What Kind of Fertilizer for Papaya?

Fertilizer

• Most commercial fertilizers are fine for either papaya type, but if your soil pH reading is 5.5, an application of lime reduces soil acid as well as provides calcium, which aids in ensuring that the plant grows appropriately. If you don’t have access to lime in your area, a reasonable substitute of dolomite that gives the budding plants magnesium and calcium should be premixed with loose soil before being added to the plant’s base. Note that all-in-one fertilizer mixes aren’t necessary, since papaya seeds contain needed vital nutrients that are obtained from the seed itself.

Applications

• Fertilizer should be applied for about the first 90 days of the papaya plant’s growing cycle. The fertilizer should be of the slow-releasing, slow-burning variety so as not to accidentally “cook” the plant’s delicate root systems beneath the soil. A small amount — about half an ounce of this type of fertilizer is recommended by agriculturists at the University of Hawaii — is all that’s needed. For the following six weeks after the 90-day period, as much as 6 ounces should be added weekly to the plants.

What Not to Do

• Both types of papaya require plenty of sun and prefer to remain out of strong wind currents. Although you can grow papaya in the shade, the resulting papaya will taste bland, since loss of sunlight tends to under-produce the plant’s phytochemicals that are responsible for the fruit’s familiar taste. Also, despite being slightly frost-resistant, papaya plants benefit from proper cover when temperatures dwindle.

Soil Helps

• The right fertilizer certainly won’t help growing papaya plants unless they’re planted in the correct soil type. Usually, most types of soil cultivate either type of plant, but the planting area needs to be well-drained, or else destructive plant disease from stagnant water can and usually will develop. Avoid areas with too much clay or lava-based soil, or fertilizers won’t help because the soil will be too acidic.