The Papaya is an herbaceous plant with a soft stem which may grow as tall as 8 meters.  It normally flowers in 9-12 months producing either male, female, hermaphrodite flowers.  The male plants do not produce fruits but at rare times develop fruit.  The papaya is a cross pollinated plant and economic life of the plan is usually 3 years.  The tree may produce as much as 100 fruits and each fruit may weigh up to 2-3 kilograms.

What doest it mean to garden organically?

Organic gardeners don’t use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on their plants.  But gardening organically is much more than what you don’t do.  When you garden organically, you think of your plants as part of the whole system within Nature that starts in the soil and includes that the water supply, people, wildlife and even insects.  An organic gardener strives to work in harmony with natural systems and to minimize and continually replenish any sources the garden consumes.  Organic matter to the soil, using locally available resources wherever possible and everyone has access to the new ingredients of organic matter, because your lawn, garden and kitchen produce them everyday.  Decaying plant wastes, such as grass clippings, fall leaves and vegetable scraps from your kitchen, are the building blocks of compost to your soil, you’re already well on your way to raising a beautiful, healthy garden.

The other key to growing organically is to choose plants suited to the site.  Plants adapted to your climate and conditions are better able to grow without a lot of attention or input; on the other hand, when you try to grow a plant that is not right for your site, you will probably have to boost its natural defenses to keep it healthy and productive.