GROWING & CARING FOR PAPAYA TREES

GROWING & CARING FOR PAPAYA TREES

The Papaya tree (Carica papaya) is a tropical fruit that originated in Mexico and South America. It is now grown throughout the North American tropics and other tropical regions around the world.

The fruit of the Papaya is also called pawpaw and is eaten raw without the skin. The fruit is sweet, low in calories and high in potassium and vitamin A. Papaya is also used in drinks, jellies, salads, desserts and is also dried and candied.

There are many varieties of Papaya, but the main varieties grown in the U.S. are Red Lady, Maradol, and various Solo types. To successfully grow Papayas, you need a frost free climate, lots of sunlight, lots of water and good soil. If you give your plant all of these conditions, then you can grow a papaya from seed and generally have fruit in 6 to 12 months.

Growing Tips for Papayas:

·         Climate: Thrive in subtropical and tropical climates. Zone 10 to 11. They do not tolerate freezing temperatures and are damaged or killed if temperatures go below 32 degrees.

·         Pollination: The female plants produce fruit and may be cross pollinated with others by insects and wind. There are plants that may be self-pollinating (bi-sexual).

·         Growth Habit: The papaya is a short lived, fast growing woody herb. They generally have a single trunk and grow 10 to 15 feet tall, but some plants have been known to grow taller.

·         Sun Light: Grow best in full sun. Papayas love the heat and sunlight.

·         Fertilize: Papayas are heavy feeders and require regular fertilizing. Adding compost is also recommended.

·         Water: Papayas have large soft leaves and evaporate a lot of water in warm weather, so they need above average watering.

·         Soil: Papayas do best in rich soil that is high in organic matter. Make sure your planting location and soil has good drainage to avoid root rot.

·         Harvesting: Generally, fruit is picked when there is 1/5 to 1/3 color change in the fruit. After picking, keep at room temperature to fully ripen. Ripe fruit will keep 4 to 7 days in the refrigerator.

Caribbean  papaya salad

      1 ripe papaya
2 tablespoon cilantro
juice of a lime
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger
 pinch salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 bird chili pepper
1 red onion 

      The first step is to cut, seed and peel the papaya (in the video below I’ll show you how simple this is). Basically all you have to do is trim off the stem area, then cut in half length-wise. Then use a spoon to scrape off all the seeds and discard. Now cut into segments and peel. I used a sharp paring knife, but  a potato peeler will work just as well. Give it a rinse with cool water and cut into 1 inch pieces (cube).cut red onion into small pieces

      Put the pieces of papaya in a bowl and chop the pepper and cilantro.

      It’s now time to assemble everything. In the bowl with the papaya, add the chopped pepper and cilantro, squeeze in the fresh lime juice as well as the other ingredients… don’t forget to grate the ginger into the mix as well.  Now (be gentle if your papaya is fully ripe) toss and serve. Works great if you can leave it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to marinate a bit and chill.