Heathen1,

These arenÂt answers, just my experiences w/ papayas.

I too had a lot of trouble with starting papaya seeds. And if I could manage to get them started they didn't last long. I tried planting them in every way you could imagine, I was very careful to clean off the slimy seed skin and used various seed starting soils, and yet nothing worked.

So I finally gave up and bought a couple 2ft plants, I don't buy plants often--but I really wanted to grow papayas so splurged.

After giving up, and now a year later, I've found numerous papaya volunteers come up in the compost pile, in the lasagna layers, and even randomly throughout my garden. I still don't know what my mistake was trying to start them from seeds, maybe I was just trying to hard? Like you, IÂm usually good with starting things from seed.

If I was you, in your zone and had plenty of seeds, I would just toss the seeds randomly around different parts of the garden, don't take too much care, as that seems to jinx it. haha ;)

Most likely some will sprout, let them grow a bit where they start and then transplant them to where youÂd like to have them permanently.

Good Luck
Pura Vida

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Blog with Pictures

Wow! Gorgeous! Thanks Pura Vida! I have seen papayas around town here, but we are at the very bottom of the 10a zone... and I am moving to where I think will be a high zone 9b... :o( not sure yet whether it gets to freezing there.
I have lots of compost, and will maybe sow a kazillion... so you take off not only that slimy part, but the black skin too? like with mangos? I wonder if they like to ferment before germinating... or something, like something in the rotting compost triggers it? Cuz in the wild, I'd think the papayas would fall, then rot.... then sprout?
Okay... always willing to try. thanks a lot!

When I was TRYING to start them yes I did remove the slimy gelatin bubble thing they are in, because I had read that if you don't it will dry and 'seal' the seed, and thus less likely to sprout. But that was when I was TRYING (without luck) to sow them.

The volunteers I'm finding now all over my garden--I did absolutely NOTHING to prepare them, in fact they were just thrown out as organic matter, that wasn't intended to sprout!

So my only advice was take less care, don't expect anything and just throw them everywhere, kind of strange advice right? lol

Hang in there, sooner or later you'll get some going!
Pura Vida

What variety of seed are you trying to start? I have had germination with the Mexican papaya, but not the Hawaiian. The results have been uncontrolled and unscientific, as these seeds were thrown in the compost pile and sprouted. My current tree is 7ft tall and has pure compost (homegrown) in the pot, so it's quite healthy. This technique may echo what Pura Vida is suggesting, to just throw them around anywhere, but a compost pile is moist and rich in nutrients, just make sure they don't get trampled on.

I don't know if some fruit may be fumigated with gas for pests, and if this procedure would deter germination.

Keep in mind they take about a month to sprout.
I just took the seeds from a sweet one I ate, gave them a rinse and soak in water for a few hours, did NOT try to remove the gel coating, buried them in the garden, and gazillions sprouted. However, as Pura Vida suggests, this kind of fussing may be entirely unnecessary, since discarded papaya seeds also sprout in my compost bin.