growing a choko from market seed

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by abdullah, Oct 30, 2009.

  1. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2009
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    as the title says, how can it be done? really will it sprout if i leave the fruit sitting there?

    please dont tell me im crazy, i know that, i want to take melbourne, one suburb at a time mwuhahaha

    no really im fascinated by growing things, and things that grow quickly are double the fun.
     
  2. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    :)

    PP
    Is there a way of encouraging the wretched things to sprout, once purchased from the greengrocer?
     
  3. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2009
    Messages:
    2,457
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Occupation:
    Farm manager/ educator
    Location:
    Hunter Valley New South Wales
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    warm temperate - some frost - changing every year
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    They thrive on abuse. The best way is to chuck it out behind the chook pen and stand back.

    But seriously - the way is to partly cover them with soil and stand two together so the top is close to each other. The sprout will come out of the top and the two sprouts will support each other in the first 50 seconds before they start climbing on something. They do like some consistent moisture so don't give them that and protect them from the geese as they devour them as can you - the young shoots are divine treated as a spinach. They usually start sprouting in about May and the vine should be protected from frosts in winter (if you get them) (apol to non Austies May would be about .........?October?
     
  4. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2009
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    i only have one! do i plant the whole fruit or should i open it to get the seed/seeds, in melbourne should i opt for full sun (front of house) or occasional shade (backyard).
     
  5. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2009
    Messages:
    2,457
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Occupation:
    Farm manager/ educator
    Location:
    Hunter Valley New South Wales
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    warm temperate - some frost - changing every year
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    Plant the whole fruit - half in the soil and half out but wait till it starts sprouting (just store it with the potatoes till then)
    As for position it will need full sun but plant it anywhere and it will find the Sun. But seriously some protection when young is advantageous.

    regards
     
  6. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2009
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    half in and half out? LOL i cant tell if your serious or taking the p!ss, LOL, what an interesting experience this will be indeed! :mrgreen:
     
  7. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2009
    Messages:
    2,457
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Occupation:
    Farm manager/ educator
    Location:
    Hunter Valley New South Wales
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    warm temperate - some frost - changing every year
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    Would I mess wid you? you need to bury it half way so the vine can grow up and the roots will be in the ground - true
     
  8. Mungbeans

    Mungbeans Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2006
    Messages:
    291
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    Why would you want to? I've seen them growing like a weed up here.

    When I was little and mum was in hospital having my youngest brother a family friend came to stay. She bought a box (!) of the wretched things, and for a week we were having choko with every meal just about. My other brothers and sisters insist she cooked it several ways but all I can remember is mushy choko smothered in white sauce. Haven't been able to look once in the face since. :vomit:
     
  9. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2009
    Messages:
    2,457
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Occupation:
    Farm manager/ educator
    Location:
    Hunter Valley New South Wales
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    warm temperate - some frost - changing every year
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    I saw them in Coles for $6 a kilo the other day
     
  10. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    They are not giving them away?
    Just done a bit of web-browsing on this.
    Seems chokos have a use after all (not culinary:) )
    Killing lantana
    You make bombs of chokos wrapped in wet paper lob these into the lantana.
    The vigorous choko smothers the lantana!
    Of course, then, you have to work out a way of getting rid of the bloody choko.
    Triffid--spot on!
    [​IMG]
    Other things I didn't know
    They produce a huge underground tuber that is edible (?)
    You can get yellow and white ones.
    They come from Mexico (called chayote, huisquil? or 'air potato") other names include:popinella. chocho, and brionne.
    [​IMG]
    Growing
    https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/ ... 12273.html
    [​IMG]
    Some recipes here:-
    https://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/2001/a ... ves?p=1320
    This Mexican recipe looks interesting
    [​IMG]
    https://translate.google.com.au/translat ... %26tl%3Des

    ISTM most recipes treat chokos as pasta- flavour-less-stuff that you add lots of flavour too.
    https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/ ... 12273.html
    Part of my aversion to them might have been the way my Irish mother cooked them--like she cooked all vegetables--boiling shite out of them for an hour or two.
    I could never see the point of using them to extend stewed apples. Why not use apples?
    Like most vegetables it seems they are better when small.
     
