Over a year and a half ago, I started germinating papino seeds in order to start an additional cash crop for the farm. Once the little seedlings were strong enough, I planted them out into a space that I had cleared out for the purpose, however shortly after the farm ran dry, and we did not have any water to sustain the plants, and given that the underground water table had dried out as well the plants could hardly sustain themselves.
I had planted them out during our expected rain season, hoping that we would have sufficient rainfall that year for the plants to pull through, another crop was crucial for the farm as a lot of our main farming crop was mangos and due to the ongoing drought at that stage, we had lost a great deal of our mango trees. Sadly the rainfall was short another year, and left us with minimal water, so many of the newly planted papino trees died very shortly after the rain season ended. However a few of them had managed to survive, and a year and a half later - we are seeing the first fruits form on these trees.
Papino or Papaya as it is also known is an absolutely amazing plant to grow for numerous reasons. And in my case, growing these trees as an additional cash crop is great because each tree can give an average of one fruit per day, making it an amazing passive income once the trees mature.
Here are a few other reasons to grow papino:
If you are into Permaculture - papino trees are a great way to draw underground water to the surface.
The fruits from these trees are not only delicious but also very nutritious and holds a plethora of health benefits, you can read a bit more about that here
But it is not only the fruits of this tree that holds medicinal benefits;
The leaves of this plant is also a green treasure trove of medicinal properties.
"Carica papaya — also simply known as papaya or pawpaw — is a type of tropical, fruit-bearing tree native to Mexico and northern regions of South America.
Today, papaya is one of the most widely cultivated crops in the world. Its fruit, seeds, and leaves are frequently utilized in a variety of culinary and folk medicine practices.
Papaya leaf contains unique plant compounds that have demonstrated broad pharmacological potential in test-tube and animal studies.
Although human research is lacking, many papaya leaf preparations, such as teas, extracts, tablets, and juices, are often used to treat illnesses and promote health in numerous ways." ~ Source
You can also read more about the health benifits of papino leaves here
Sadly though my first fruit that was almost ready for harvest, fell under the hands or rather the teeth of a over eager monkey, who pulled the fruit off took one bite out of it and then decided that he'd much rather have the fruit ripe, and then discarded the fruit wastefully - I can foresee that this will soon become a serious obstacle for me to overcome... But we will cross that monkey bridge when we get to it.
So this year I have started planting more papino plants from scratch, and so far these babies are doing really well, they will probably be ready to be planted out within a month or two. You can already see the more mature leaves forming on the young seedlings, they will be ready to plant out as soon as the stems are about the thickness of a standard pencil and the plants are at least 30cm tall.
The idea is to put at least 600 papino trees into the ground before the end of the year - so I am really looking forward to sharing the progress of this with you guys!