Florida Papaya

-Tree ripened Florida papaya.

Growing heirloom tomatoes in South Florida? Now, that’s a challenge. We’ve wrestled with it, trying to coax those delicate tomatoes into thriving. But you know what’s a breeze to grow here? Papaya.

These trees are like the overachievers of the garden—more of a large herb, actually. Check this out:

• They grow faster than you can say “tomato.”
• Heavy producers, like they’re showing off.
• Almost zero need for your constant attention.
• Fruit? Oh, they’ve got that covered pretty much year-round.

Like many of their tropical pals, papayas have a nifty trick up their leaves — they produce a bunch of latex. It’s like their secret weapon against pests, and it works like a charm, most of the time.

Now, here’s the interesting part. When the green fruit starts showing hints of color, the latex production takes a chill pill. That’s your cue to pluck those papayas and let them ripen in the cozy indoors.

Leave them on the tree too long, and you might as well set up a buffet for every papaya-loving creature in the neighborhood. Because down here, everyone’s a fan of ripe papaya.

This year, our papaya crop was so spectacular, we had to bring in bamboo reinforcements to keep those limbs from doing the limbo in the wind.

✨

With fruity dreams and garden magic, D 🌴🌊