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The papayas have begun to form their first true leaves. I went ahead and gave them fertilizer, because the starting media I used was nutrientless. Unfortunately, papayachan is dead; the pink/red pigmentation was not a genetic trait, but appears to have been caused by a terminal fungal infection. On the bright side, it is the only one that has died thus far. 15 healthy papaya plants remain, with 2 more just now starting to emerge.
I've been thinking about how I'm going to overwinter these indoors, once they reach adulthood. If I wind up with a dozen papaya trees, there's going to be a mini jungle in my house until it's warm enough to put them outside again. Maybe having a mini jungle indoors will be a fun thing for Winter.
I've been wanting to experiment with a number of other exotic tropical fruits this Winter. In the mail is seeds for cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana), pepino melon (Solanum muricatum), cocona (Solanum sessiliflorum), and a few cherry tomato varieties. These are all perennials that should bear within one year, and are small enough for container culture.
