How to Grow Papaya at Home from Seed 

Hi Mark, I think the only couple of points I would add from my own experience of growing Papaya here in Indonesia (Tropical) is that you need to plant on a soil mound if you have a rainy season and rivers of water flowing through your garden as the roots do not like standing in water. The second point I would add is that if you allow the tree to grow and bear fruit and is too high, cut the tree down to around 4 feet and the trunk will start sprouting crowns all over the trunk that will eventually produce another generation of fruit but at a lower height. Really enjoy watching your videos.

Hey Mark! I'm a 13 year old who LOVES your channel. My dad grows papaya. The trees are HUGE and we got around 12 to 15 of them! Have a great day!!!

Proof that long form videos do well as long as the content is engaging and the presenter is clear and credible. Well done.

Hi Mark, another thing to use the seeds for is a pepper substitute. I dry the seeds then put them in a pepper grinder. Works and tastes like pepper.

this guy is a comedic genius, i dont know how he does it

Mark, imagine how pleased I was when I searched RU-vid for info on how to germinate and grow papaya seeds and this video popped up. I knew I would get all the info I needed, and be entertained at the same time. Thank you so much. All the best.

I do compost on the little terrace outside my apartment. I’ve grown a nice sized papaya plant from composting one. I’m so proud of it and hope it lives through the winter 😊

hi Mark! the shape of the fruit determines the sex of future plants. Round papayas make female plants wereas long fruit gives male or hermaphrodite trees. if your tree gets too tall cut it down and put a plastic cup on the exposed end and it will branch out under it. Each branch will grow papayas on the stem if female or hermaphrodite. Green papayas can be used for candied fruit, like guava and coconut and taste wonderful with a slice of white cheese. Also in salads cut in thin slices or matchsticks and mixed with green mangoes cut the same. Don't forget to let some of the male trees grow even if they don't produce fruit so they can produce pollen. I will be sending the recipe for the candied papaya next.

mark, i aspire to be you when im older. living in austrailia, having endless fruit gardens, honestly just vibing

Here in Okinawa, you'll only find papaya green. I'm not sure of the species, but it's considered a vegi here. My wife's favorite way to eat it is in a papaya, carrot, and egg stir-fry. (Ninjin Shirishiri) Maybe your family would find it a little more palatable.

"This is becoming a really confusing video, isn't it?" No, It became a really informative video actually! Really love all these information and research put into it!

Here in Belize, Central America people use papaya seeds for deworming humans and animals. We also use it as a biological pesticide. Very useful for aphids and whiteflies. Also thank you very much for your videos. My garden has improved so much thanks to you.

They are very hardy plants, I brought one and ran out of pots so put it into the ground temporarily, then forgot all about it. When I went to tidy up my yard a year later I found some 5 and 6 kilo fruits hiding and it had grown in height a lot. They tasted fantastic and they freeze really well. Well worth growing, love your videos!

I love papayas! I didn’t at one time until my husband taught me to take cold cut up papaya and squeeze fresh lime over the fruit and drizzle with some honey. Yummy!

Thanks for the info. I planted 3 trees that I grew from seed. I planted the in November 2019. They are now about 3 feet tall with thick trunks. I'm not a fan of papaya either but my mom loves them. I'm hoping to see fruit this year. 8-2-20 As of today we 7 papaya fruit on the tree that appeared at the end of June. Hopefully they will mature and my mom will enjoy fresh off the tree soon.

Hi Mark, this is Michael in northern Florida, I started planting my Papaya plants couple f months ago from seeds after watching your videos, very informative and helpful. Thank you.

I agee about eating papayas green. I enjoyed a salad made mostly shredded green papaya, some shredded carrots, green onions, crushed peanuts, with a lime/lemon juice, fish sauce, honey & soy sauce dressing. I discovered this salad from my Thai friends. Good video. Thank you.

Love your videos Mark. I've been experimenting with germinating papaya seeds and have found that you need to get the seeds from a whole fully ripe fruit (not a shop one that has been cut in half) and plant them straight away. No washing or drying of the seeds, just plant them straight from the fruit. This must be done during the warmer months and the soil must be kept damp. Don't let it dry out. The seeds will take up to 40 days to germinate so be patient. This will give you nearly 100% germination.

