Growing Papaya's

Papaya originated in the lowland tropics of South America, but today you find papayas growing everywhere in the tropics and subtropics. It often grows wild, and every tropical food garden has several papaya trees.

To grow good papayas you need a frost free climate, lots of sunlight, lots of water and very good soil.

If you can supply all of the above you can pretty much stick some papaya seeds in the ground at any time of the year, and six to ten months later they will start fruiting.

Ok, admittedly this sounds easier than it is for most beginner gardeners. There are some hurdles and traps to watch out for when growing papayas. But if you are aware of the possible problems then there is no reason why your first attempt at growing papayas shouldn't be a smashing success. Let's look at the details...

 What Do Papayas Look Like?

Papayas are fast growing, single stem plants. The trunk is soft and does not have a bark, and papayas don't have branches.

The leaves are huge and don't last long. Usually you have a tall trunk with a crown of leaves at the top of it. The overall appearance is a bit like a palm tree.

If a papaya loses the growing tip or is cut back it can develop multiple trunks.

The fruit grows on the trunk, and since papayas continue to grow up and up the fruit is harder and harder to get to as the papaya plant gets older...

 How To Grow Papaya From Seed

You can use any shop bought papaya for seeds, but you get the best results if you use seeds from locally grown papaya fruit.

Just cut the papaya in half, scrape out the seeds, and clean and dry them. (Actually, I never bother cleaning them...)

You will end up with enough seeds to grow a papaya plantation...

Select a sunny and sheltered place in your garden. That's right, in your garden. Don't start them in pots!

Papayas don't transplant well. Anything that disturbs the roots of papayas really sets them back. They just hate it. The most fool proof way to grow papayas is to simply plant them where they are to live.

Papaya trees are very, very hungry. That means they need very good soil, rich in organic matter and nutrients.

If you don't have fabulous soil, make some. Dig a hole half a meter across and fill it with a mix of good compost and soil. Actually, make at least two or three such planting beds in different locations.

Now sprinkle on some of your seeds. A couple of dozen per bed is a good amount. I usually use even more... Cover the seeds lightly with more compost, and then mulch the patch well. The seeds usually take about a couple of weeks to germinate, and may take longer.

Soon you will notice that your seedlings are very different in size and vigor. That's why we planted so many. Start culling the weaker ones. Pull them out while still small, or cut bigger ones down to the ground. Only keep the very best.

At this stage you should keep about half a dozen plants. Papaya plants can be male, female, or bisexual, and you want to make sure that you have some females or bisexual plants amongst your seedlings. The male papayas don't bear fruit.

Papayas start flowering when they are about one metre tall. The males flower first. Male flowers have long, thin stalks with several small blooms.Female flowers are usually single blooms, bigger, and very close to the trunk. See the papaya pictures above.

Cull most of the male plants. You only need one male for every ten to fifteen female plants to ensure good pollination.

And that's it. You should end up with one very strong and healthy female plant per bed. (And a male plant somewhere...) If the weather is warm enough, and if you are growing your papayas in full sun and in good soil, then you could be picking the first ripe fruit within 10 months.

How much water?

Papayas have large soft leaves. They evaporate a lot of water in warm weather, so they need a lot of water. But unfortunately papayas are very susceptible to root rot, especially in cool weather. Overwatering is the most common reason for problems when growing papayas.

It depends on the temperature and on the overall health and vigor of the plant. A healthier plant will cope better, but in general you should be careful not to overwater during periods of cool weather.

 How much plant food?

As much as you can spare. Papayas need a lot of fertilizing. They are particularly greedy for nitrogen. Fertilize them regularly. You can use a complete fertilizer, or something like chicken manure. Papayas handle strong or fresh manures fairly well. You should also be generous with compost, and just keep piling on the mulch as the plants grow bigger.

How much sun?

As much as possible. It's ok if the leaves wilt a little bit in hot weather.Papayas love heat and sunlight. You can get them to grow in partial shade, but you just end up with a spindly, sickly tree, and if you ever get any fruit it will be several metres up in the air and taste insipid.

When do papayas fruit and how much?

Papayas fruit all year round, as long as the weather is warm enough. Keep them happy and they will keep fruiting. (If the temperatures drop too much they stop flowering. They will flower again as it warms up.)

Young papayas are the most productive. The older a papaya plant gets, the weaker it becomes. It will produce less and smaller fruit, and it may get problems with diseases. Also, because the plants keep growing taller it gets harder to reach the fruit.

I think it's best to just keep planting more. Put in another patch every few months. That way you always have some healthy and productive plants around, and you don't need a ladder to pick the fruit.

 How long do papayas live?

That can vary greatly, but most papaya plants are short lived. As they get older they get more susceptible to all kinds of diseases. Most of mine die some time in their second or third year. We get big storms here and usually my papayas just blow over once they get too tall.

