Papayas a Plenty How to grow papayas in your back yard Papayas are very easy to grow in Haiku due to a climate well suited to their needs. Papayas are originally from the tropical zones of Central and South America. The single stem trees grow very rapidly, and can begin to bear fruit in as little as 6 months. Papayas are full of vitamins including vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Papayas are also low in calories, and are trumpeted as a good addition to a healthy diet. Papaya fruit is also converted into tablet form for sale as a remedy for digestive problems.
The crown of a one year old papaya tree
Papaya Space One of the most important aspects of growing a healthy papaya tree is that the papaya has its own space. It is especially important that the papaya is not grown surrounded by grass or other ground cover. The papaya likes well-drained soil, and should thus not be planted in an area where rain water tends to accumulate. Papayas have shallow roots and greatly benefit from the use of organic mulch (more on that later).
Two views of the same papaya tree. This tree is about 2 years old and has yielded well over 100 papayas. It's about 20 feet tall and has an 11" diameter trunk. Note the mulch covering the ground and the adequate root space.
Papaya Sex Papayas come in three sexes, male, female and bisexual (or "hermaphrodite" - both sexes are present). Only the females and the hermaphrodites produce fruit. In commercial production, papayas are typically planted with 4 or 5 trees per “square”. The squares are planted every 10 feet or so. Each tree in each small group grows very rapidly. At several feet tall, the trees begin to produce small white flowers. These blooms allow the tree to be sexed. At that point, all the trees in each group are cut down except the largest hermaphrodite. Determining which tree is the hermaphrodite is a bit of a trick. The difference in the flowers is rather subtle. Depending on where you get your seeds (or seedling) the odds are very good that you will get either a hermaphrodite or female tree (due to selective breeding programs in Hawaii).
	Flowers (left) on a young hermaphrodite papaya. A freshly picked papaya (top). This fruit will be ready to eat in a day or two, depending on how you let it ripen.
Planting a Papaya Tree The method below is for a single tree. One tree will usually produce enough papayas for one person to have papaya whenever they want. So you might use the number of avid papaya eaters in your family to determine how many trees to plant. Just be sure to space the trees about 10 feet apart to maximize the amount of sun they receive. Papayas are pretty easy to please. The following steps are a method I have used to produce healthy papaya trees and abundant fruit. As some trees produce more, some less, it might be a good idea to plant more than one. A circular area with an 8 foot diameter (optimal) should be cleared of all vegetation. Any tall trees or other structures should not shade this area. A piece of black plastic could be used to cover the ground and kill off any weeds or grass (remove the black plastic after 3-5 weeks and prior to planting your papaya). Alternatively, you could clear the ground with a hoe or shovel (etc). Dig a hole 1-2 feet deep and 3 feet wide. The hole should be shaped like a saucer: deep at the center, but shallow at the edges. This will result in the best growth of your papaya, but less digging will work well too. If the dirt you have extracted is very rocky and/or solid red clay, it would be a good idea to replace half of the dirt with a good garden soil. Be sure to mix the garden soil with the old soil to prevent layering. Plant the papaya in the center and tamp lightly. Give it a good watering. Lastly, place 4 inches of mulch over the entire 8 foot circle. Leave an inch of space between the mulch and the papaya seedling. This last step is probably the most important and most often skipped. Papayas do fine without fertilizer, but will greatly benefit from the use of mulch. After planting, papayas need little care. Just re-top the mulch as necessary to keep the weeds and grass away from the tree. Papaya Cautions One note of caution about papayas. Un-ripened papaya fruit, when scratched, releases a latex fluid. This fluid can cause irritation and provoke allergic reaction in some people. Papaya leaves also contain carpaine, an anthelmintic alkaloid which could be dangerous in high doses (so don’t feed the leaves to your livestock). Carpaine may also be present in immature fruit, although humans have been eating green papayas for generations. A good time to pick your papayas is when you first see a hint of yellow on the fruit. The fruit will ripen off the tree within a day or two. If you would like to serve a large quantity of papaya at one time, you can pick the green fruit closest to the bottom of the tree. Place all the fruit in a plastic bag and the fruit will all ripen rapidly. Be careful to not let it over-ripen. Papayas are probably one of the easiest and most productive fruit bearing organisms to grow in Haiku. If you give your papaya trees enough space and keep the ground well mulched, you will soon enjoy a continuously harvestable crop of papayas. References and more information on Papayas: Extension Horticulture Information Resource – Agriculture Program – Texas A&M University http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/papaya/papaya.html California Rare Fruit Growers http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/papaya.html Alternative Medicine Online http://www.alternative-medicine-online.com/Articles_papaya_weight_loss.html Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaya Hall of Fame scientist noted for helping to save papaya industry http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/08/27/story14.html?b=1188187200%5E1511599 Return To Articles Home