Hi Mark! Really enjoy watching and learning from your videos! We call it hermaphrodite instead of bisexual papayas in the Philippines, I think it’s a more accurate description for plants having both the male and female flowers. A hermaphrodite plant is desirable for commercial farmers and the female accepted as well, but male papayas are generally avoided, most times even killed. But we know a couple tricks to convert a male to female two ways: first, when transplanting a seedling to its permanent container, trim the main root. Or second, when the plant is mature and starts flowering male flowers, we drive two sticks in the middle of the tree (where the hard brown trunk meets the soft green part) perpendicular to each other. This “threatens” the tree’s life and forces it to “survive” by putting out female flowers which leads to fruiting. Looking forward to more quality content. Cheers mate!

I've only ever heard of the Eastern US paw paw (Asimina triloba). Then again, I always get a giggle when you talk about possums in the garden, because our possums (technically an opossum) are no problem. In fact, they are the #1 tick eating animal, very rarely have rabies, and just fine to have around or living under your porch.

Mark, you saved yourself a ton of "but actually" comments with your comprehensive introduction, good on ya mate

I have a pair of American Paw Paws just put them in this spring and they're leafing out. The European explorers named everything similar, they weren't the most creative with names. I prefer the name Hoosier banana. P.S. I also have a Papaya plant in my greenhouse I will overwinter it in my grow tent. love new fruits.

In the Philippines we put the green papaya in a chicken soup called tinola. Its like a warm hug.

A few things I know....Use only the seeds from the bottom half of the fruit. Drop them in water, remove the seeds that float to the top, they are faulty. Don't dry them, sow immediately for the best results. Trim the main roots a bit as you transplant into the ground (Supposed to create a dwarf style tree) and always keep the leaves clipped at least halfway up the trunk and always remove dead foliage.

I live in Florida I constantly have them growing randomly in my yard most likely do to my chickens. My trees fruit at 2 1/2-3 ft talk and I cut them at two years and start over. If it’s a good tree I cut it down the middle and let it regenerate in to multiple branches

I'm from the Midwest US and we have a native fruit tree called a Paw Paw. The fruits taste tropical, though it grows in forests that get below freezing. I checked out your video and hope to grow Papaya in containers. I don't like raw papaya, but I love it dried for some reason. Much love from the Midwest US 💖

He’s funny and knowledgeable and I find usually it has really good advice and this is a good way to do it but I’ve tried so many times to do it and so many times they never sprouted until one time I just scoop the seeds out of a papaya and check them in a pot and they all grew and then I learned that if you take them fresh from the papaya and plant them they have a way better germination rate then if you dry them and store them and there’s no need for any of the rinsing or drying or vomiting or anything you can just scoop them right out into the dirt and they will grow

Awesome video.

I just ate an amazing pawpaw which I just now learnt was actually a papaya and that explains why it was so different and I'm here to learn how to plant it so I can have some all year round. This was such an informative video and you such a positive personality it felt like I was learning from my dad ❤

I learned in plant biology at university that a plant with a flower that has both male and female parts on the same flower is called a "perfect flower." Papaya would be that it seems!

I stumbled upon this channel last night and honestly it’s my new favourite channel. Absolutely loving it!

Green papaya makes for one of the greatest salads- Som Tam 🤤

Greetings from South Africa. I have just been given 3 pawpaw babies and found you on how to grow them. I follow you all the time. Just love your sense of humour

Mark, greetings from Bangkok. Following you for some time now, very helpful videos you have. Great seeing you and family eating green papaya, looks like Thai som-tam salad. Personally I prefer papaya when fully ripe,great taste. I wouldn't worry when your trees get taller, in Thailand we use a kind of basket on a long bamboo pole for fruit high in a tree. Also used for mangoes. I know your visited here so sure you've seen them before. Stay safe down under 😀

Hi Mark If you like orange marmalade, most likely you will like the Papaya jam: PAPAYAS, SUGAR, CITRUS ZEST 1. Just dice ripe Papayas, place in the pot, dust them with sugar, and leave aside until juice will come out. 2. Bring to the boil, blend with stick blender add zest from Oranges, Lemons - natural pectin. You can add the juice as well to regulate the acidity and flavor. 3. Simmer and reduce down till desired thickness 4. Place in jars and do quick pasteurization process and now you have a stash of Citrus Papaya Jam 🙂 Awesome for toasts, pancakes, crepes Love Your channel Mark 👍👍👍 Regards from Mexico, here I grow papayas from the seeds landing directly in my compost

Paw paw ("Asimina triloba") is actually a plant native to northern america and is hardy to USDA zone 5 and below, right up to zone 10-11. Papaya is a tropical plant native to parts of Australia and can only be grown in USDA zones 10-13.