But I also have some trees that seem indestructible. Rather than blowing over they snap off, and grow multiple new trunks. I once saw a photo of a forty year old papaya!

Common Problems When Growing Papayas

I already addressed the most common problem: root rot due to overwatering. If you get cool weather keep you papaya plants dry.

If you live in an area that gets torrential tropical rains, like I do, then there is not much you can do about it. Every wet season I lose many of my mature papaya plants. It's not a problem for me, since I regularly start new plants. The young ones survive ok, and I always have some papayas fruiting somewhere.

Strong winds are another common cause of papaya disaster. Papaya plants have a very shallow root system, they get very top heavy as they grow older, and they blow over easily. Again, the solution is to replant in time.

Then there are birds, fruit bats, possums... Everybody loves papayas. The only solution here is to pick the fruit as soon as it starts to change colour. It will ripen ok on the kitchen bench.

I don't mind sharing my papaya crop anyway. I pick what I can reach and I don't worry about the fruit that's higher up. The birds can have the rest until the plant falls over and dies.

That is unless I get an exceptionally productive or nice flavoured papaya. I'm too lazy to climb ladders to pick papayas, so if a tree gets too tall I just cut it down, about two feet of the ground. Sometimes it kills them, but sometimes they grow back with several trunks. I get more fruit and it grows where I can reach it.

 The best time to cut a papaya back is during dry weather. The trunk is hollow. If it fills with water it will rot. You can protect it by covering it with an upside down plastic pot or or a bag. Hot, humid weather can encourage rot.

Papayas get a whole slew of viruses and diseases, transmitted bysucking insects. Those problems are greatest during times when the plants are stressed already, for example because they have wet feet.

I don't think it's worth worrying about diseases, or trying to treat them. Just plant more.

Young, vigorous papayas are least affected by insects or diseases. Just keep planting lots of them, and always keep just the best. The planting method outlined above, and regular replanting, are the best way to ensure a regular supply of papaya.

Save your own seeds from your healthiest and tastiest plants, and over time you will breed the perfect papaya for your garden.

Growing Papaya In Cooler Climates

If you get at least long hot summers you could grow papaya just as an ornamental plant. In this case you would start them in a pot indoors to gain extra time. Plant them out against a sun facing wall and enjoy the tropical look. However, you won't be able to keep your papaya alive long enough to get fruit.

The only other option is growing papaya in a huge pot, and to keep the pot in a heated greenhouse in winter. Still, I doubt you'd get reasonable fruit of it. I would grow papaya as an annual decorative plant.

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How to Grow Guavas-- The sweet fruit (With health Tips Below)

The guava is a shrub or small tree which grows 2 to 8 m tall. When cultivated it is usually pruned back to about 2 to 3 m.Trees that are not pruned, usually flower during October. When they are pruned, the period of full bloom is 10 to 12 weeks after pruning. Bees are the main pollinators, but self-pollination also occurs.
Fruit
• The fruit is a berry.
• Guavas vary in shape, from spherical to pyriform, and the size of the fruit varies from 25 to 100 mm in diameter.
• The flesh of the cultivar Fan Retief is orangepink with a granular structure as a result of the many stone cells. There are numerous hard seeds embedded in the pulp.
• The period from flowering to ripening of the fruit is 20 to 28 weeks, depending on pruning time.
Climatic requirements
• Guavas are adapted to areas with hot summers and cool winters. In some areas an average monthly maximum temperature higher than 32 °C and a minimum temperature below 3 °C are regarded as restrictive for the cultivation of guavas.
• Temperatures of up to 45 °C can be tolerated, although the highest yields are usually recorded at mean temperatures of 23 to 28 °C.
• Optimum vegetative growth occurs between 15 and 28 °C.
• Approximately 3,5 to 6 months, depending on the cultivar, of mean summer temperatures higher than 16 °C are needed for the trees to flower and bear fruit successfully. The quality of the fruit becomes inferior when mean temperatures fall below 15 °C during the maturing stage.
• Guavas can be grown successfully from sea level up to an altitude of 1 500 m.
• The trees are also well adapted to both summer and winter rainfall conditions.
• They are more drought resistant than most tropical trees and grow best in areas with an annual rainfall of 1 000 to 1 500 mm. However, fruit production and quality are affected by extreme moisture conditions.
• If rainfall is inadequate, trees should be irrigated during dry periods, especially if there is fruit on the tree.

