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I thought you might like to know that there is no way to email you they way your preferences are set.

I suggest you go to the bottom of any page here and click on 'Member Pages'.
then Edit Preferences.
Then using the drop down box, set it to show your email addy to Members only.
then check the box to allow others to email you via the forms here at GW. That will place a link on your member page so folks can reach you.

You might also want to (while you are there) fill in your state abbreviation...it goes in the same box as the garden zone.

Happy gardening and trading!

Sue

There is one seed in each fruit. I will not eat a fruit that has sprouted, so there are many fruits I throw away. The plant is easy to grow - I essentially ignore it except to cut it out where I don't want it. If you still need seeds, contact me (I will review this posting frequently for the next few weeks), and when the fruits come this fall, we can arrange for you to get a few. You must have at least 2 plants to get pollination. The vine is fast growing and will overtake a small garden in a week or two (after it is established). I have a large yard, and the vine grows more than 40 feet in a season.

Thanks chemocurl for the heads up on my preferences.

Deango, I'll try to buy one and get the seed sprouting. If I have no success, I'll contact you. Thanks so much.

Is there anything special I need to do to make the store bought chayote sprout?

That's how I started about 20 years ago - with 2 purchased fruits. You will see a protrusion emerge from the fold at the large end of the fruit and the vine comes from that. After it has sprouted, place the fruit in a depression in the ground with the sprouted end on the ground. You may want to protect it with a mesh covering - the rats will eat the sprout if they get a chance. Be sure to grow two plants for polination. There are male and female flowers on each plant, but it is not incestuous.

Please let us know how you are doing with getting your chayotes growing. The fruits are growing on my vine in abundance - we have picked a few already and I am starting to give them to neighbors.

Hi all I would love to grow these for my grand son, can any one share some seeds? I have horse chestnut seed and other things, just let me know thanks-Lisa

Hello:

I am looking for Chayote seeds. Can I get two of them from anyone? Please me let me know . My email is
bagysekhar@hotmail.com
Thanks

I looked up how to germinate the chayote. You do have to plant the entire fruit so you should just be able to go to your local grocery store and get them. They would be fairly heavy to ship, probably over a pound for a couple fruit.

Here is a link that might be useful: growing chayote

There's a wealth of info at the link below. The article is directed toward people in Louisiana, where chayote is called mirliton (don't let the name confuse you), but there's a great deal of wonderful information for anyone interested in growing chayote.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Grow Mirliton (aka Chayote)

Hello All, I'd love to grow Chayote here in Raleigh, NC. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance, Peter

We bought some last month. One sprouted already on the shelf, I took the sprout out of the fruit and planted it inside. It is doing just fine so I don't think you have to put the whole fruit in the ground unless it hasn't sprouted yet. Know to see how well it transplants, that's probably going to be the tricky part. We find them at Mexican grocery stores! We grew them last year by planting the fruit in the ground. They did fine but we put them in to late. The require 120+ days to fruit, we are trying again this year.

Your best bet is to go to a ethnic grocery store and look in the produce section. The thorny fruits are much easier to sprout.

I want to buy chayote seed. Could you help me

How w I get?

You can find them in the grocery stores but usually not the big chain stores but you local ethnic stores that cater to the local clientele Look for one that has already started to sprout, has a little green tail coming out of it, usually the smooth variety. You just place it on the soil. I hope you do know they can take up a lot of room once they get going.

If you need Chayote squash for seedlings, check out seller Seedbliss2008 on Ebay. I bought 2 from them, already sprouted upon delivery.

"Can I grow chayote in zone 5?"

Unfortunately, that is not likely, unless you could maintain warm temperatures around the vines through at least the end of October. Chayote is photo-period sensitive, and will not begin to flower until day length approaches 12 hours. That is the Autumnal equinox (around September 21st) which leaves little time before frost.

I love chayote, and grew it successfully when I lived in San Diego & San Jose, CA. I tried it here, and got a lot of vine; but cool weather stopped growth before it could flower. When night temperatures drop below 50 F. degrees, it stops growing.

Over the years, I've often thought about putting up a heated hoop house, so I could grow chayote here. When I retire, and if I find a cheap pellet stove, I just might do it.