Which month is the best to plant chayote?

Among the Cucurbitaceae plants, there is a fruit that can be cooked as a vegetable and is suitable for eating raw. It is called chayote , also known as Thousand Gold Melon, Hayabusa Melon, An Pumpkin, Longevity Melon, Harvest Melon, Foreign Melon, Hand-held Melon, Holding Melon, Turkish Melon, Shed Melon, and Tiger Melon. It is widely grown in the Jiangnan region. So which month is the best to plant chayote?

Which month is the best to plant chayote?

Chayote prefers a warm environment and is sensitive to cold, so in low-temperature areas, it usually needs to be grown in a greenhouse. When growing chayote in a greenhouse , the suitable sowing time is early to mid-March; when growing outdoors, it is recommended to do so in mid-April each year. For example, in Shandong Province, chayote sowing is usually scheduled from late December to early January of the following year, during which time it is carried out in a solar greenhouse. When sowing, clay pots or plastic nutrient pots with a diameter of 15 to 20 cm are generally used.

Chayote Planting Method Steps

There are many varieties of chayote, and when planting, the appropriate type should be selected according to local climatic conditions. In the south, green-skinned and white-skinned varieties are more common; while in Fujian, Guling Gassho melon and white-skinned chayote are good choices.

Select healthy, complete and mature chayote as seeds, and start growing seedlings after they germinate. Seedling soil should be a mixture of sandy soil with good air permeability and garden soil in a 1:1 ratio. When sowing, place the sprout end upward and the stalk downward. Weak or excessive buds should be pruned off in time.

Chayote can be transplanted after frost. When planting, an appropriate amount of base fertilizer should be applied to the soil and the planting density should be determined according to actual conditions. After planting, water thoroughly to help the seedlings adapt to the new environment. Because the chayote has the climbing characteristics, bamboo poles, wooden sticks and ropes are needed to assist it in climbing.

During the peak growth period of chayote, soil tillage and watering should be carried out regularly to keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. During the peak flowering and fruiting periods, in addition to maintaining water supply , growth can also be promoted by spraying nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on the leaves 2 to 3 times, or applying well-rotted human and animal manure.

During the growth of chayote, attention should be paid to preventing and controlling diseases and pests such as downy mildew, powdery mildew, whiteflies and red spider mites. Appropriate pesticides should be selected according to the specific situation of pests and diseases to ensure that the pesticides used are safe, environmentally friendly and permitted by the state.

In short, chayote is a relatively new fruit on the market. Few people have eaten it. It has certain market prospects, but you should not blindly plant it.