 

 Soil requirements
• Guavas grow well in any type of soil. Because of its distribution on a wide variety of soil types, the guava tree is often regarded as a weed. The trees are frequently found along streams, brooks and rivers where they apparently thrive, despite periodic waterlogging and poor physical and soil chemical conditions.
• For sustained successful commercial cultivation of the crop, it is, however, better to plant the trees on fairly well-drained soils. Shallow soils or those containing compacted layers can, in the long term, have an adverse effect on growth and production.
• Guavas can be grown in soil that is not suitable for the production of most other subtropical fruit trees.
Cultivars
• Guava cultivars include Fan Retief, Frank Malherbe, Van Zyl, Rousseau, Du Preez, Fredene, Dimple, Jonelle, Welheim, Frederika and TSG 2. The latter is preferred because it is not susceptible to guava wilt disease.
• At present only Fan Retief is planted on a large scale. It is, however, very susceptible to guava wilt disease (Acromonium sp.) which is prevalent in guava plantings in Mpumalanga and the Northern Province. Frank Malherbe, which is used for canning, is the only other cultivar planted commercially, mainly in the Western Cape Province.
Soil preparation
• A guava planting is a long-term investment. It is therefore important to plan a new planting thoroughly and well in advance.
• The first and most important step is to examine soil suitability with respect to depth, drainage and compacted layers. The soil should be at least 800 mm deep. The physical suitability of a soil can only be evaluated by digging holes in the ground and examining the soil profile.
• If the soil, regarding physical properties, is suitable for growing guavas it is of vital importance to prepare it carefully and well in advance of planting.
• A representative sample of the proposed orchard must be taken for soil analysis. It is desirable to take the soil sample 9 months, but preferably 12 to 24 months, before planting. There will then be enough time to prepare the soil thoroughly, especially if large quantities of lime are required.

 Soil sampling
• It is important that a sample should represent a soil of homogeneous characteristics, i.e. where no visible differences occur. If there are differences regarding soil colour and texture in such a land, the land must be subdivided accordingly and separate samples taken of the different areas.
• If a soil auger is not available, a spade can be used for taking samples.
– Depth of sampling: 0 to 300 mm for topsoil and 300 to 500 mm for subsoil samples.
– Number of samples: a sample should be made up of at least 10 subsamples (preferably more). The area represented by the sample should not exceed 3 ha.
– Distribution of sampling points: the samples must be taken evenly over the entire area.
– Mixing and packaging: the subsamples from a particular land must be pooled in a clean container (not a fertiliser bag) and mixed thoroughly. A 2-kg sample is taken from this, placed in a clean bag or other suitable container and submitted for analysis.
• Every sample must be marked clearly. The name of the sender, the number of the land and depth at which the sample was taken, must appear on the label. Attach the label to the outside of the container because it could become illegible on the inside.
• The analysis results will supply valuable information regarding the required types and quantities of fertiliser to be applied before planting. It is important that any lime or phosphate that is needed, be thoroughly worked into the soil before planting.
• The results will also facilitate the making of a preliminary fertilisation recommendation up to the stage when the trees are old enough for leaf analysis.
• The soil must be loosened as deep as possible before planting. In this case it will not be necessary to make large planting holes.

Method of soil preparation
• If the soil is very acid, heavy lime application may be necessary. In such a case two thirds of the recommended agricultural lime must be distributed over the entire area 12 months before planting, mixed into the topsoil by discing and then ploughed in as deep as possible. Because calcium (lime) moves slowly in the soil, it is essential to work it into the future root zone of the trees.
• A cover crop can then be planted and ploughed in 6 months later. This will help to increase the organic matter content of the soil. The remaining lime and all the required phosphate must be applied and lightly worked in simultaneously. The trees are planted 3 months later.
• If soil samples have not been taken early enough to proceed as described above, two thirds of the lime must be mixed with the soil and ploughed in deep; the phosphate and the rest of the lime are then distributed and worked in lightly. If large quantities of lime are required, these must be applied at least 3 months before planting (as described), thoroughly mixed with the soil and then worked in deep.
• Do not fertilise recently planted trees too soon. The trees must first become well established and grow vigorously before any fertiliser applications are made. In most cases it is advisable to wait a year. Such an application must be very light and the fertiliser must be applied evenly without coming into contact with the stem of the tree. Irrigation must be applied immediately.

 Planting distance
• Planting patterns and distances are determined to ensure optimal fruit production at the earliest stage.
• The trees must remain healthy and productive and should therefore not be planted too close together or pruned too heavily.
• Planting distances must be wide enough for tractors, spraying machines and labourers to move easily between the trees.
• The recommended planting distance is 5 m between the rows and 2 m between the trees in the row. With this planting distance of 2 x 5 m a total of 1 000 trees can be planted per hectare.
Fertilisation
• Young trees should be well established and growing vigorously, preferably after about one year, before any applications are made.
• Never apply fertilisers against the trunks of young trees.
• Fertilisers must be spread evenly about 200 mm from the stem to about 500 mm from the drip area of the tree. Applications should be followed by a light, controlled irrigation or alternatively applications should be made during the rainy season.
• Fertilisers should not be worked into the soil. As soon as the trees are established and start to grow, fertiliser should be applied frequently.

