Papaya is one of the easiest plants to grow, but I don’t see it planted in many Bangkok backyards. This is probably because the fruit is available all year round and can be purchased at any time. This is OK if you are not particular about the variety, but those who prefer kaek-dahm complain that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find.
An old cultivar, kaek-dahm is cylindrical with reddish-orange flesh that is very sweet, and is considered by many Thais as the best. However, the fruit is delicate and does not keep very long, unlike the latest hybrid called Holland, which is now the most common in markets throughout Bangkok.
Holland is a boon to both growers and vendors as it has a thick skin and can travel well, and in the market it has a long shelf life. For these reasons, it was thought to be genetically modified when it first made its appearance some years ago. It is beautiful but nowhere near as sweet and tender as kaek-dahm if its skin is only yellowish or yellow. You have to wait until it has turned yellow-orange, which indicates that it is fully ripe, unlike kaek-dahm which is sweet even when the skin is still greenish.
There is another cultivar, known as coco, which is bigger and has an even thicker flesh than kaek-dahm. It is sweet when fully ripe and it keeps longer than the latter, but it, too, is becoming difficult to find. Before Holland was introduced into Thailand there was a Hawaiian cultivar known as solo, which has a tough skin but tender, yellow-orange flesh that is also very sweet, but the fruit is small, only a bit bigger than one’s fist. It was my favourite after kaek-dahm, but it has now completely disappeared from the market.
home grown: Papaya is rich in vitamins and antioxidants, good reasons to plant a tree or two in your backyard.
Papaya is grown from seed, so if you have just eaten a fruit of superior quality, save the seeds. Rub the seeds together under running water to remove the gelatinous substance encasing them, as this inhibits germination. Pulverise the germinating soil, then sow the seeds in small plastic bags or pots at a rate of three to four per container and distanced 1-2cm apart. Cover the seeds thinly with soil, then water thoroughly. Alternatively, sow all the seeds in a germinating bed or box, then prick the seedlings out when they are about 20-30cm tall and big enough to be transplanted into the open ground, preferably at the beginning of the rainy season. Older seedlings recover poorly after transplanting.
Take care not to disturb the roots when transplanting seedlings, and do not plant them deeper in the new place than the previous planting depth. Firm the soil around the roots, make a depression around the plants and then water thoroughly. Papaya can tolerate all kinds of soil provided it has good drainage, as the roots are very sensitive to waterlogging and even short periods of flooding can kill the plants. They grow best in loamy soil rich in organic matter, and in full sun. Plants must be watered every day or two until they are fully established, after which they can be watered less frequently or when the soil is dry to the touch.
Dutch traveller Jan Huyghen van Linschoten wrote in 1597 (this from the 1598 English translation): “There is also a fruite that came out of the Spanish Indies, brought from beyond ye Philipinas or Lusons to Malacca, and fro thence to India. It is called Papaios, and is very like a Mellon … and will not grow, but alwaies two together, that is male and female … and when they are diuided and set apart one from the other, then they yield no fruite at all.”
The truth is that no one can tell whether a tree is male or female, or hermaphrodite, before flowering. Seasoned gardeners plant three to four seedlings together and when they bear flowers, retain only the most vigorous female or hermaphrodite plant. Male flowers come in a cluster attached to a stalk 30cm long or longer, while female flowers are considerably larger and are either solitary or in a short-stemmed cluster of three or more flowers.
Cross-pollination is necessary for the female flowers to develop fruits. This is effected by insects, but it is necessary to retain a male tree for every 10 female to provide the pollen. However, male trees can be eliminated altogether if there are hermaphrodites, which also have pollen. Hermaphrodites have both male and female flowers and are self-pollinated, and produce fruit of good quality.
Papaya is a fast-growing plant that requires liberal application of fertiliser, both organic and inorganic. Apply a handful of complete fertiliser (NPK 15-15-15) one month after planting, then repeat the process every three or six months, increasing the amount of fertiliser as the plants grow bigger. Use of manure and mulch steadies the release of nutrients into usable compounds that the plants can absorb. Sometimes, fruits drop before they can develop due to calcium deficiency. This can be solved by the application of lime, which is available in the same gardening supply store where you bought your fertiliser.
Papaya bears several fruits in varying degrees of maturity. The fruit is ready to harvest when it is tinged with yellow, but if you wait another day or two as it ripens on the tree, the sweeter it becomes. Papaya is good for digestion and is said to contain more vitamin C than orange. It is also rich in vitamins A, B and E, not to mention antioxidants that reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease — good enough reasons why you should plant a tree or two in your backyard.
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