How to grow Chayote

Where to plant

Chayote needs full sun, a long warm season and a sturdy support. Gardeners often grow it over a head high arbor so they can pick in the shade underneath. The vine is frost tender, but the roots are perennial and regrow in spring where the ground does not freeze hard.

UF/IFAS says to plant in early spring anywhere in Florida, and in South Florida in fall as well. It also grows along the Gulf Coast, in Texas, the Mid-South, the Mid-Atlantic and California, planted after the last frost. Where frost comes early, such as the Northeast, Midwest and Mountain West, fruit rarely sets before frost, and the dry low desert does not suit it. In Hawaii it grows all year.

Choosing a variety

Florida Green and Monticello White are the main varieties grown in Florida, and many gardeners simply plant a sprouting fruit from a grocery store or a neighbor. Fruit grown in Florida is usually smooth, though some types are grooved or prickly.

How to plant

1. Use a whole, mature fruit; it sprouts on its own once mature unless kept cool. Let it start sprouting before planting if you can.
2. Dig a hole as deep as the fruit is wide and lay the fruit on its side, with the narrower stem end sloping upward.
3. In Central and South Florida, leave the stem end just exposed. In cooler areas, cover the fruit completely to protect the bud from cold.
4. Plant one fruit at the foot of a strong trellis or arbor, and guide the young shoots onto it.
5. Water to settle the soil and keep it moist while the vine establishes.

Watering and feeding

Water regularly, especially in dry spells during summer and while fruit is forming.

Dig in compost or well rotted manure before planting. UF/IFAS suggests fertilizing about 30 days after planting, once the vine is a few feet long, and again in midsummer and when the fruits are small, guided by a soil test.

Pruning and care through the year

• Tie the vines to the support as they grow; they climb with tendrils but need guiding at first.
• Bees and wasps pollinate the separate male and female flowers; fruit develops about 35 days after pollination.
• Where frost kills the top, cut the dead vines back and mulch over the roots. The plant regrows from the crown in spring and bears best once 2 to 3 years old.

Harvesting

Pick the fruit young and tender, when the skin and the single seed are still soft and edible all through. Older fruit is still good but tougher, and it begins to sprout on the vine.

Wrapped in newspaper and kept cool, at about 50 to 55°F (10 to 13°C), fruit stays in good condition for several weeks. At room temperature it shrivels and sprouts, and quality falls the longer it is stored.

Using it

Chayote has a mild flavor and a crisp texture like zucchini. Cook it as you would summer or winter squash: roasted, stuffed, fried, boiled, mashed or baked, or slice it raw into salads and pickles. The starchy tuber that forms under the crown is edible too.