Nitrogen
• For the first 4 years the nitrogen should be divided into 4 equal applications viz. 2 weeks
before pruning and then at two-monthly intervals.
• Thereafter apply nitrogen as follows:
– one third 2 weeks before pruning
– one third 4 weeks after pruning
– one third 10 weeks after pruning.

Potassium and phosphate
Half the quantity of potassium and all the phosphate must be applied together with the first nitrogen application. The rest of the potassium must be applied 4 months later.

Zinc (Zn) and boron (B) sprays
Because most soils are either naturally low in zinc or the zinc is not available, this element must be applied every year. The following substances and concentrations are recommended per 100 l water:
– Zinc oxide at 200 g or
– NZN at 150 ml
Many guava orchards are also low in boron and it is desirable to spray the tree every 2 years with 100 g borax or 75 g Solubor/100 l water.
Leaf analyses
The following instructions regarding leaf sampling for guava trees are important and should be strictly adhered to. Young, fullydeveloped leaves are sampled 5 months after pruning directly behind the largest fruit as indicated in the figure.
• The time of sampling will normally be between January and March, depending on the time of pruning.
• The correct leaves must be sampled.
• When a leaf sample from a particular orchard is submitted for the first time, it must be accompanied by a soil sample. Thereafter, it would also be advisable to submit soil samples annually. When making fertilisation adjustments, it is essential to take into consideration the analysis results of the soil as well as the leaf samples.
• Only leaves taken from healthy trees must be sampled. The leaves must therefore show no signs of sunburn, deficiency, insect damage or disease.
• A leaf and soil sample should represent an area of not more than 3 ha.
• The recommended method is to select approximately 20 healthy trees that are well distributed throughout the orchard, homogeneous in appearance and representative of the entire orchard. Exceptionally good or poor trees must not be sampled. The 20 selected trees must be marked clearly, for example with paint, so that the soil and leaf samples can be taken from the same marked trees every year.

Pruning
Tree pruning is an annual practice on guava farms in South Africa and is carried out for a number of reasons, namely to:
• direct or control growth, to obtain the desired tree shape and size
• encourage flower and fruit production to maximise production of high-quality fruit per unit area
• facilitate harvesting and to utilise the bearing area of the tree optimally
• obtain the desired leaf to fruit ratio
• optimise sunlight utilisation and air movement in the tree. Efficient sunlight utilisation is essential for obtaining optimal yield and high fruit quality. Insufficient sunlight will cause dieback of the fruiting branches. Inadequate air movement promotes fungal and insect pests within the tree
• effect rejuvenation by removing dead or excessive wood or shoots
• allow spraying and cultural practices to be applied more effectively
• extend the production period. The production season of guavas can be controlled by the time of pruning. If pruning is done later in the season, fruit will also be harvested later. Pruning usually involves three basic techniques: thinning, heading back and pinching or tipping. Thinning involves the removal of entire branches at the point of origin. By thinning, the bulk of the plant is reduced without obviously altering its size or form. Heading back is the process of pruning to shorten branches. Heading back is usually used to induce production of flowers and fruit and to limit tree size. Pinching involves the removal of the growth tip of the stem. This action will stimulate the growth of side branches. These different techniques are usually combined to obtain the desired tree form. Structuring of the tree during the first 2 years is essential for maximum sunlight utilisation. Limited sunlight penetration will adversely affect yield and fruit quality once the tree starts
bearing.

Pruning is usually applied during September or October.
Diseases

Guava wilt disease
Guava wilt disease (GWD), caused by an Acromonium sp. and reported for the first time in 1981 in South Africa is present in most of the guava-producing areas of Mpumalanga and the Limpopo Province. As a result of this disease the total hectarage of guavas in the southern Lowveld of Mpumalanga has decreased by 80 % in the period 1982 to 1994. Restrictions have been placed on the transport of guava planting material in terms of existing plant quarantine legislation, and plant material may not be taken out of the affected areas.

Symptoms
• The first symptoms of the disease include wilting and yellowing or bronzing of the leaves.
• The tree can decline rapidly or relatively slowly. Where tree decline is rapid, the leaves tend to remain on the tree, but shrivel and become necrotic, so that the tree has a scorched appearance. Where tree decline is slow, the leaves drop naturally, eventually resulting in the complete defoliation of the tree. The development of fruit on such trees ceases and the fruit eventually becomes mummified.
• GWD is spread mainly through root infection and the movement of infected plant material. The disease is also spread by contaminated soil clinging to farm implements and lugboxes.
• The disease tends to spread more rapidly during summer than winter.

Control
No chemical control measures have been registered against GWD. Eradication is at present the only control measure. Eradication involves the removal of the diseased tree, the 2 adjacent trees within the row, and the trees in the adjacent rows on either side of the diseased tree. Management practices in orchards should be kept to a minimum from December to February to prevent damage to the trees and spreading of the disease.

