Glenmore resident shares tips to grow papaya

While organic food fetches a high price for farmers, many Berea residents don’t realise they could be harvesting their own organic produce from their own gardens. In this second of a four-part series, Glenmore resident, Deon Braun shares his tips to grow fresh produce at home. This week, Braun shares his tips to grow papaya.

“If I had space for just one tall, food-producing plant in my garden, it would be the beautiful papaya, with its unmistakable, exotic foliage that just shouts ‘tropical’,” said Braun.

While locals often use ‘papaya’ and ‘pawpaw’ interchangeably, these words actually refer to different fruit, explained Braun.

“Here, in South Africa, we more often call it the pawpaw and, contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t differentiate the look of the fruit. Both the generally firmer red, orange or pink varieties and the softer, juicier yellow ones are from the same species, Carica papaya. The real pawpaw is actually a totally different plant species (Asimina triloba) which grows in the USA,” he said.

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A sunny garden is ideal for growing papaya.

“Whatever you call the papaya, it is a fast-growing non-woody plant that can produce its first fruit as early as eight months (after planting). It will grow best in full sun on the southern border of your property. Seedlings’ delicate taproots don’t like being transplanted from small pots, so it’s usually best to plant seeds direct into the ground, or sow in deep, narrow pots,” said Braun.

From snack to seedling

Buying a seedling is not even necessary, as papaya can be grown from seeds found in the fruit.

“You can easily get young seedlings started. Just save seeds from the store-bought fruit and lightly prepare the soil with some well-aged compost. Papaya does like water, but it also doesn’t like being waterlogged. It thrives in our Durban climate, and will bear fruit throughout the year,” said Braun.

The gardener even shared a few tips on how to select the best seeds from the fruit.

“You can’t determine papaya seeds’ genders by looking at them. Darker seeds are not female, contrary to the widely shared fallacy that they are. So plant several and remove male plants once the first flowers appear. Male flowers grow on on longer stalks. The best plants are actually self-fertile, and these are called hermaphrodite, because they have flowers that are both male and female. Their fruit is also reputedly of better quality,” he explained.

The best ways to eat papaya

For Braun, there is no need to wait for papaya to ripen as it is equally delicious when it is still green.

“Green papaya fruit is the main ingredient in Thai green papaya salad – one of the most delicious salads you can make. You can use the smallest fruit (when you thin out fruit to prevent deformed, mature fruit), or semi-mature fruit. Both are equally good,” he said.

Once ripe, the whole fruit can be eaten.

“Ripe papaya fruit is entirely edible: skin, flesh and the seeds, although the latter are peppery and most people will eat only a few while enjoying the flesh.” said Braun.

What’s more, the leaves can be eaten.

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“Unwanted plants that are being culled are also extremely useful. You can cook young leaves in the growing centre like spinach. They do have a distinctive taste that not all may like, but are extremely nutritious. I often see vervet monkeys tearing off pieces and eating them, probably for medicinal purposes. Papaya contains an enzyme called papain, which is believed to relieve indigestion and offer other benefits for human health. However, be aware that all parts of the plant contain varying amounts of latex, which some individuals may have averse reactions to,” said Braun.

While papaya trees can grow for 15 years or more, fruit quality deteriorates after about four years, said Braun.

“At the end of a papaya’s productive life, you can cut it down, and sample the juicy, crunchy inner core. Its trunk makes a black, rich compost after it breaks down in a few weeks. The papaya is a winner for Durban, and your garden should have one – or a few,” he concluded.