How to Grow a Choko
- When it has sprouted to about 7 cm, bring it outside after the last frosts and find a sunny location.
- Dig a hole where the choko is to be planted.
- Add some organic fertilizer or manure to the soil.
- Place the choko in the soil with the sprout sticking above the soil. ...
- Give it a good watering and leave it to grow.
How do you grow a Choko plant?
Pack the soil tight around the choko and water that soil well. If you want to grow more than one fruit, plant them 12 feet apart. Keep the soil damp but not water logged and watch for a vine to sprout from your choko within a month, probably sooner if the fruit was past its prime.
How far apart do you plant choko vines?
If you want to grow more than one fruit, plant them 12 feet apart. Keep the soil damp but not water logged and watch for a vine to sprout from your choko within a month, probably sooner if the fruit was past its prime. Guide the vine up the pole so that it runs across the top of the pergola or arbor.
Do choko vines need a lot of Sun?
Choko vines love lots of sun. While they can grow in partial shade, less sun will result in a smaller harvest. They can grow aggressively, so make sure you give your vines plenty of space. [6] Once the roots are mature, a perennial choko vine can grow at least 30 feet (almost 10 meters) in a single season!
How do you take care of a Choko vine?
Caring for Your Choko Vine Provide a wooden trellis or fence to support your vines. Keep the soil from drying out completely. Train the vines to grow on the support. Harvest the first crop in autumn. Cut back the vines and add a thick layer of mulch before winter.
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How do you start a choko vine?
They are best planted in spring, but by then there may be none to buy, as they are sprouting. So pick up a choko or two now; plant in a big pot, narrow side down, with the top just poking out, and keep it away from the frosts, in sun, shadow or even the larder till spring, when it will sprout.
How long does it take to grow choko vine?
Harvesting. The chokos will start maturing from about 17 weeks from planting. While the chokos can be picked when they are large it is better to pick them when they are about 6-7 cm long, as at this stage, the chokos will be tender and will not need to be peeled and the core will be soft.
Do chokos need a trellis?
Chokos are easy to grow and care for, all the plant requires is a support or trellis to climb on and away it goes!.
How big do choko vines get?
Once they are around 150-200 mm long, you can plant the Choko into the ground where you want it to grow. Make sure to provide a strong metal mesh trellis, as Chokos will grow easily to 3 m high and 6 m wide. I hope your plant continues to produce well for you and you have an abundant harvest to share!
How long does a choko vine last?
Fruit will soon form and the plant will keep producing for about 6 months till the weather cools. Keep harvesting the fruit as it matures to keep the vine vigorous and to promote more flowering and fruiting.
What time of year do Chokos fruit?
How to Harvest Choko Fruit. Flowers will start to appear in summer, and fruits will form. By autumn, the fruits should be big enough to harvest. One choko plant is enough for the backyard because one choko plant can produce several hundred fruits during the growing season.
Why is my choko vine dying?
It's quite normal for your Choko vine to die back in winter - it's a perennial plant that grows, flowers, fruits and dies back down when the weather gets cold. Given the variable climate where you live (seems rather like the UK for that!)
Can you eat choko raw?
Chokos can be eaten cooked or raw, so there are lots of ways to introduce them into your weekly menu. "Even though the choko looks like a green pear, it has the texture of the stalk of a broccoli, and the flavour of a zucchini," Thanh says. "It's kind of like a savory fruit."
Can you eat choko leaves?
Uses: In addition to eating the fruit, tender growing tips of pumpkin and choko can be used fresh in salads or lightly steamed. Older leaves are best cooked by steaming, boiling, frying or baking.
Why is my choko not flowering?
They are very fleshy and require plenty of water while growing. Apply fertiliser in September, December and March. Apply extra potash during December and March to help promote flowering.
Are chokos good for you?
Chokos are a good source of vitamin C, and a source of folate, pantothenic acid and vitamin E.
How can you tell the difference between a moth and a choko vine?
Garden experts say that while chokos and moth vines look similar, the insides of the plants are different. The choko is firm and light green in colour, however the moth vine is soft and furry with many seeds.
Why is my choko vine dying?
It's quite normal for your Choko vine to die back in winter - it's a perennial plant that grows, flowers, fruits and dies back down when the weather gets cold. Given the variable climate where you live (seems rather like the UK for that!)
How long does it take for chayote to sprout?
Set the pot on a propagation heat mat near a bright south-facing or west-facing window. Check the soil moisture often and only water if it feels very dry below the surface. Chayote seeds will germinate in about one month under the right conditions.
Why is my choko not flowering?
They are very fleshy and require plenty of water while growing. Apply fertiliser in September, December and March. Apply extra potash during December and March to help promote flowering.
Can you eat choko leaves?
Uses: In addition to eating the fruit, tender growing tips of pumpkin and choko can be used fresh in salads or lightly steamed. Older leaves are best cooked by steaming, boiling, frying or baking.
When do chokos start to grow?
