How to Grow Papayas

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By Barbara Fahs
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Papayas are one of the tastiest fruits to grow in tropical areas. Early European settlers introduced papayas to Hawaii and they quickly became a staple food there. The relatively short-lived trees are very easy to grow and can reach heights up to 25 feet. They have hollow trunks and usually no branches. The leaves are large and deeply cut and the fruit forms on the trunk. Baby trees pop up in places where you don’t expect them because birds who have eaten them sometimes drop seeds in your garden. If you live in the tropics and love papayas, these volunteer trees can truly be “wonderful weeds.”

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Fresh papaya seeds
Garden space
Shovel
Compost

How to Start Papayas from Seed

Step 1

Gather seeds from a variety of papaya you like.
Step 2

Locate a space in your garden where a papaya tree will look good. Be sure there is plenty of soil for the roots to spread.
Step 3

Dig a hole with your shovel and then mix in a shovelful of organic compost.
Step 4

Make 5 holes in the area you have prepared--circle them around the area about 2 inches apart.
Step 5

Bury 1 papaya seed in each hole, about 1-inch deep.
Step 6

Keep the area well watered until the seeds sprout.
Step 7

When the young trees are about 1-foot tall, thin out the weaker, smaller plants, leaving just 1 strong tree in each area you have planted.
Step 8

If you feel it is necessary, apply an all-purpose fertilizer twice each year. However, papayas are very hardy and produce fruit even without fertilizer.

Tips & Warnings

Do not put papaya seeds into your compost pile. Although compost piles heat up, they never get hot enough to kill papaya seeds, and when you use the finished compost, you’ll get a “carpet” of baby trees wherever you spread your compost.
Papayas do not transplant very well, so planting seeds directly into the ground is the best method for starting new trees.
Papaya trees will begin producing fruit within the first year you plant them, but will live for only 4 or 5 years. When they get too tall to harvest or slow down on their production, you can cut them off about four or five feet from the ground and sometimes side branches will grow that produce fruit for another year or two.
Be careful not to plant papaya seeds that have been genetically engineered, such as the SunUp and Rainbow varieties. Varieties that are not genetically engineered include Solo and Strawberry papayas.