Growing Papayas (Pawpaws) : Climate

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Growing papayas (pawpaws)

The fruit of papayas is high in vitamin C. You can also pick the fruit when it is green and cook it like a marrow.
Female and male flowers do not grow on the same tree, so you must have male and female trees in the garden.
Climate
Papayas grow best in hot areas.
They can tolerate mild frost if they are protected from cold winds.
Soil requirements
They can grow in most kinds of soil, but it must be well drained.
The roots can get diseases if the soil stays too wet.
Loamy soils are best.
Planting date
Papayas can be planted at any time of the year, but preferably in late summer.
Spacing
Plant papayas 1,5 metres between plants and
3 to 4 metres between rows.
Growing papayas from seeds

It is easy to grow the ordinary papaya tree from seed.
Wash the seeds from a ripe papaya.

Squeeze the seeds from the jelly bag that covers each seed. The seeds will only grow if you remove the
bag.
Dry them in a shady place.
Store in a tightly closed container and keep them until December.
Plant the seeds in December. Put 5 seeds to a hole. Do not put any compost or manure into the holes.
Keep the small plants moist.
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You can only tell which trees are female and which are male when the trees start to flower. Therefore, you
should always have more than one tree per hole, because then you can select the female trees.
Female flowers
bigger
closer to the branch than the male flowers
Male flowers
very small
there are many flowers which grow on long branches of the stem.
only female trees give fruit but they need male flowers to pollinate them. Leave 1 male tree for 10 female
trees.
Planting
Dig a hole about twice the size of the bag in which the young tree is growing.
Remove the soil from the hole and add some compost and manure. Mix this with some of the soil that has
been dug out.
Take the plant out of the container. If it is a plastic container you just cut it open at the side.
Do not disturb the roots.
Place the tree in the centre of the hole. When you fill up the hole hold the tree so that its base is level with
the surrounding ground.
Raise the soil around the tree to dam the water (rain or irrigation).
Do not plant the tree deeper than it was in the container.
Do not cover the stem with soil because it will rot.
Water
Papayas need little water.
They will, however, give more and bigger fruit if they are watered every 2 weeks in the dry season. The
flowers will drop if they do not get enough water.
If they are planted in clay soils, make sure that the soil does not stay too wet.
To avoid waterlogging in clay soil, make a ridge and plant the papayas on the ridge.
Fertilisation
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Compost or manure
Give the tree:
1 bucketful in September,
1 bucketful in November
another bucketful in January.
Sprinkle a few handfuls of manure evenly around the tree each month from September to the end of
March.
NB: Do not apply chicken manure on trees younger than 2 years as it can burn the young
papaya trees.
Artificial fertiliser
Give the trees 4 tablespoonfuls (115 g) of 2:3:2 in September, November and January.
Sprinkle evenly around the tree, not against the stem.
Keep the trees mulched all the time (use grass, leaves, etc).
Do not grow other plants next to the trunk because it is quite soft. If the trunk is damaged the papaya tree
can get diseases.
If the fruit shows humps the tree may be short of boron. Sprinkle 2 tablespoonfuls of borax around the
tree.
Pruning and thinning

You can cut the tree (remove top) so that it does not grow too tall. This encourages branching. Cut into winter
wood, where leaf scars are close together. Paint the cut with a sealant.
Harvesting
You can pick the fruit when the skin starts to become yellow.
The fruit will ripen after you have picked it.
Handle it carefully because it gets bruised easily.
Diseases
Papaya trees easily get black leafspot. Your nearest extension officer or cooperative will be able to tell you how
to treat this disease.
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Growing papayas (pawpaws)

Growing papayas from seeds

Wash the seeds from a ripe papaya.

Give the tree:

Pruning and thinning

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