Author Topic: Papaya questions  (Read 5660 times)

spaugh

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Papaya questions
« on: May 21, 2018, 05:44:29 PM »
Ive got 3 solo plants started in 5 gal pots from seeds out of grocery store fruit. I have a few questions to make sure they do ok after moving to the ground.

1.) Do I need all 3?  I really only want to grow one but know they may need a male and female to produce?  Should I plant 1, 2, or 3?

2.) Spacing of the plants?  10ft?  They are going on a hillside in fullsun, I expect them to get big.

3.) Ammending?  Cow manure, chicken manure ok?  Top dress with mulch, what else?

4.) Wind, its windy here.  Not much I can do about it.  Can give them a little shelter but they will be getting some wind.  Is it a deal breaker?


« Last Edit: May 21, 2018, 05:47:22 PM by spaugh »
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2018, 11:19:34 PM »
Sounds about right. There is a guy in vista who seems to be growing quite a few them, and they look like the are doing well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO_IZh7luUk

Paquicuba

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2018, 11:51:10 PM »
Ive got 3 solo plants started in 5 gal pots from seeds out of grocery store fruit. I have a few questions to make sure they do ok after moving to the ground.

1.) Do I need all 3?  I really only want to grow one but know they may need a male and female to produce?  Should I plant 1, 2, or 3?

2.) Spacing of the plants?  10ft?  They are going on a hillside in fullsun, I expect them to get big.

3.) Ammending?  Cow manure, chicken manure ok?  Top dress with mulch, what else?

4.) Wind, its windy here.  Not much I can do about it.  Can give them a little shelter but they will be getting some wind.  Is it a deal breaker?



You can wait until your seedlings start blooming, so you can identify which type of flowers they produce (male, female or hermaphrodite) and if you're in luck, you'll have a hermaphrodite to put in the ground. I do have two females that get pollinated by hummingbirds, so I guess they (the hummers) are finding male trees somewhere in my neighborhood where papaya trees are in abundance. If you get male and female and don't know of anyone growing papayas nearby then plant them both.

Papaya trees don't need much space since they don't branch, they just keep on growing up and their leaves and fruits start to get smaller after they have reached a certain height, which is in indicator that the tree needs to be replaced. I would say that 4 to 5 feet of distance between them is enough.

Papaya trees are always hungry here in South Florida. They take whatever you throw at them, but I prefer to feed them with organic fertilizers for the best raw taste. They love cow manure, chicken manure, horse manure and other organic fertilizers like Espoma tree-tone.

Wind? Does it get more windy than hurricane's winds where you're at? I...don't think so.  My tree not only survived hurricane Irma's winds last year with minimal damage, but not a single fruit fell from the tree — I was amazingly surprised.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2018, 12:00:15 AM by Paquicuba »

spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2018, 07:10:21 PM »
Heres the update.  5 months of growth and now my papayas are starting to fruit.  Not sure how they will do in winter but they had no problems with the heat we had over summer.  Seems like they will take more food than Ive been feeding them.  Going to pile on some more mulch and a slow release fertilizer.

Two plants are setting fruit and one plant is flowering but too soon to tell if its self fruiting.



Brad Spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2018, 10:57:19 AM »
They look super healthy. They like water and to be well fed. Seems you are doing just that. You can tightly pack them, got a few that are stuffed between surinam cherries along the fence line and they are doing fine, producing.

I strongly recommend trying green/unripe papaya when your fruit get larger. Just julienne the skinned papaya, do whatever with the seeds (they are medicinal and also can be used as a spice, probably best when ripe). Marinate the thin papaya strips with lemon/lime/passion fruit, sugar, salt, pepper, and your favorite spices. I like some turmeric and maybe a little hot sauce. BAM! Better than the sweet ripe fruit imo, and you can use it as a side or bed for fish, chicken, or to accompany just about anything. Good by itself.

spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2018, 01:26:16 PM »
Thaks rob, will.give it a try.  Do you think I should thin the fruit?  Its not as hot here during winter and spring.  Not sure if the fruit will really ripen until it gets hot again.  Thinning may help?
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2018, 02:28:57 PM »
I'm not sure about thinning. I've done it to keep the fruit from crowding, but they seem to do fine either way. There might be other benefits of thinning (bigger fruit, uniform ripening?), or when plants aren't in ideal ripening conditions.