Hi My wife loved this segment usually only I watch your channel, but u had her on the edge of her seat as she loves paw paws and she has some seeds and U turned up at the right time !! By the way congratulations on the 800000 you should be over the moon, a big double thumbs up 👍🥰👍

In Missouri US, our pawpaw don't last but maybe a week, they go bad fast. No luck trying to grow them, yet. Even though our area is to cold for papaya we are going to try it anyways. That is why I came back to this video...LOL. I have shared your how to's with many. I always here, but he doesn't live in my area..... DUH, the plants still like the same stuff. Love your channel. Thank you for all the how to's and for keeping it real.

i live in malaysia and they grow so easily i dont even have to try, just throw the seeds around and they will come out

Papaya is very good for the digestive system. It’s nicer in salads. They are a required taste for sure. I am patiently waiting for my self sewn trees to fruit and ripen .. TFS this information.

Love the videos Mark thank you for making them.

Nice to have papaya tree nearby, the papaya fruit taste good. The papaya leaves help to relief dengue fever.

Love papaya!! It is so good for you!! Brain food my great grandmother told me! :)

I’m from Mexico, add lemon 🍋 to the fully grown papaya and you will love it! I personally don’t like papaya, but with lemon 🍋 you can make its flavor to change to a combination of both frites and are equally flavor balanced. Good luck 🍀!

I'm growing papaya from seed using a technique that's supposed to guarentee female trees and also keeps them shorter. You snip the tap roots of young seedlings. We'll see if it works.

I’m in Hawaii and we have papaya everywhere. I’m not a big fan like you but love it fresh with lime, in spicy green papaya salad or dehydrated! And it I a good sweetener in my green smooothies. Seeds from a hermaphadite tree can produce trees that are male or female. I was taught to plant seeds directly in the ground as stems will be stronger. You want 9 Seeds for each tree you want. Make a 2 foot circle and prepare the area. Set seeds in 3 groups of 3. When they sprout, thin to 3 trees keeping 1 from each group. Let those trees grow until you can tell the sex typically 4 ft . Keep hermaphadite and or strongest. While I’ve done this, most my papayas are volunteers...but I still take down males.

I'm from Costa Rica and in my house we love ripe papaya juice just blender the papaya with some sweet ripe bananas, a sweet orange and sugar and is the best! also helps to clean your digestive system, that's why when you made the juice just drink occasionaly beacouse you will be a lot of time in the bathroom next day

we have learned about this on a course i did with a food forest expert and he showed us that will certain seeds if you leave the layer on top for too long then it will absorb into the seed stopping it from growing until the next year. if you take the fruit and remove the seeds and add them to a jar of water and then put a hand held blender that has a space between the blade and top large enough to let the seeds pass then you can turn the power down and that will clean the seeds and remove all of this so they can be dried and then stored ready for use any time you need them. and this also stops fermentation and moldes growing on the seed collection

Looking at those varieties, you need to grow the Hawaiian papayas. They're pretty taste much like mangos. Other varieties aren't nearly as good.

We really like the pink lady from bali, sometimes they add lime juice to them. Here in the philippines we have red lady which is like the one from bali, really good compared to the regular papaya. But as you said its great fresh and green, we use it like that too 👍

You should do a; "5 TOP tips on how to grow chilies!"

I love Papaya, the first time I ever had it was in Brisbane, when I came to Australia in my late teens from New Zealand. The fruit has digestive emzines that helps break down meat and I always try to have it when eating Pork. The seeds are very peppery when eaten and crushed with the teeth and are good in eliminating parisitic worms. In the Philippines they make a pickle salad from green ones that is very nice that goes great with cold meats.

Great info Mark, I lived in Africa for 10 years and we called them Pawpaws over there. It's been a good long while since I've tasted one, will have to see if my local fruit and veg shop has any for sale. Cheers Adam

Thank you. Just starting the journey down the road toward growing.. I do enjoy your videos.

you need to put "bisexual papaya" on a t-shirt 🤣

That's Awesome!!! I wanted to do this and we are a sub tropical area in Northern Northern California. I think I may try it!! Who am I Kidding!! I Am Going to Try it!!