Pestalotia branch dieback
• This disease is caused by Pestalotia psidicola, and differs from GWD in that individual branches die back from the tips. The shoots usually die rapidly and the leaves remain attached to the shoots, giving the diseased shoots a scorched appearance.
• The only effective control measure is to remove the diseased branches and coat the pruning wounds with a fungicidal sealant.

Blossom-end rot
• Blossom-end rot is a major problem in the guava-producing areas of the Western Cape Province as well as in the cooler production areas of Mpumalanga and the Limpopo Province, mainly Brondal and White River.
• Copper oxychloride, captab and mancozeb are registered for control. Spraying
programmes do not reduce the disease to a great extent and are therefore not cost effective.

Fruitflies
Fruitflies are a major pest in guavas in most production areas. Three types attack guavas in South Africa, namely the Natal fruitfly, Mediterranean fruitfly and the marula fruitfly. In the Lowveld, the Natal fruitfly is the most important of the three. They all cause the same type of damage and can be controlled in the same way.

Damage and symptoms
Female flies lay white, oblong eggs in groups just under the skin of mature, ripening fruit. A few days later the maggots hatch and feed on the fruit flesh. The maggots are creamywhite, reach a length of about 6 mm and have no legs. Pierced fruit is characterised by small holes in the skin surrounded by a bruise. Such fruit soon becomes soft, and can decay and drop early.

Control
Fruitflies can be controlled successfully by means of a combination of chemical control, pruning, the eradication of useless host plants and regular orchard sanitation. A full cover spray with fenthion 500 g/l EC at 100 ml/100 l water 3 to 4 weeks before harvesting, followed by a second spray 10 days before harvesting gives good control. Three sprays are recommended for homegardens, namely 7 weeks, 4 weeks and 10 days before harvesting.

Pruning
By pruning guava trees, harvesting time can be shifted to a period when fruitfly populations are lower. In Levubu, where the normal harvesting time of unpruned trees is March/April, the main harvest time could be shifted to June/July by pruning in October. By pruning in November, harvesting time is moved to July/August. However, pruning does not replace chemical control because it only helps to shift the main harvesting time to a period when
there are fewer flies.
Eradication of host plants
The fruit of some useless host plants serves as an ideal breeding place for fruitflies, and should be eradicated. They include:
• Bug tree (Solanum mauritianum) which occurs in large numbers in plantations and along streams or rivers. The Natal fruitfly feeds on this plant during winter and large numbers of flies hatch from the fruitlets in summer.
• Wild-growing guavas which are good hosts for the Natal and Mediterranean fruitfly. The trees usually grow in the vicinity of roads and footpaths because guava seeds are spread mainly by human activities.
• Bramble fruit shelter the larvae of the Natal fruitfly and these plants should be eradicated where they occur in the vicinity of guava orchards.
Orchard sanitation
Guavas and other fruit, including wild fruit that has dropped, should be collected weekly and destroyed because fruitfly maggots emerge from the fruit, pupate in the ground and reappear as adult flies. Such fruit can be chopped up with a hammermill or buried at least 450 mm deep.
Post-harvest handling
• The guava is a climacteric fruit. It can therefore be picked green and will ripen during as well as after storage or shipment.
• Although the ideal ripening and harvesting norms have not been determined conclusively, it appears that the fruit should be picked when a colour change occurs. This stage is referred to as the “adult green” stage.
• The fruit has a delicate skin which can be damaged easily. Mechanical damage increases the extent to which the fruit can be infected by fungi. Harvesting practices must, therefore, be directed to keep mechanical damage to an absolute minimum.
• Because of the high respiration rate of guava fruit, refrigeration is a very important aspect. The period between harvesting and refrigeration must, however, be kept as short as possible. Attempts should be made to shift harvesting to the cooler part of the day and not to leave the fruit in the orchard unnecessarily. Picked fruit must not be exposed to the sun. The fruit is sensitive to low temperatures. The suitable storage temperature for guavas is approximately 5 °C.
• The standard export carton of which the dimensions have been adapted for pallet stacking and which are of variable height to allow for different fruit size, is also suitable for guavas.
• The fruit must be packed in a single layer to limit damage during transportation to a minimum. For the same reason, fruit should be packed firmly without bruising. It should be kept in mind that the aim of packaging is to protect the fruit as well as to create an attractive presentation of fruit on the market.
• If too many problems are experienced with the marketing of the fresh fruit, guavas can be processed in various ways. The fruit is especially suited to canning or processing into jams or dried guava rolls. Factories also purchase the fruit on a large scale for the manufacturing of guava juice and nectar.
Guava pulp
Use any ripe guavas (even the dropped ones underneath the tree which are in a good condition). Put the guavas in a pot and cover them with water. Boil the guavas until they are blanched (the skins crack and loosen). Prevent overcooking as it will result in a dark brown pulp instead of the desired pink-coloured pulp.
Remove the cooked guavas from the boiling water, place in a clean container and mash with a potato masher. The mashed guavas are then pressed through a strainer to separate the seeds from the pulp.
Throw away the pips and keep the pulp for guava rolls and guava juice. The pulp is highly perishable and should be used immediately or kept in a fridge for use at a later stage.
Making juice
Mix one cup of guava pulp, prepared in the first stage, with three cups of water and add sugar according to taste. The juice contains no preservatives and should be consumed immediately or kept in a fridge. This is a healthy drink with a high vitamin C content.
Making rolls
Open a piece of plastic. Cover the plastic with a thin layer of cooking oil, followed by a thin layer of guava pulp. The layer of cooking oil is to prevent the pulp from sticking to the plastic when it dries. Allow the pulp to dry in the sun for about one day. The dried guava rolls canbe cut into pieces and covered in plastic for use at a later stage.
Bottling
Peel firm and ripe guavas and cut them in half. Remove all the bruised and damaged parts of the fruit.
Prepare the syrup by dissolving one cup of sugar in two cups of water and bring to boiling point.Place the peeled guavas in the boiled syrup and cook until froth starts to appear on top ofthe syrup or the pips start to loosen. Be careful not to overcook guavas. Overcooked guavas lose their pips.
Remove the labels from the glass bottles for the cooked guavas by soaking them in water. Sterilise the bottles by boiling in water for 30 minutes. All the bottles used must have metal caps and should not be cracked or chipped.
Remove the bottles from the boiling water and fill up to the rim with cooked guavas and syrup.
Remove all the air bubbles by inserting a knife against the inside of the bottles. Close the cap tightly and place the bottle upside down while it cools. This will ensure that the bottles seal properly. The bottles must be sealed tightly.

