Phoenix Tropicals Gardening

[phoenixtropicals]

Okay. So, I'm still not having much success with papaya. However, I have seen other members of the AZRFG club with big muscular looking plants with fruit on them. After questioning them I am going to try a new approach which I am outlining as follows.

1) Transplant papayas big. In the past I have either sown the seed straight in the ground or transplanted papayas to the ground when they are only a couple of inches tall. Next time I am going to grow them in pots and make sure they are at least 3 feet tall before putting in the ground.

2) Lots of mulch/compost and no fertilizer. Papayas do seem to like the citrus watering schedule. However, in summer here they seem to get too dried out between waterings. People that seem to have monster size papayas in their yards generally seem to be in flood irrigated lots which requires them to mulch heavily to enable the plants to stay damp enough between waterings.

I will still continue to plant the papayas on a raised mound and water below the mound. I also will not mix compost into the backfill when planting. I still believe this contributes to root rot so I will just heavily compost on the surface.

We'll see how it goes. I still have one remaining Tainung in the ground and a Home Depot Mexican papaya in a pot.

[ajbcirc]

You may want to consider using Soil Moist or Zeba's Quench product with your potting soil. I've been able to add a few days between watering with those products for my potted plants, even in the summer.

[MKIVRYAN]

I agree with waiting to plant a bigger plant. All the small ones I have tired have not made it but I have 3 that are about 3 feet tall that did great this summer. I'm nervous for the winter though. I think the next ones I plant I will put them in 15G containers and sink them in the ground in the summer and then pull them up in the winter and put them in the greenhouse, that is if I can find one. I think this method will work for a few years until they get too big, that will be a good probelm to have.

[Troys123]

Great tips Matt my Tainungs have died this summer they both was about 3ft. Don't know if it was root rot or what. Will try next spring if i can get my hands on more Tainungs or another variety.

Any papaya experts out there ?

[phoenixtropicals]

Thanks for the feedback on the plant big idea. I was wondering why those other guys never had "little" papayas in their yards. Those sneaky devils.

[Datropicalman]

Ive got 4-5 foot Tainungs in 5 gallon pots that will go into the greenhouse when gets below 40 and will plant a few in mid Feb. I dont water until they get droopy.

[myamberdog]

HI Everyone. I don't live in Phoenix, but in Palm Springs CA which is very similar to your climate year round except the monsoonal season you get in the summers....

After a few years of papaya failure with both the Solo and the Mexican I finally found GREAT success this year with my Mexican Papayas (3 - from Lowe's) that were about 2 feet tall when I planted them in the spring of 2010. They did well throughout that year though not fruiting, overwintered nicely as I pulled the watering back this last winter and one now has about 20 cantalope-sized and smaller fruits on it. The other two have more apple-sized fruit and smaller. I mulched heavily with hay and leaves and only have a 1/4 inch watering line coming off a sprinkler head to each one. (although by now they have reached into the area of where the regular sprinkler is working - probably 5-6 feet away. The picture was taken 10/11/2011. I think one of the keys might be finding the right spot for them, and I'm not sure what that exactly is. I want to show you where I planted them after my camera battery gets charged - on the south side of a hedge on the north side of my property - which I think gave them some winter protection and more winter sun the first couple years and now as they eclipse the hedge's height, I hope they will be thick-trunked and tough enough to make it thru successive future winters.

My question to the experts is this: Any green papayas left on the trunks - how do they handle the over-wintering? Can one pick them green and get them to ripen inside where it's warmer? I've read that they need to have a bit of yellow in them before you pick them for ripening....

Thanks, myamberdog

[phoenixtropicals]

Looks great! Did you fertilize them, and what was your watering frequency in summer.

[myamberdog]

Yes - fertilized with (buried) Fish meal twice - once in May, once in Sept. as I remember - watered twice a day, about 8 min. each time, in the heart of the heat - but remember - only with 1/4" lines so not a great amount of water. But as I said before, I think by now they've squirreled their roots into some other adj. watering head. And now, in this time of year, I've pulled the 1/4" lines away from them.....

Attached I've added 3 more pics...and the more I think about it, the more I think they appreciate plant companionship in the first year or two, till nicely established, and then as they grow past their helpful friends, they head for a future in the sky. The 2nd picture - you can see the three trunks planted in front of that hedge- the closest the largest one and the two behind - I had separated the three plants apart from the way they came in one pot. The last picture is the front view of the three - hard to see any separation of them all except you can glimpse the 3 trunks near the bottom.

Does anyone happen to know if you can pick them green for ripening inside?

myamberdog

[phoenixtropicals]

That's really great info. So, it seems you keep them continuously moist during the hot dry weather. That seems to match with the people I know who have had success with them by heavily mulching, because the heavy mulch would keep the roots from drying out. I assume you cut off the water during the winter. That's what you mean by taking the lines away right? As far as I know you can eat green papayas (don't take my word for it though), but I don't think they'll ripen up much off the tree.

I have been treating my papayas like citrus, which seems to be a mistake because citrus like to dry out between waterings. It appears papayas don't like to be too wet, but also don't like to dry out during hot weather.

So, you use fish meal. I'll have to try that.

[phoenixtropicals]

http://www.threetastes.com/blog/blog_files/papaya_salad.php

[myamberdog]

Thanks, PT, for the connection to a great green papaya recipe!

And to answer your other observations, I think the watering (and feeding) paid off for me...and yes, I meant the 1/4 " watering lines were pulled back or away about this time of year and through the colder weather. And I also think planting papayas among and next to other plants helped their young lives, certainly provided some winter protection as I kept them uncovered. And also, as you pointed out, I think the the mulching really helped during the summer.

And as they head to the sky, and thicken their trunks, they should survive the cold from winter to winter (hopefully, if not tooooo frosty!), and continue to start RE-setting fruit each spring....guess we'll see how it goes - I'll keep you posted.

And of course at some point, I'll have to cut them back as I won't be able to reach the fruit....more to observe....

myamberdog

[myamberdog]

Well, TP, we got that frost here in palm springs mid-week last week that you were talking about in that other post and I didn't cover these 3 papaya beauties which I can still reach with a step ladder. Got lazy on that first night (I think it was a week ago tonight). Well, lost the highest scaffold of leaves but the growing crowns look perfectly fine...I'll post a pic tomorrow...from now on, anything predicted under 40 will get the frost cloth treatment from me!!!!!

Mad at myself.....


myamberdog

[phoenixtropicals]

Yah, unfortunately papayas are one of the most frost sensitive tropicals you can grow. I go through the same thing whenever it gets close to freezing. I always wonder, should I cover them or not. I have like 10 plants to take care of too so its 3+ hour ordeal.

I have found a good source for frost cloth. I buy their 100 ft. by 20ft. rolls and cut them into 20x20's.

I get the GG51 20 X 100 - 1.5 oz 20' X 100' (DOWN TO 20 F). Leaves that are touching the cloth can still get frozen but the rest of the plant is really well protected. It would not be good down to 20 though. That is only the case if the thing covered is right on the ground.

http://www.berryhilldrip.com/SPD/gg51---1-5-oz--row-cover--80000B6C-1297037245.jsp?submit=View+Sizes%2FOptions

[myamberdog]

OK....here's the frost damage to the papaya
beauties.....I bought some frost cloth already - have like
ten 12X10 foot sheets, and have glued two together to make
a longer sheet already. But your info looks good if I ever need more...

Thanks. M.A.D.