I came here for the bisexual papaya 😂, this was great with coffee this morning

As soon as I heard him say he don't even like papaya but he grows it, I knew I had to follow this intelligent man

I'm on the Sunshine coast and have grown papaya from seed. Unfortunately, like with mangos, we get black spot which destroys the fruit. Do you have any recommendations on keeping black spot at bay or is it just pointless trying to grow mangoes/papaya in my area? Thanks :)

Papaya salad is one of my favorite dishes!! I eat it with thai beef jerky and sticky rice.

That's not a paw paw I have one in my backyard here in the blue ridge mountains in USA! You could grow it there too!

We bought one papaya (FL) years ago. I collected the seeds and just threw them out my back door towards a clearing. Aside from ONE I kept to grow forever, I give away up to a dozen volunteers every year. It's like a tree-weed.

But it's so good! I love it when you say that you don't like something but you grow it anyway. You are a true gardener.

Somebody in my weird household loves to mash it and put it on their faces for “natural” skin care. They can do whatever they want I just want the seeds. Weirdos

Very interesting. As another person stated, in the US we have a native fruit called Pawpaw and is not generally found but does exist. Ripe papaya tastes great with a little lime juice squeezed on it or in a green papaya salad, (Thai recipe). It absorbs the various juices and can be served with shrimp. I have grown papaya for over 15 years with no problems. My first one came as a volunteer out of my compost pile and was transplanted to a more favorable location. Since then I get my plants by broadcasting the seeds from the older plants, (or out of the compost). I have had them grow to about almost 15 feet but the plant is tender and may break off around 8'. Since it is a soft wood new stems will grow just below the break, usually two or three. Or you can cut into the stalk and may get another branch at this point, just don't cut to big or deep. I had one break a few years ago and it developed 4 new branches. The plant was bent almost 90 degrees and the back of the main stalk split opened and healed itself. Since the stalk comes in sections as does bamboo it looked like a backbone. This plant produced for another year and then rotted out. BTW: Papaya is a very good digestive and can be used as a meat tenderizer. Commercially it can be found in Accent and Aji-No-Moto, (papin).

Papaya is one of the easiest things to grow.

This man! Is the man of the farm!!!!! Healthy and peaceful

If you dry the Papaya seed’s put them in a pepper grinder they have a very nice peppery , flowery flavor good on poultry, fish , and meat .

This guy is the best RU-vid garden assistance teacher/entertainer. Keep it up brother

Hi, My name is Elizabeth. I live in Puerto Rico. I have a Papaya tree it has 4 branches, I have never cut the tree so the branches just grew from the tree. They give plenty of Papaya. The Papayas are bigger, some as a basket ball. I use the papaya almost daily as food for breakfast. I cut the papaya when it,s yellow in eight parts and with 1 or 2 parts prepare a smoothie. The other portions I put in the freezer. So the smoothie consists of Papaya, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, oatmeal, orange juice or milk. I am using orange juice now. A month ago I used milk. You can also put some bananas ( for me its too sweet) it is more calories. I do not add sugar at all. This is so good for your digestive system and liver with all those nutrients. Another way it is used is ripe to make a sweet jam like candy. You cut the ripe papaya in 2 by 3/8 inch size pieces and place them in a bowl with a little backing soda for 20 minutes. The rinse them and add to a pot with sugar, a pinch of salt, cinnamon and spice cloves. For 30 minutes. After you need to check on it all the time until it is with a syrup consistency and caramelize. You are done. You can serve it with white cheese. Once I had to many people visiting I had papaya candy but not enough. I had some sour grapefruits. So I cut them in half. Made a well in the middle part extracting the center and place few tablespoon of the papaya in the middle. The combination of flavors sour and sweet was very tasty. For more information or visuals you can google "Dulce de Papaya". I have never tried them in salad. Need to learn how and when. I do am preparing the seeds for planting and have give them as a gift with a papaya. Hope you can try these other creative ways of using the papaya and you like it. Thanks so much for your video. I enjoy it very much.

I spent time on a papaya farm in Africa and the papaya ‘trees’ were very high (maybe 8 metres (25’)). They only needed a long stick with downward-facing hook (just a sharpened broken off part of a branch) to harvest the papayas. The papaya break off easily by gently swiping the hook down on the thin link between the fruit and the ‘tree’. Very easy to do and absolutely no need for a ladder.

I can't believe how many papaya seedlings I have...I potted them from the tray and they are doing so well! I have 96 pots and about 1/2 have 2 or more seedlings! I'm not done! I ran out of pots! I probably have 30-40 more pots to plant! They are very resilient and don't mind being handled!

I used to hate ripe Papaya but then I watched an Asian cooking show and they said to squeeze lime over it as it will change the flavour profile into something sweet and delicious. Now it's a favourite.

