Learn How to Grow Papayas from Seed

At Sueno del Mar Bed & Breakfast, we love to grow papayas from the seed!  We always serve a plate of fruit with our gourmet breakfast... and we have our own compost...but we like to keep the seeds so we can grow our own trees.  It's super simple!

• Just cut the papaya in half, scrape out the seeds and dry them.
• Select a sunny and sheltered place in your garden. That's right, in your garden. Don't start them in pots! Papayas don't transplant well.
• Papaya trees need very good soil, rich in organic matter and nutrients.
• Now sprinkle on some of your seeds. Cover the seeds lightly with more compost, and then mulch the patch well. The seeds usually take about a couple of weeks to germinate, and may take longer.
• Soon you will notice that your seedlings are very different in size and vigor. That's why we planted so many. Start culling the weaker ones. Pull them out while still small, or cut bigger ones down to the ground. Only keep the very best.
• Papaya plants can be male, female, or bisexual, and you want to make sure that you have some females or bisexual plants amongst your seedlings. The male papayas don't bear fruit.
• Papayas start flowering when they are about one metre tall. The males flower first. Male flowers have long, thin stalks with several small blooms. Female flowers are usually single blooms, bigger, and very close to the trunk.
• Cull most of the male plants. You only need one male for every ten to fifteen female plants to ensure good pollination.
• And that's it. You should end up with one very strong and healthy female plant per bed.

Information extracted from: http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-papaya.html

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