choko - which end is up!?

Hi All -

My favorite book source tells me to plant the choko butt-end down into the earth, about half covered, with the "top-end" where the leaves come out pointing straight up.

Problem I have is that ROOTS and/or root nubs appear on the SAME END the leaves come out... so does that end want to see a little dirt too?

How to plant these darned things?

I don't know this plant .. but lay it on it's side and see where it goes .. or cover it a half inch. It should be able to .. push through. Watch the sun and moisture conditions and don't let it burn up in these hot then cold days we are having .. USA.

I just planted three butterfly bushes from pots from the nursery .. selling cheap now .. business is way down from say three years ago. They have not sent their roots out and established yet .. I mulched the top area with grass and hay .. water every morning or their bottom leaves wither.

Read a plant off the bottom leaves .. in a pot .. lift the pot and check the weight .. light pot needs water. Water corn every day and you will kill it. Try every three or four days and if the bottom leaves start to curl .. needs more water. We use small ditches to water .. every 15 inches .. corrugates .. we only water every other corrugate on corn. Get it too wet and a wind comes up and you have watered every corrugate .. it blows over. For wheat .. we plant a short variety because of our winds.

Learn to read leaves .. I just watered and fertilized my ten fruit trees. When I did .. I saw the leaves shimmering .. glossy .. within twenty minutes. That quick.

I read eyes on horses when I feed .. part of feeding .. look at the eyes .. if dull and screaming stop .. go in .. you will find trouble. I doctor with herbs .. has saved me thousands in Vet bills.

Sorry mate but "I don't know this plant" sort of means the rest of your reply isn't very useful.  ops:  I know to experiment with it, but I'm hoping to save half a year and find out the optimal way to plant them...

also unfamiliar with the plant, does it go by another name?

Oops!  Apparently "Choko" is Australian for "Chayote"!
proper name: Sechium edule

the thick end is where the seed embryo comes out from an from there all life occurs leaves wanting to grow upward on tendril's and roots wanting to grow downward. if you have a choko that is ready for planting ie.,. first signs of stem, just stick it in the ground it matters not whether whole choko is covered but enough to cover where rootswill form.

they take a lot of water to produce, for us too much for the value of produce they produce usually cheap in f&v shop. there is a white variety not fully White but a very very light greenish appearance all taste the same, if the word taste can be mentioned hey lol?

if growth is successfull they will grow a lot of vine so best over a trellis affair you can reach the top of or walk under, pick fruit for want of a better word just before the end where the embryo appears starts to open.

it is a tropical so needs ground temp to be right warmth to thrive, in sub-tropics and warm temperate if you keep it mulched heavily the root may regrow at least a second a year.

len

Thanks Len - so just to confirm my book is wrong - the end where the leaves come out is also where the roots come out so needs to be near enough to dirt for the roots to find somewhere to go?  But not too buried or else the emerging vine will rot?

that's the one aussie-permie.

can i ask which book that is in?? might be a rude question? but who ever wrote it may not be as experienced as they other wise should be?

when you select a suitable fruit whatever (yeh i know it ain't a fruit) look for one where the embryo is protruding from that thick end, where the shape crack is. no you can let this sit in the warmth of the kitchen all winter if you like it should grow nicely even get a tendril up to 2' long maybe doesn't matter it should have enough reserve in the fruit to keep it going, then when the ground warms late spring early summer or in a northern spot down here, plant it out. should the fruit be too small to maintain the shoot them stick it in a pot with some mix it'll be fine.

good chook yard vine let it grow over the chook run the fruit hangs down too easy to pick.

too easy hey?

len

Hi Len - the book is "Burnnings Complete Guide to Gardening".  Quite encyclopedic - I liked it until this came up.

"Plant the sprouted seedling to just above soil level."  Complete with picture and everything.

mmm yeh wonder what else they may have that is not quiet right??

all goes to say, "the best help is free from forums like these, from your gardening mates over the back fence".

enjoy

I have seen the cho cho as it is known rowing in Jamaica where it grows as a vine which climbs up a tree and produces happily. the locals say that the white variety is a good food for diabetics and helps control blood sugar, both types are good eating in soups or just peeled and fried.It is just partly dug id, about half way and then lightly mulched to propagate.

Leif wrote:
It is just partly dug id, about half way and then lightly mulched to propagate.

so you agree the roots come out the same side as the shoot?  and by "dug in half way", do they end up vertical or horizontal?

horizontal with say up to 1/2 of the exposed embryo in the soil/medium. the quicker the roots develop the quicker it becomes indipendant of the fruit.

first time for everyting this is the first time i've seen the illusration to plant the narrow end in first??

len

first time for everyting this is the first time i've seen the illusration to plant the narrow end in first??

yeah, just wondering if Leif agrees.  narrow end in first is the way my book had them (thus the original confusion).

they usually just make a little hole in the dirt and lay it on it's  side with a seam up, and tamp the dirt around it lightly with a foot, as i said near the base of a tree, on the sunny side.
cheers

I know this thread is ancient but just wanted to add: you don't need to stress about which end is which. We just throw the chayotes out into the garden and they sprout and grow by themselves. They're really hardy little vines.

Allow the thing to sprout on a sunny window sill, then plant it afterwards. They do fine in temperate zones they just die back during cold weather and re-sprout. Very vigorous plants though, make sure you have a good structure for it to climb or sprawl over. Oh, and the seed in the middle, best part to eat imo. You can eat it raw. Cheers.