Papaya growing attempt

lavanta · May 3, 2015

So I bought a Kapoho Solo Hawaiian papaya at a supermarket, took out and cleaned up the seeds, dried them a couple of days. I prepared some well draining soil (cactus mix + vermiculite + organic fert + coir), stuffed it in 5 gal containers, dug a little hole at the top of the mix, put a 2 inch paper seedling pot in it. Filled that with some DE + vermiculite + coir mix and buried 8 seeds. Watered well. I have six pots going.

According to what's on the internet they germinate in 2 to 3 weeks. I am not sure if San Diego is warm enough for papayas, I'll find out in a year.

Anybody here grows them, any words of wisdom?

Cheers

Stvrob · May 3, 2015

Are you just growing it as a curiosity? Or do you want to harvest fruit? Some plants are male, some are female, and some are self fertile, I dont know how you will tell the difference from a seedling without growing it out.

It doesnt thrive in cool temps. Frost will kill it dead.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...gw3U3Frck4nLkQ

lavanta · May 3, 2015

Stvrob, thanks! Have you grown them in Florida?

I am hoping to get fruit. I have read quite a bit before I started this experiment and tried to buy a Kapoho Solo. I found one. There is a good chance that I get hermaphrodite plants from about 50 seeds that I planted. But there is no way to know before they flower, which is in about 8 months, by then I will have only six plants after thinning them. One in six chance is not bad. We rarely get frost here and I have some means of sheltering them if there is a forecast of frost. Humidity is usually quite low here, that might be a problem.

I am doing this for my wife, she likes them. Hawaiian papayas are 5 bucks a pound here so this is a worthwhile try.

heirloomtomaguy · May 3, 2015

Lavant im not sure how organic you are if any but most papaya's are gmo at the store.

Stvrob · May 3, 2015

Ive never grown them here, its too cold in the winter for them.

lavanta · May 3, 2015

Most Mexican ones are GMO but these are not.

May 3, 2015

My favourite reference for such a query is The After-Dinner Gardening Book by Richard W. Langer, published in 1969. Lots of fun - one chapter is called Please Lower the Floor and Other Problems with Avocados.

He had a lot of trouble germinating papayas until he read a textbook on tropical agriculture and discovered that the aril surrounding the seed must be removed before planting or drying for storage. The easiest way to do this is to squeeze each seed so it pops out of the aril.

loeb · May 4, 2015

Wow, maybe there is something about avocados too.. I am trying to grow them as a house plants from seed, and I'm not sure what to do with them.. I have sprouts but they are growing very differently and seem to need lots of water..

lavanta · May 4, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDiane

My favourite reference for such a query is The After-Dinner Gardening Book by Richard W. Langer, published in 1969. Lots of fun - one chapter is called Please Lower the Floor and Other Problems with Avocados.

He had a lot of trouble germinating papayas until he read a textbook on tropical agriculture and discovered that the aril surrounding the seed must be removed before planting or drying for storage. The easiest way to do this is to squeeze each seed so it pops out of the aril.

Yes I got rid of the gelatinous coating and soaked them in peroxide solution before air drying. I couldn't find a fungicide at the local nursery to coat the seeds. Apparently they are highly susceptible to damping off.

I'll check out the book. Sounds like a good one to have.

lavanta · May 4, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by loeb

Wow, maybe there is something about avocados too.. I am trying to grow them as a house plants from seed, and I'm not sure what to do with them.. I have sprouts but they are growing very differently and seem to need lots of water..

On sure way to kill an avocado tree is root rot due to overwatering. I have two dwarf avocados in 20 gallon pots outside and I water them twice a month. San Diego is a major avocado growing region in US.

The taller one is a Lamb Hass and the one at right is dwarf Wurtz (also called Little Cado). These are purchased from a nursery, I did not grow them from seed. You can see where they are grafted. Avocados don't grow true to seed, they need grafting for proper fruit.

I have couple of seeds sprouting to experiment grafting from Wurtz.

The small tree at the back is a very productive Mexican Lime.

kurt · May 4, 2015

I have 4 going this year myself.Got them from these guys.

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/F_N-5.pdf

Note the sentence in info.

" Male papaya plants are somewhat rare in
Hawaii, since the “solo” types generally grown here do
not produce male plants."

May 3, 2015	#1
lavanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 68	Papaya growing attempt So I bought a Kapoho Solo Hawaiian papaya at a supermarket, took out and cleaned up the seeds, dried them a couple of days. I prepared some well draining soil (cactus mix + vermiculite + organic fert + coir), stuffed it in 5 gal containers, dug a little hole at the top of the mix, put a 2 inch paper seedling pot in it. Filled that with some DE + vermiculite + coir mix and buried 8 seeds. Watered well. I have six pots going. According to what's on the internet they germinate in 2 to 3 weeks. I am not sure if San Diego is warm enough for papayas, I'll find out in a year. Anybody here grows them, any words of wisdom? Cheers

May 3, 2015	#2
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	Are you just growing it as a curiosity? Or do you want to harvest fruit? Some plants are male, some are female, and some are self fertile, I dont know how you will tell the difference from a seedling without growing it out. It doesnt thrive in cool temps. Frost will kill it dead. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...gw3U3Frck4nLkQ Last edited by Stvrob; May 3, 2015 at 08:15 PM.

May 3, 2015	#3
lavanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 68	Stvrob, thanks! Have you grown them in Florida? I am hoping to get fruit. I have read quite a bit before I started this experiment and tried to buy a Kapoho Solo. I found one. There is a good chance that I get hermaphrodite plants from about 50 seeds that I planted. But there is no way to know before they flower, which is in about 8 months, by then I will have only six plants after thinning them. One in six chance is not bad. We rarely get frost here and I have some means of sheltering them if there is a forecast of frost. Humidity is usually quite low here, that might be a problem. I am doing this for my wife, she likes them. Hawaiian papayas are 5 bucks a pound here so this is a worthwhile try. Last edited by lavanta; May 3, 2015 at 08:47 PM.

May 3, 2015	#4
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	Lavant im not sure how organic you are if any but most papaya's are gmo at the store. __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

May 4, 2015	#11
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,501	I have 4 going this year myself.Got them from these guys. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/F_N-5.pdf Note the sentence in info. " Male papaya plants are somewhat rare in Hawaii, since the “solo” types generally grown here do not produce male plants." __________________ KURT Last edited by kurt; May 4, 2015 at 09:35 PM.

May 3, 2015	#7
LDiane Guest Posts: n/a	My favourite reference for such a query is The After-Dinner Gardening Book by Richard W. Langer, published in 1969. Lots of fun - one chapter is called Please Lower the Floor and Other Problems with Avocados. He had a lot of trouble germinating papayas until he read a textbook on tropical agriculture and discovered that the aril surrounding the seed must be removed before planting or drying for storage. The easiest way to do this is to squeeze each seed so it pops out of the aril.

May 4, 2015	#8
loeb Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Poland Posts: 251	Wow, maybe there is something about avocados too.. I am trying to grow them as a house plants from seed, and I'm not sure what to do with them.. I have sprouts but they are growing very differently and seem to need lots of water..