Health Benefits of Guava:

The health benefits of guava include treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, constipation, cough, cold, skin care, high blood pressure, weight loss, scurvy, etc.

Many of you might have tasted this mouth-watering treat, or at least have seen it or heard about it. Guava is very common in Asian countries. It is a good looking pear shaped or round shaped seasonal fruit, light green or yellow or maroon in color from outside when ripe, with white or maroon flesh and lots of small hard seeds enveloping very soft and sweet pulp. It is eaten raw (ripe or semi-ripe) or in form of jams and jellies. This attractive fruit is a real storehouse of nutrients. If it is “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” in Europe and Americas, it must be “A few guavas in the season keeps the doctor away for the whole year” in the Indian Subcontinent and places where guavas grow. Its scientific name is Psidium Guajava.

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Growing Onion- The veggy which can bring the golden tears out from ur eyes

Onions are one of the most popular vegetables for growing in home gardens and are one of the first crops of spring. They can be stored over winter thus making a versatile crop

They are used in a huge range of culinary dishes, both raw and cooked.

Preparation

If adding manure or composted organic matter then add a few weeks before sowing / planting out.

 You can tread the soil gently to firm it up a bit prior to sowing.

Sowing

Onions can be planted from seed or from sets (small partely grown onion bulbs). Sets are more expensive but they tend to be more reliable in their results and also require less work - no thinning and reduced onion fly risk.

If sowing from seed then sow in drills about 2cm deep with about 1 inch between seeds. If sowing in rows then space the rows about 30cm apart. 

The soil should be moist before sowing so check the soil the day before sowing and water if the soil is dry.

If planting onion sets then they can be planted around Mid to Late March (earlier if a cloche / polytunnel is used). Again space rows about 30cm apart. Sow sets around 10cm apart as they shouldn't require any thinning. Dig a small hole for each set and place the set in neck upwards. When covered back up with soil the tip of the neck should just show through the soil surface.

Spring onions (scallion) can be sown from April and planting should be staggered every few weeks to ensure a continuous crop throughout the growing season.

Position

Onions will grow in most cliimates and are frost resistant.

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Soil type

Onions will grow in almost any soil from sandy loams to heavy clay. The soil should be firm. If your soil is heavy then you can introduce some organic compost or manure into the soil to help its moisture retaining properties.

 Onions prefer a slightly acidic soil - PH 5.5-6.5 is a good PH for growing onions.

Tending

Frequently weed between the onions by shallow hoeing, onions do not trap much incoming light due to their sparse leaf forms so weeds can take full advantage of the availalle light.

If your crop has been sown from seed then you will need to thin the onions when they reach about 5 cm in height. Thin them so that they are spaced about 10cm apart.

Harvesting

Onions are ready to harvest a week after their tops have started to fall over and are yellowed.

Use a fork to lift the onions out of the ground. Take care not to damage the skins as this invites decay organisms in to attack the onion flesh.

Onions should be harvested on a sunny day, cleaned of any soil still attached to them and then placed on top of the soil where they will dry out with the help of the sun and wind.. Leave the onions out for a few days (until the tops dry out). 

Remove the tops with a sharp knife about 2cm above the onion top so that decay organisms do not have direct access to the onion bulb. 

