tropical and subtropical climates where it never freezes. It grows to about 10m tall and produces yellow, orange or cream colored inflorescences. The fruit comes in various shapes, including pear or round, and is known for its very sweet orange or yellow flesh. By learning how to grow papaya you can be sure of a quality harvest.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Growing from Seeds
Step 1. Check which papaya variety grows best in your climate region
In winter, temperatures should never be below -7 ° C. If subjected to long periods of frost, papaya plants die. On the contrary, they thrive in regions where the climate is mild all year round.
Very wet soil damages papaya. If you live in a rainy area, try to plant it on a mound of well-draining soil, as will be explained later in the article
Step 2. Prepare the soil
Choose nutrient-rich soil for tropical plants or create your own by mixing 25-50% compost into your garden soil. As long as the soil is well-draining, the exact proportion isn't very important. Papaya survives in sandy, rocky and even clayey soils.
- If you are able to control the pH of your garden or have purchased some commercial potting soil, make sure that the acidity is between 4, 5 and 8. This is a very wide range, which means that almost any soil goes good for growing papaya.
- If you want many of your seeds to sprout, sterilize the soil by mixing it in equal parts to vermiculite and baking it in the oven at 93 ° C for an hour.
Step 3. Prepare the seeds
You can use a scraper to remove them from the center of the fruit or buy commercial seeds at the garden store. Press them inside a colander to open the bag that surrounds them, without breaking them. Rinse them thoroughly and place them to dry in a dark place on top of kitchen paper.
Step 4. Plant the seeds
You can bury them directly in the garden to avoid the risks of a subsequent transplant, or decide to germinate them in pots where you can better control the arrangement. Thread the seeds about 1.5cm deep and space them 5cm apart.
Plant lots of seeds to make use of all the space available, so you have a better chance of both female and male plants sprouting. Next you will need to remove the weaker shoots. There is no foolproof technique to understand the "sex" of a papaya plant (it could also be hermaphrodite) by looking only at the seed
Step 5. Water in moderation
After burying the seeds, you need to wet them, but not to the point of leaving stagnant water or puddles. Check the soil moisture for the next few weeks and water as needed. It must be moist but not impregnated.
Step 6. Consider which sprouts to keep
After about 2-5 weeks some seeds will have germinated and seedlings will sprout from the surface of the soil. Let them grow for 1-2 weeks, then tear or cut any that are smaller, weak-looking, unhealthy, or spotted. Select the seedlings until you are left with only one per pot or one per meter of garden. Keep at least 5 plants, for now, to have a high chance of having male and female trees.
When you have selected your plants, move on to the garden transfer stage or read the section on how to care for the papaya plant
Step 7. When the plants bloom, remove the excess male ones
If you have more saplings than you want to keep, wait until they reach a meter in height to figure out their gender. Males bloom first producing long stems rich in flowers. The female flowers are larger and appear close to the trunk. For fruit, you only need one male for every 10-15 female plants, so you can remove excess male saplings.
Some papaya plants are hermaphrodite, meaning they produce both female and male flowers and pollinate themselves
Part 2 of 3: Planting a Mature or Growing Tree
Step 1. Create a small mound if necessary to avoid the accumulation of standing water
If it rains a lot or floods occur in your region, build a mound at least 50-100cm high and 1-3m in diameter. This way the water does not stagnate around the papaya roots, damaging or killing it.
Read the instructions below to create the mound and prepare the soil
Step 2. Alternatively, dig a hole
It must be three times deeper and wider than the root system of the plant, while the place you choose must be the final one. Choose a sunny area, with a slope that ensures water drainage and about 3 m from buildings and other plants. Make a hole for each plant.
Step 3. Mix an equal amount of compost into the soil you have moved
Unless the soil in your garden is already very rich, you need to replace some of the soil in the hole or mound with well mixed compost.
Do not use manure as it burns the roots
Step 4. Wet the soil with a fungicide (optional)
Papaya trees can die from disease after being transplanted. Follow the instructions on the product packaging to mix it with the soil and reduce the risk.
Step 5. Insert the sapling carefully
Put the composted soil back into the hole or mound so that the depth of the hole is now approximately equal to the size of the papaya's root system. Remove the saplings from their container and, one at a time, place them in their hole respecting the same level of soil they had in the pot. Handle the plants carefully, avoiding breaking or damaging the roots.
Step 6. Fill the hole with soil and wet it
Gently press the earth to eliminate air pockets, so that there are no gaps between the roots and the earth itself. Water the papaya until the soil surrounding the roots appears moist enough.
Part 3 of 3: Caring for the Papaya Tree
Step 1. Put the fertilizer every two weeks
Remember to dilute it according to the manufacturer's instructions; choose a "complete" and non-specific one. Continue to fertilize the plant until it reaches 30 cm in height.
Once the sapling has reached this size, commercial nurserymen continue to fertilize it every 2 weeks with 100 g of complete fertilizer, but without it touching the stem of the plant. This technique accelerates the growth of papaya, therefore it is necessary to gradually increase the amount of fertilizer and reduce the frequency of fertilization, up to 1 kg of fertilizer every two months, when the papaya is 6 months of age
Step 2. Water the seedling to stabilize it
If the roots live immersed in water, the plant is damaged. However, if it does not get enough water it will not produce fruit. If the soil you transplanted into is clayey and holds water, don't water more often than once every 3-4 days. If the soil is rocky or sandy, keep watering every 1-2 days during the warm months. In the colder months it wets every 3-5 days.
Step 3. If necessary, spread bark mulch
Pine is good for reducing weed growth at the base of the tree or if you feel like papaya is having a hard time retaining moisture. Spread a 5cm thick layer of mulch around the sapling no closer than 20cm from the trunk.
Step 4. Check the leaves and bark for signs of disease or infestation
The presence of yellow spots or leaves is a symptom of possible diseases. Black spots on the leaves usually do not affect the fruit, but can be treated with a fungicide if the disease is severe. Curled leaves may indicate herbicide contamination from the nearby lawn. Other problems, such as insects or a plant collapse, need to be investigated with an experienced gardener or your municipality's agricultural resources office.
Step 5. Reap the rewards when they reach the degree of ripeness you desire
The green and sour ones can be eaten as a vegetable, but most people prefer the ripe ones, yellow or orange, for their sweet taste. You can harvest the fruits when they are green-yellow if you prefer to finish ripening indoors, away from the animals.
Advice
Place the fully ripe papaya in the refrigerator for storage
Warnings
- Do not mow the grass and do not remove the weeds too close to the papaya tree; you could inadvertently damage the trunk. Keep a grass-free area about 1m around the trunk to reduce the need for weeding near the tree.
- Avoid fertilizing the lawn around the tree. The roots also extend horizontally and excessive fertilization would damage them.