  11. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2009
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    LOL @ all responses

    according to wikipedia they also called choyote amongst other things, killing lantana i guess could be a bonus for those effected by that, not down here i suspect, im hoping i can tame the choko to kill the earwigs as well until i can justify getting chooks in my small yard (ie grow enough food), i will hopefully try the tuber eventually, boiled veges are definitely pretty bland (like 'dark ages' bland, pottage anyone? :vomit:)
     
  12. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2009
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    i had an idea, what about using the choko to fill out a chilli dip/chutney? perhaps the overwhelming :twisted: WHOOSH :)firebreathing:) of habenero would tame the apparent cardboard flavour?

    i only got one because if i got more id be potentially disappointed if i was tempted to eat it, seriously so many ppl give it a bad wrap, for me stuff tastes better homegrown, so i will wait to taste my own before i judge.
     
  13. Bird

    Bird Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2009
    Messages:
    86
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    Try steamed, tossed in garlic butter and fresh black pepper YUM, or steamed then fry with bacon.
     
  14. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2009
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    butter and pepper, that seems to be a common recipe amongst the choko fans, as for the latter i dont eat that so ill stick to the chilli dip and taking over the world ;p
     
  15. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    3,464
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    g'day abdullah,

    they are a very tropical type plant the further north you go in qld the better they do especially in higher rainfall areas.

    you look for an older piece of fruit that is showing sings of sprouting and then plant that, there is no seed as such more like an embryo i'd say contained in the fruit and the new growth grows from those nutrients initially so you could buy and older piece of fruit and sit it in the warmth on the kitchen sill over winter and have it ready for planting in the summer for you when the ground temp is warmer.

    the sort o thing you grow for fun as they are never expensive in the shops and take a lot of water for them to produce, and fairly bland taste without lots of garnishing. we got some fruit in rural qld but it took about 10 to 20 litres of water a day for each vine, in the end on our own water it wasn't worth the effort.

    even here we planted one 3 years ago so this is its 3rd season if produce one piece of fruit in that time so far that was when i gave it some water, then last year the second year i left it to rain fall (av' about 1000mm) and it flowered but no fruit, so this year the same and with the prospects of less rain it may not even grow much vine. my family like eating them so would like it to produce it's worth in water but not going to waste water, when i grow lots of other tastier vege's with just enough watering.

    len
     
  16. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    After three years they are supposed to have abig edible root. ?
     
  17. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    3,464
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    maybe i should dig it up and eat the root michael? chuckle, wonder what it tastes like? the root may even be bigger at the end of this season.

    len
     
  18. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2009
    Messages:
    132
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    where i plan to put it gets plenty of water, its near a tap at the front of my unit that kids always play with and cant close it tight enough.
     
  19. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    3,464
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    needs a handyman by the sounds of it hey?? water is precious.

    len
     
  20. lovingmygarden

    lovingmygarden Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2009
    Messages:
    86
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: growing a choko from market seed

    Hi Abdullah,
    I planted my first ever choko this year to make shade over my chook pen. I purchased it from Coles and ws a bit sceptical as to whether it would grow. As Gardenlen said they grow better up in the warmer climates. I left mine in the laundry cupboard for a few weeks to age and sprout (it actually didn`t do that and I got impatient) so I just planted it (fat side up) next ot my pen. It took forever to actually come up and then it took just as long to kick in but once it did it grew and grew and grew. I got lots of flowers all over it and thought that was going to be it, until just a few weeks ago, some of the tiny fruit grew and actually started plumping up. Now I have quite a few almost ready to eat........I wonder what the family will think of that LOL!!! I don`t really give them much water, just when I water the garden, as it is very well mulched and doesn`t seem to need much (by the way we are in the very dry tropics here.....although wet season is coming soon hopefully). Once it began to grow I did put a little bit of diluted seaweed emulsion on it as a boost (not sure if it needed it, but that is my solution to everything, whether it works or not.
    Any my chooks now have a lovely shady place for the summer and we have a huge amount of chokos to come......I better start writing down those recipies I think.
    Cheers :mrgreen:
     

Share This Page

-->