Could be time for a papaya experiment!

spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2018, 03:15:11 PM »
I will thin one of them down 75% (remove 3 of 4 fruits) and thin another 25% and one 0% and see what happens.
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2018, 05:33:31 PM »
Exciting! That distribution should provide useful results. Will be interesting to see what happens.

lebmung

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2018, 10:57:06 PM »
What would happen it's like this: left papayas will continues to grow and make new flowere.
They will not be bigger or ripe faster. The one will no fruit will continues to make flowers.
When the temperature drops everything stops, growth, fruit and flower. Papaya needs heat. That is the decisive factor.
Low temperatures and water will kill them

shinzo

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #10 on: October 14, 2018, 03:56:47 AM »
Thaks rob, will.give it a try.  Do you think I should thin the fruit?  Its not as hot here during winter and spring.  Not sure if the fruit will really ripen until it gets hot again.  Thinning may help?
Last year, my herm papaya produced flowers in the middle of the summer, and amazingly i harvested good tasting papayas in January (coldest winter month with lowest temps around 40s. They started yellowing and was curious are they ripe, when i tried the first one it was even better than the ones i ate in summer (probably over ripe). So for my case it continued ripening during automn and winter.
I hope this helps you.

Kada

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2018, 04:05:49 AM »
They also grow throughout Dr asia including bad typhoid  areas like  Philippines and Taiwan.  Wind and heavy rain out  no problem, but making drainage and water run off is extremely important. More like pineapple culture than.others o supposed.  In Taiwan we have guys who twist and bend over the trunks on commercial farms to keep height down, works well.

spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2018, 11:32:06 AM »
They also grow throughout Dr asia including bad typhoid  areas like  Philippines and Taiwan.  Wind and heavy rain out  no problem, but making drainage and water run off is extremely important. More like pineapple culture than.others o supposed.  In Taiwan we have guys who twist and bend over the trunks on commercial farms to keep height down, works well.

Nice, these are planted on a mountain so water runs off and the soil is good draining decomposed granite. 

Im still going to try fruit thinning a bit.  It helps produce better fruit on every other thing I grow.
Brad Spaugh

Petros45

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #13 on: October 14, 2018, 12:58:23 PM »






today i cut the fruit, its taste was like a pumpkin and a little like peach and it was soft as a pulp, the stalk on the tree to cut it or leave it as it is?

pineislander

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #14 on: October 15, 2018, 08:14:13 AM »
I don't see any reason to thin these. Some trees set clusters of fruit instead of singles like yours. I that case you may get some advantage in thinning but I never tried it. Petros you can leave the stem. It may abscise or stay on.

carcarlo

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #15 on: October 15, 2018, 08:55:17 AM »
Hi There Spaugh, here is a little chart that may help some people out.
Carlos



Samu

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #16 on: October 15, 2018, 02:38:18 PM »
While on this topic, may I ask what to do with my Papaya tree?
I have multiple papaya trees in a hole, the shortest one already produce fruits
the last 2 years; but this one, while growing tall, the fruits are
sparse but tiny..., what happens here? Should I chop it down and use it as
compost material?  Thanks!


Sam

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #17 on: October 15, 2018, 06:16:09 PM »
I'm picking and selling from 20 of these, F1 hybrid 'Red lady'. They are 1-1/2 years old and bearing in clusters of 2-4 fruits.
6 months ago I planted 12 more followers which are holding their first fruits as singles.



