Jim’s Plant of the Month:
January Jewel 2008 – The Papaya
Carica papaya, originally from Central
America, is one of the easiest fruits to grow in Florida. It is very
high in vitamins and minerals, and the enzyme papain that it contains
aids digestion. For that reason, it makes a wonderful dessert, though I
especially like to eat it for breakfast.
The
papaya and the babaco, or mountain papaya, are the only well known
species in the family Caricaceae. Although there are over 70 species of
closely related herbaceous trees in this family scattered all through
the mountains of South America, the only plant you’re likely to
have in your garden that’s even distantly related to the papaya
is broccoli. Once you try growing papayas, you’ll find
they’re as easy as broccoli, and almost as fast! Like vegetables,
they’re almost always grown from seed, and under ideal conditions
will produce fruit in less than a year.
Ideal conditions are: full sun, rich, fertile soil with regular water and fertilizer, and no hard freezes in the winter
Most
gardening guides will tell you that
you need a male and a female tree
in order to get fruit. I have never found a male tree to be necessary.
Every papaya I’ve ever grown has had both male and female flowers
on it, though some have had nearly all female flowers, which is great
for fruit production. I have seen all male trees in other
people’s gardens, and they’re quite a waste of space. Most
people don’t realize that their tree will never produce fruit,
and they allow it to get bigger and bigger waiting for something to
happen. If you see long, dangling clusters of yellow flowers on your
papaya, cut it down and throw it in the compost! The flowers on female
or mixed trees are white, and very fragrant. If you plant 3 of these,
the few male flowers they contain are enough to pollinate all the
female flowers on your property, and provide you with more fruit than
you can possibly eat.
As
with any food producing plant in Florida, there are pests to watch out
for. The papaya fruit fly looks like a small wasp with a very long
stinger, which is actually its ovipositor. It inserts the ovipositor
deep into the fruit, where it lays its eggs. You’ll know this has
happened when you see a milky white sap oozing from small holes on the
green fruit. As the fruit ripens, the larvae eat their way out, and the
fruit starts to spoil around the holes they make. I have found that a
product called Crop Surround, actually an ultra-fine clay, is very
effective at stopping the fruit flies from piercing the skin of the
fruit. I’ve also found that if I plant lots of papayas, the fruit
flies aren’t able to lay their eggs in all of them. One
final way around the fruit fly problem is to use your papayas while
they’re still green. They make a great cooked vegetable, similar
to squash!
Club officer contact
President: Jim Nevers, president@rakesandbladesfl.com
Vice President: Ann Allen, vicepres@rakesandbladesfl.com
Treasurer: Gary Raush, treasurer@rakesandbladesfl.com
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Raffleator: Kevin Ritter, raffles@rakesandbladesfl.com
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Program Coordinator: Brian Cahill, programs@rakesandbladesfl.com
Host Coordinators: Ann Allen, Marty Volpe, hosting@rakesandbladesfl.com
Potluck Committee:
Marty Volpe, Scott Hoffman, Dani Skrzypek, Jeffrey Davis
potluck@rakesandbladesfl.com
