Papaya, or carica papaya, is one of the world’s most widely known and consumed tropical fruits. This food originates in Central America, comes from a small tree called papaya, and is usually eaten raw, shelled, and seedless. It stands out for its great medicinal properties, as it helps to digest foods that are difficult to assimilate, as well as helping in healing and anti-inflammatory processes.
In case you didn’t know, and as incredible as it may seem due to the size of its fruit, papaya can be planted at home from its seeds. Of course, you should choose a variety that does not reach a great height, such as the dwarf papaya. As the season of this fruit is already here, we will show you how to plant a papaya tree at home.
How to plant a papaya tree at home
Nature is wise and will never cease to surprise us because, as hard as it may be for you to believe, by keeping a few seeds of papaya that you have eaten, you can grow a small tree to bear fruit in your own home, and without having to have a garden to grow them in, since you can planting them directly in a pot.
We encourage you to do so because right now, at the beginning of spring and between March and April, it is the ideal season to plant papayas when temperatures start to be warmer and the climate more temperate. As we have seen, you are very enthusiastic about the subject; here are all the steps you need to follow to plant potted papaya using some seeds of the same fruit:
- Of course, the first thing you will need to do is to gather a good amount of papaya seeds. The cheapest way to obtain them is to buy papaya in a fruit store and remove them yourself. You can also go to a nursery near your home to buy the seeds directly, although we like to do it first.
- In this second step, what you should do is to disinfect the seeds you have obtained to prevent them from becoming infected with fungi. You can buy a fungicide or make a homemade one in any expert crop store.
- Once the seeds have been disinfected, they should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before planting.
- When the seeds are already dry, we must prepare the soil, or seedbed, where we will plant our seeds. To ensure good growth for our plant, it is best to provide well-drained soil rich in organic matter; therefore, we recommend that you mix peat, coconut fiber, and worm castings.
- Before placing the seeds in the special pot we have prepared for them, we advise you to press them gently to break their sac to facilitate germination.
- It is time to bury them in the ground about one centimeter deep. As there will be several seeds in the same pot, try to leave a distance of 5 centimeters between them.
- Place the pot where it receives direct sunlight and water it frequently, being careful not to overwater it.
- When you see that the seedlings have a considerable height, transplant the papaya to another larger pot that you consider being its final location. Two weeks after transplanting, you will need to start fertilizing your plant.
And that’s it! That’s how easy it is to plant papayas at home and, best of all, in about ten months after planting, you can start harvesting their first fruits.
