Chayote is a light-green-colored fruit famously known as the “Vegetable Pear.”
It is an evergreen perennial that produces a squished pear-like fruit resembling the flavor of Nutty squash and American cucumber. This fruit is fleshy and has a color variating between light green to white.
Many people love this fruit but don’t know how to grow it.
If you want to learn how to grow Chayote in containers, follow our guide!
Chayote is often confused with being a vegetable due to its consumption style. However, it is, in fact, a fruit.
The plant is native to tropical and sub-tropical temperatures; hence, it grows best in warmer environments. But even if you live in cold regions, you can learn how to grow Chayote in containers!
How to Grow Chayote in Containers? | The Steps!
Planting and taking care of Chayote is effortless.
You’ll find our step-by-step guide and care tips extremely helpful while learning how to grow Chayote in containers.
- Take a healthy and mature Chayote fruit.
The Chayote plant can be grown through both the seeds and the fruit. (The method is also the same.)
- Sow the thick end of the fruit in the soil and bury it at least 4 to 6 inches deep.
- Angle the fruit 45 degrees from the soil’s surface and let the stem emerge.
- Maintain a distance of 10 feet between the fruits and the seeds when sowing them. (It will allow them sufficient room to grow.)
- If you are growing Chayote in a container, only plant a single fruit in each container.
- Add a trellis beforehand to support the plant as it grows. (Since the Chayote is an aggressive climber, it grows fast, and the container might not be enough to sustain it.)
- After sowing the Chayote (or the seeds), find a good sunny spot around your house to place the container.
Chayote needs ample sunlight to grow.
Windows on the east side receive less sunlight, which is suitable for plants that love indirect sunlight; however, the best direct sunlight comes from the windows facing south.
Locate a window facing the south and place your Chayote container at least 1 to 2 feet from the window. West-side windows can be just as excellent for the Chayote plants, even though they do not receive as much sunlight as the south-facing windows.
- Do not overwater the plant—overwatering will cause fungus and mold growth, causing root rot and affecting the whole plant and its development.
- Check the soil to see if the plants need water. Water your plants whenever the soil feels dry around the base of the plant. (If the roots are left to grow in wet soil, they will start rotting, become unable to absorb oxygen and nutrients, and retard the growth of the whole plant, eventually killing it.)
With these quick and simple steps, your Chayote will grow smoothly! Keep taking care of it as usual; it will be all tall and mighty in no time.
Additional Care Tips for the Chayote Plant!
Once you have planted your Chayote and the plant has started to grow, follow our expert tips on taking care of it to receive a bountiful harvest and healthy plants.
Watering
When you grow the Chayote, water it regularly.
Water it lightly once or twice a week, depending on the soil. Later, as the plant grows, water it only when the soil feels dry.
However, don’t let the soil get dehydrated.
Chayote plants favor moist soil to grow healthy. So, after growing your Chayote in containers, ensure the soil outside is well-watered and moist before replanting it in your garden.
Fertilization
Before you plant the Chayote in the garden, treating the soil with compost and a good-quality fertilizer is advised. It will help the plant grow. Use old compost, such as compost tea, to feed the Chayote plants after every 5 to 6 weeks.
The best time to treat the Chayote with compost and fertilizers is during the growing and mid-growing seasons.
Soil
Chayote is quite easygoing and can grow in any soil.
However, you should prefer loose soil with good water drainage and high nutritional value. Manure and compost will help enrich the soil.
Mulch
Since Chayote favors and thrives in soil with high moisture, it is best to mulch it. Incorporate this mulch in the top 25 to 30 cm layer of soil. Mulch will also protect the plants from frost and cold temperatures.
Moreover, the layer of mulch will help regulate the water retention, humidity, moisture levels, and temperature of the soil, thus, allowing the plant to thrive under any conditions.
Pests & Diseases
Keep checking your plants for any attack of pests and diseases. The best strategy is to prevent the pests, and if the attack happens, remove the affected parts of the plants immediately to prevent the spread.
Let’s head toward the conclusion.
Conclusion!
That’s all there is to know about successfully growing Chayote in containers.
The Chayote is one of the most versatile and prolific plants in homegrown fruits and vegetables.
It’s rewarding to grow fruits at home, and Chayote can be one such fruit. Though it is native to tropical lands, it can still be grown in any region if you know how to do it.
We have created this fantastic guide on how to grow Chayote in containers. It will help you grow your plants indoors to save them from frost, and when the temperature gets warmer, you can transplant them to your garden.
Share how your fruits turned out in the comments below!
Regards.