I'm also attempting some air layers on already flowering branches. Will check back in 6 weeks on the success.



spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #18 on: October 15, 2018, 06:37:43 PM »
I'm picking and selling from 20 of these, F1 hybrid 'Red lady'. They are 1-1/2 years old and bearing in clusters of 2-4 fruits.
6 months ago I planted 12 more followers which are holding their first fruits as singles.



I'm also attempting some air layers on already flowering branches. Will check back in 6 weeks on the success.



What are you feeding that bad boy?  You got aome nice plants there.  The rows of dragonfruit and pineapples, papayas.  You using anything special in the fertilizer department?  Foliar sprays on the papaya?
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #19 on: October 15, 2018, 08:01:17 PM »
2x/year with Nutricote total 180 day slow release was my mainstay so for the papaya 3 applications in 1-1/2 year.
http://www.arysta-na.com/Nutricote/files/NUT_18-6-8_PIS.pdf
I've also used my homemade fish emulsion and most recently a millipede rich wood chip compost supercharged with homemade bamboo biochar soaked in micronutrients. I've also put down new gypsum drywall board scraps under all major trees.

We are coming up on fishing season so I'll be making more fish emulsion but my local source for nutricote has stopped carrying it. The above stuff has been pushing young trees on new ground and hopefully I'm building soil other ways so that the fish becomes my main source of nutrients.

spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #20 on: October 15, 2018, 08:18:52 PM »
2x/year with Nutricote total 180 day slow release was my mainstay so for the papaya 3 applications in 1-1/2 year.
http://www.arysta-na.com/Nutricote/files/NUT_18-6-8_PIS.pdf
I've also used my homemade fish emulsion and most recently a millipede rich wood chip compost supercharged with homemade bamboo biochar soaked in micronutrients. I've also put down new gypsum drywall board scraps under all major trees.

We are coming up on fishing season so I'll be making more fish emulsion but my local source for nutricote has stopped carrying it. The above stuff has been pushing young trees on new ground and hopefully I'm building soil other ways so that the fish becomes my main source of nutrients.

How much slow release per application?  You weigh it or just eye ball it?  Ive got similar stuff but not sure how much to add?  Maybe 1lb per plant or ?
Brad Spaugh

palmcity

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #21 on: October 15, 2018, 10:29:33 PM »
I have had a problem with wind blowing the mass of fruit on the tree and snapping off about 15 papaya  with the top of the tree (it just happened about a week ago).

Pineislanders fruit is massive and obviously a lot of upper weight. Pineislander have you had problems with the wind breaking off any tops of any papaya trees when top heavy?
« Last Edit: October 15, 2018, 10:39:51 PM by palmcity »

pineislander

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #22 on: October 16, 2018, 10:50:04 AM »
I put down about 1 cup when they were young. Just sprinkled around roots later. In digging around I found papaya roots out 10 feet away from the trees, so now I think they are gathering whatever they need so I didn't fertilize them recently.

Sounds like Hurricane Michael wind got you. I haven't had any snap and do have some windbreaks. I think it's important to keep them growing straight when young since there is so much weight if it gets off vertical there is a lot more stress. The farthest one away in Spaugh's pic is leaning but straightening itself. The commercial folks do have trouble and use props.
see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSD3BlURfZ8

spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #23 on: October 16, 2018, 10:55:49 AM »
I noticed that one is not straight out of the ground.  Unfortunately its very windy here and lots of my trees end up like this.  The prevailing winds bend the trees when they are young.  Now today the wind has turned and we have strong santa ana winds (hot and dry) coming in from AZ and NV beating the crap out of everything.
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Papaya questions
« Reply #24 on: October 16, 2018, 06:57:23 PM »
Maybe figure out something to grow as a windbreak? Not for everyone but I'm using an edible timber bamboo on one side and seagrape hedge with coconut trees on another side. Windbreaks can be natural and even multi-purpose. My choices are also for hurricane resistance, I guess in Cali fire might be a consideration.