You can grow papaya in a pot and it will still bear fruit, and the fruit will have a strong sweet taste. Let’s find out how to do it.
Choose breed of papaya
You should choose the F1 hybrid seed. This type of papaya has a dwarf stem and short internodes. This variety of papaya has excellent growth capabilities and can tolerate a variety of weather conditions while continuing to yield a large number of high-quality fruits.
If you buy the breed at the market to grow seeds yourself, you should choose ripe fruit. Cut off the top and bottom of the fruit. Separate the seeds and drop them into water. Pick out the seeds that float on the water surface, only select the seeds that are black and sink under the water. Wash off the slime on the outside of the seeds and prepare the compost for germination.
Compost seeds
Soak the seeds for roughly five hours in water at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. After putting the dried papaya seeds on moist paper or fabric, let them germinate for four to five days.
Water must be sprayed on the seeds during incubation to keep them moist.
Sow 2-3 seeds into the compost. After 15-20 days, the papaya will sprout. During this process, enough water must be sprayed for the sprouts to grow.
You can buy pre-grown seedlings from gardeners. Buying a tree about 15-20 cm high will give you a high survival rate. Choose plants with clustered roots, dark green leaves with 4 grooves that look into 5 pieces, roots larger than the top, growing slightly tilted. This is the shape of a female papaya tree, which can produce large and sweet fruit.
Planting land
You can use purchased soil or mix it with decomposed fertilizers, earthworm compost, rice husks… to provide nutrients for the plants.
The pot must have drainage holes to prevent the plant from being waterlogged.
Transfer the plant to the pot
The plant can be placed in a pot once it has four to five pairs of leaves and is ten to fifteen centimeters tall. Alternatively, if you purchase seedlings, you can immediately plant them in a pot.
When the plants are about 50-60cm tall, stop fertilizing or watering heavily to prevent the leaves from rotting. Just make sure there is enough moisture for the soil, and let it dry.
Apply fertilizer once every 7-10 days. You can fertilize plants with microbial and organic fertilizers.
Papayas need to be planted in a bright, well-ventilated area to prevent drying out because they adore the sun. Because papaya branches, leaves, and stems are so delicate and brittle, it is best to keep the pot of papaya away from areas that get frequent high winds.
Papaya plants can bloom in five to six months. Fertilizer will assist the plants in producing more firm, sweet, mature fruit at this point.
Regarding the growing season of papaya, if it grows around March – April, you can harvest the fruit on Tet holiday; If it grows around September – October, it can be harvested in July – September of the following year. If well taken care of, papaya plants can bear fruit 3 times/year.