Discard any onions that show signs of decay or damage as these can affect healthy onions if they are stored

If you want to store the onions over winter then you can cure them by hanging them in a well aired place (such as from the roof of a summer house veranda). Mesh bags or strings can be used to group and hang the onions and they should hang for about 3-4 weeks.

Spring onions can be harvested when they are about 30-40cm in height and will store for up to a week in the fridge. To prepare spring onions simply remove the outer set of leaves and wash.

 

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How to grow Banana- The green Plantain

Banana is the common name used for herbaceous plants in the genus Musa, which because of their size and structure, are often mistaken for trees. Bananas are cultivated for their fruit which bear the same name, and to a lesser extent for the production of fibre and as ornamental plants. Bananas are of the family Musaceae. Globally, bananas rank fourth after rice, wheat and maize in human consumption; they are grown in 130 countries worldwide, more than any other fruit crop.

Growing bananas does not take much effort, but it does require that you get a few things right when you first get started.

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Banana plants can offer many benefits:

·        They make great windbreaks or screens,

·        they can keep the sun of the hot western side of your house,

·        they utilize the water and nutrients in waste drains (think washing water or outdoor shower),

·        the leaves can be fed to horses, cows and other grazers,

·        the dried remains of the trunks can be used for weaving baskets and mats. 

Oh, and they give you bananas. Lots of bananas!

But when I look around friends' gardens then I see some pretty sad looking banana plants growing there. It helps to understand what bananas like and dislike if you want them to be happy! 

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Banana plants like:

·        Rich, dark, fertile soils.

·        Lots of mulch and organic matter. LOTS. Just keep piling it on.

·        Lot of nitrogen and potassium. (Chicken manure!)

·        Steady warmth, not too hot and not too cold. (Bananas are sissies when it comes to temperatures...)

·        Steady moisture, in the ground and in the air.

·        The shelter of other bananas! That's the most overlooked aspect by home growers...

Banana plants dislike:

·        Strong winds.

·        Extreme heat or cold.

·        Being hungry or thirsty.

·        Being alone and exposed.

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How do bananas grow?

Bananas aren't real trees, not even palm trees, even though they are often called banana palms. Bananas are perennial herbs. (Gingers, heliconias and bird-of-paradise flowers are distant relatives of bananas. They are in the same order, Zingiberales.)

Banana trunks consists of all the leaf stalks wrapped around each other. New leaves start growing inside, below the ground. They push up through the middle and emerge from the centre of the crown. So does the flower, which finally turns into a bunch of bananas.

Here is a picture series showing how the flower looks at first, and how the bananas appear and curl up towards the light.

Those pictures were taken over the course of a few days. You can pretty much watch this happen. But now it will take another two months or so, depending on the temperature, for the fruit to fill out and finally ripen.

A banana plant takes about 9 months to grow up and produce a bunch of bananas. Then the mother plant dies. But around the base of it are many suckers, little baby plants.

At the base of a banana plant, under the ground, is a big rhizome, called the corm.

The corm has growing points and they turn into new suckers. These suckers can be taken off and transplanted, and one or two can be left in position to replace the mother plant.

Great, so now you know what to do once you have bananas growing in your garden, but how do you start?

How to get started growing bananas.

First you need to make sure that you can grow bananas where you are.

You need a tropical or warm subtropical climate. Bananas can handle extreme heat (if they have enough water), but they don't like it. They can handle cool weather for a short while, but they don't like that either. Below 14°C (57F) they just stop growing.

If the temperatures drop any lower the fruit suffers (the skin turns greyish) and the leaves can turn yellow. Frost kills the plant above ground, but the corm can survive and may re-shoot.

The ideal temperature range for banana growing is around 26-30°C (78-86F).

You need a lot of water to grow bananas. The huge soft leaves evaporate a lot, and you have to keep up the supply. Bananas also need high humidity to be happy. (Where I live the commercial banana growers water their plants two or three times a day with sprinklers to keep up the humidity in the banana plantation!)

You need very rich soil. If you don't have good soil to start with, make some. Incorporate lots and lots of compost and plenty of chicken manure before you plant your bananas (wood ash for extra potassium doesn't hurt either), and then mulch them very thickly. And keep mulching and feeding them!

And you need room so you can plant enough of them together. Bananas need shelter from wind. Growing many banana plants together increases the humidity in the middle, evens out temperature changes a bit, and it shades and cools the trunks. (You don't want to cook the flower that's forming in the middle...)

If you get a chance look at a commercial banana plantation somewhere. The outside rows, especially the western side, always look sad. The best bananas grow on the inside...

You should plant bananas in blocks or clumps, not single rows and definitely not single plants. If you have very little room you can grow a few banana plants together and grow something else on the outside to protect them. But you do need to give them that sheltered jungle environment if you want them to be happy.

Planting bananas

You can not grow bananas from seeds. Banana plants don't produce seeds.