As a Kid in Africa, always known fruit as Paw Paw, still taste the same. Yum. have a Good day.

Papaya is so special in Mexico we love it so so much like cactus and guava which are native to here. Maybe because our ancestors ate it a lot before. So thats why we enjoy it a lot .

My daughter and I love papaya, We had a tree in the yard for the longest time, Not bearing fruits... We only recently realized it's a male, We finally cut it down and are looking to plant some more, hoping for some females that can produce those delicious Papaya... I am new to gardening I didn't know what I was missing. Attempting to germinate some Papaya seeds right now. These videos are a great help to me, I am your biggest fan.

I planted some papaya seeds in dirt and I gave them water. I dint not expect them to grow, but they did. I need to learn how to take care of them now

Thank you for this video, it was very helpful. You gave me enough information, you should do a video on fertilizing and care for them.

A squeeze of fresh lime is a game changer on ripe papaya

I live in zone 10 a few miles north of San Francisco CA and successfully grow 2 varieties of dwarf Hawaiian papaya, "TR Hovey" and "Sunrise" (not to be confused with the more common 'Mexican' papaya you find in grocery stores, which is bigger and not as sweet as Hawaiian papaya). I bought mine from Logee's online for anyone interested. They have to go into the greenhouse in winter but they do ok. So for anyone who lives in a warmer climate and wants the sweet, delicious Hawaiian papaya, give it a try!

You're so awesome! Thank you for these videos! 💓

Thanks for your informative, straightforward interesting vlog on papaya. I live in Canada and happen to love papaya; even the seeds. Their digestive properties are legendary and I envy you being able to pop in seeds and have the climate to grow them in; not to mention just being able to harvest them right off the tree. And I appreciate the opportunity to see, ahem, first ”paw” how they are grown and harvested!!!

My papaya seeds recently germinated, letting them grow some more before repotting them. Thanks for all the info!

Greetings from Hawaii. The green ones is good for making chicken papaya soup. The papayas I grow at home are the size of a football. No chemical fertilizer. All natural fertilizer like chicken manure and wood ash.

I like this man's work he is so humane so detailed so nice,

Hiya, just been potting up baby papaya seedlings today. I recommend using fresh seed and don't dry them. Drying will reduce the viability a lot. My seed has come up close to 100% germination. Loved learning about using them green

I agree with you. When those things are ripe they taste like cantaloupe and poop. They are pretty good sliced green.

I grew up with poupou (Nigerian pronunciation) trees in our company in Nigeria. We pluck when still green and it is always crunchy and sweet, very refreshing when it is chilled.

I am collecting papaya seeds, I used to grow them back home in the Philippines but this is my first year trying to grow some in Texas.

Ever since when I was a lad I wasn't good with papaya but with time I found it extremely great and the sweet taste...

I can’t stand papaya, but it grows extremely well in Florida. We were giving most of it away until we blended it in smoothies. It adds a ton of creaminess to smoothies without ruining flavor. We still give some away because it produces so much and we have multiple trees, but we now keep some for ourselves as well. Make sure you pull them as they get their first streak of yellow. If you wait too long, every animal in the garden will burrow into the fruit.

They're called paw paws in Jamaica too and grow in Florida. Squeeze a little lime juice on the ripe ones. The seeds are good for you too. Papain aids digestion and is used in meat tenderizer products.

Papaya leaf tea...cut a healthy leaf, clean with water and dry it in kitchen by hanging it over a string. When leaf is completely dry, cut it into little pieces with scissors and brew with hot water. Great taste.

Thank you. It's always a pleasure watching your videos.

When papayas ripens, they help you digesting read meal. If you have a tough cut of meet leave them marinating in Papaya for a few hours and your meet will be soften. If you eat them after eating meat it will help your digestion. You can also make milk shakes with them.

I just started 2 of these this year so thanks for the video. I love your channel and your relaxed way of gardening. You make it fun and enjoyable and make all the work look worth every drop of sweat.

Every time I gave a gardening question Mark has the answer! So grateful for your channel

The way we eat papaya in Colombia we cut a ripe papaya into pieces and drizzle lime and honey on it. It so delicious 😍. Like ambrosia🤗

Thank you for the great information!! Just got a papaya given to me this morning in Florida. Now I’m going to try growing the seeds. Bravo!!!

We need to get him to 1mil as soon as possible like this guy it the most wholesome guy on here