Planting Chayote
In the course of my studies, I also discovered that the almond-sized chayote seed can't be dried and saved for planting: It germinates only inside the fruit — and will often do so while still on the vine — so the seed must be planted with its fleshy "shell" intact. The vegetable pear grower's first step, then, is to locate a market (try an area with a large Spanish-speaking population) where chayote is sold in the late fall. (It doesn't matter if the fruit has been in cold storage and plastic-wrapped.) Buy several . . . put them away in a dark, cool (not frosty) place . . . and wait. The seed sprout will emerge and lengthen in the darkness. By February it should be approximately six inches long.
Then, if your area — like most parts of North America — isn't yet frost-free, put the sprouted chayote in a pot with the tip of the new growth just peeping out of the soil. Set it in a sunny window, keep it watered, and plant it outdoors once the weather is warm enough. (Should you live in a zone, like ours, that usually stays above freezing in February, you can simply plant the germinated fruit wherever you want it to grow.)
|