The best way is to start with the above mentioned suckers. Know someone who grows bananas? Talk to them. Every banana plant produces a lot more suckers than you need, so people usually have plenty to give away.

Only take suckers from vigorous banana plants. The suckers should have small, spear shaped leaves and ideally be about four feet high. (Smaller suckers will take longer to fruit and the first buch will be smaller.)

Cut the sucker from the main banana plant with a sharp shovel. Cut downwards between the mature plant and the sucker. You have to cut through the corm. It's not easy...

Make sure you get a good chunk of corm and many roots with it. Chop the top off the sucker to reduce evaporation while you move it and while it settles into its new home. (Remember, the growing point is at the bottom of a banana plant. You can decapitate the sucker. It will grow back.)

You can also dig up a bit of corm and chop it into bits. Every bit that has an eye can be planted and will grow into a banana plant. But it takes longer than growing banana suckers...

Plant your bits or suckers in your well prepared banana patch, keeping two to five metres between them.

The spacing depends on your layout. My bananas grow in a block of several double rows. Within the double rows the spacing is two to three metres, but there are two plants in each position, suckers of the initial plant. And I have four to five metres between the double rows.

I also have a banana circle around an outdoor shower where I only have two metres between individual plants, and they are growing in a haphazard way. And if you have just a single clump of a few banana plants you can put them even closer together.

Keep your banana plants moist but not too wet in the early days, or they may rot. (They don't have leaves yet to evaporate water, so they don't need much.)

Maintaining your banana patch

The most common cause of death for bananas is lack of water. The most common cause for not getting fruit is starvation. Banana plants blow over in strong winds. Protect them and feed them and water them and all will be well. Other than that bananas don't need much maintenance.

Just remove any dead leaves and cut down the dead plants every now and then.

You get bigger fruit if you remove all unwanted suckers, only keeping the best one (two for very healthy, vigorous plants).

The best suckers are the ones with the small, spear shaped leaves, NOT the pretty ones with the big round leaves!

Why? A sucker that is still fed by the mother plant does not need to do much photosynthesis, so it doesn't need to produce big leaves.

And a sucker that is well looked after by the mother plant will produce better fruit and be stronger than one that had to struggle on its own...

A mature plantation is pretty much self mulching. Just throw all the leaves and old trunks etc. back under the plants. You can also grow other plants in the understory to produce more mulch. (I use cassava, sweet potato and crotolaria).

You just need to sprinkle on some fertiliser every now and then, to replace what you took out of the system when you took the bananas. Keep the fertiliser close to the trunk as bananas don't have a big root system.

Growing banana fruit

You may see your first flower emerge after about six months, depending on the weather. Leave the leaves around it, especially the one protecting the top bend of the stalk from sunburn!

As the purple flower petals curl back and drop off they reveal a "hand" of bananas under each. Each banana is a "finger".

You may get anything between four to a dozen or more full hands. Then, under the next petal, you'll see a hand of teeny weeny excuses for bananas. Those are the male fingers.

The male fingers just dry and drop off. Only the stalk remains. If you let it grow it will eventually reach the ground.

It's better to break off the "bell" (the bunch of purple flower petals at the end) about 15 cm below the last female hand. That way the banana plant puts its energy and reserves into growing big bananas, and not into growing a long stalk. (Commercial banana growers also remove some of the bottom female hands, so the remaining bananas grow bigger.)

Well, and then you patiently wait for at least another two months. You may have to prop your banana bunch, because it becomes very heavy, and they can snap off or pull the whole plant over.

A good prop would be a long stick with a u-shaped hook at the end. But a long enough plank or pole can do the job, too. I leave that to your ingenuity.

Bananas are ready to be picked when they look well rounded with ribs, and the little flowers at the end are dry and rub off easily.

They will eventually ripen on the bunch, and those bananas taste the best. But once they start they ripen very quickly, faster than you can eat or use them. So you may as well cut the top hands off a bit earlier and ripen them on the kitchen bench.

You can also cut the whole bunch and hang it somewhere if you need to protect it from possums or birds or other thieves. But then all bananas will ripen at once! So be prepared.

You can preserve bananas for use in cooking and baking by peeling and freezing them. Or, to preserve them for eating, peel, split in half lengthwise and dry them.

Once the bunch is picked the rest of the plant will die quickly. Cut it to the ground, throw on some chook poo, and let the next sucker grow while you process all the bananas...

Tip: commercial banana growers use bunch covers (plastic bags open at both ends that they slip over the bunch and tie at the top) to protect bananas from diseases, insects, sunburn and marauders. You can try to buy those bags at a rural supplies store, or beg some of a grower.

I used to bag my bananas (hard to get out of habits after four years of working on commercial plantations) but I don't bother any more. Even if the birds get a few, there are still more than enough left for me and the chickens and the dog and all friends and their families and freezing and drying...  So why not let the wild birds partake of the bounty as well!

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