When a seed becomes a tree


I have wanted to grow my own papayas for a long time. I undertook several attempts. First, I planted some seeds from a fruit I just ate. No success. Even though I literally looked the plants out of the ground, the seeds remained hidden in the topsoil. A little later, I saw plants germinating on my compost heap. I carefully scooped them out of the heap and planted them neatly in a pot. They didn't like that. They died one after the other. Not a success either. The plan went on ice for a while.

Until a few months ago, when I decided to use my compost to enrich the soil in my vegetable garden. A week later, every inch of free space had been taken up by little germinating plants unknown to me. The insight came when those first baby leaves gave way to the more recognisable leaves. Papayas, papayas everywhere. They came as if grass had been sown. So, I weeded and left one here and there to grow big and strong. I transplanted those young plants, about 20 cm high, into the soil, between flowers and other plants. Initially, they were still given a bucket of water, occasionally. Later, they had to start looking after themselves.


And they did!


Nine months later, there are sturdy trees in my garden. Trunks of more than 15 cm diameter. To my delight, I have both male and female plants. You can -I think- only see that when they flower. The flowers of the male plant are in clusters. The female plant has larger white, bell-shaped flowers that grow directly on the stem. And that's where the papayas come in. One tree proudly bears quite a few fruits. I can’t wait for them to get ripe.

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