Flowers will start to appear in summer, and fruits will form. By autumn, the fruits should be big enough to harvest. One choko plant is enough for the backyard because one choko plant can produce several hundred fruits during the growing season. After the fruiting season, cut back the choko vines to four or five short vines to grow for ...
Where to place choko?
Place the choko in the soil with the sprout sticking above the soil. Do not cover the sprouting bit.
What is Chokos used for?
It is used in stews and casseroles, very tasty when used with chicken stew and beef stews. lady rain (author) from Australia on January 29, 2012: natures47friend, chokos are bland in taste but they make great dishes when cooked with the right ingredients.
Why are chokos so tender?
Chokos are best picked when they are young because they are more tender and can be eaten with their skin on. The skin of the chokos tends to toughen as the fruits grow bigger. The skin releases sap when it is peeled, and this sap makes the chokos rather slippery to handle.
How long do chokos live?
Answer: In warm areas, choko plants can live for many years if they are well looked after. In areas with cold winter and frosts, most plants survive for only a few years.
What to do if there are heaps of vines?
Answer: If there are heaps of vines, you may have to give a dose of liquid fertiliser to maintain the growth and hopefully produce some chokos when the plant is ready.
What is a rotten choko?
As a guide, a fresh choko is hard and green in colour; a rotten one will be soft and brown. Do not plant the choko immediately.
How to grow choko vines?
Keep the soil damp but not water logged and watch for a vine to sprout from your choko within a month , probably sooner if the fruit was past its prime. Guide the vine up the pole so that it runs across the top of the pergola or arbor.
How to make choko fruit?
Mix a few shovelfuls of composted manure into the soil from the hole, along with 2 tablespoons of 8-24-24 synthetic fertilizer or one fourth cup of 3-4-4 organic fertilizer. Back fill most of the hole with the amended soil, leaving only a depression equal to the width and depth of your choko fruit.
Why use choko fruits?
Use choko fruits quickly because they shortly begin sprouting and don't stand up well to refrigeration. Writer Bio. A former master gardener with a Bachelor of Arts in writing from Houghton College, Audrey Stallsmith has had three gardening-related mysteries published by WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House.
How to make a grape arbor?
2. Select a location near a pergola or grape arbor in full sun with sandy and slightly acidic soil. Dig a hole at a 45-degree angle beside a post of that pergola or arbor, making the hole 18 inches deep and 3 feet wide . 3. Mix a few shovelfuls of composted manure into the soil from the hole, along with 2 tablespoons of 8-24-24 synthetic fertilizer ...
How to test choko?
Press a fingernail against a choko to test its ripeness. Pick it only after your nail no longer makes a dent.
Where did the choko originate?
It originated in Central America and only begins blooming when the hours of daylight decrease in late summer or autumn. The most-marketed variety has pale green, pear-shaped ...
Can you boil choko?
In addition to preparing choko fruits in all the ways you prepare squashes, you can boil and eat the new leaves and shoots of choko vines as greens, or cook their two-year-old tubers like potatoes.
What is a choko plant?
The Choko plant is a perennial vine that has been popular in Australia for many years, . Fairly easy to grow, chokos can be used in stews, soup or even as a stir fry vegetable.
How long do vines need to be planted?
Planting time is in the warmer months,in cooler climates, however they do need good warmth for around 5 months.
How long does it take for a plant to grow fruit?
Keep the soil moist however not wet and soggy. You will need a long warm growing season, generally around 5 months from seedling to fruit.
Can you separate choko seeds from fruit?
The problem with Chokos is that separating the seed from the fruit is, well, difficult. We suggest you just go and buy a choko and let it sit in a warm dry position until it decides to sprout, which it will. Then just plant the whole fruit where you want it to grow and then thin out if to many vines appear.
Step 1
Choose a spot in your garden with well-drained soil that receives full sun to part shade. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser .
Step 2
Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the choko from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.
Step 3
Position in hole and backfill, gently firming down. Form a raised or doughnut shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes.
Step 4
Mulch with an organic mulch, such as bark chips, sugar cane or pea straw ensuring to keep it away from the base of the plant.
Step 6
Feed the vine once every autumn and spring with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. When flowering and fruiting, feed weekly with Yates Thrive Vegie and Herb Liquid Plant Food to help promote fruit production.
Step 1
Choose a pot at least 300mm wide and deep and position in full sun to part shade.
Step 2
Fill pot with quality potting mix, such as Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter .
How to propogate chokos?
The easiest way to propogate choko is from a fruit that has sprouted. Just leave a choko in a cool spot in the house till it sprouts. Below is picture of the chokos sprouting after a few weeks. Chokos with strong long sprouts ready to plant.
What type of soil do chokos prefer?
Chokos prefer rich, drained soil so dig over the site to a depth of 20 cm and dig in well rotted compost and aged manure about a month before in preparation for planting . The choko, as a fruiting plant, prefer a slightly acidic e soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8.
What is chokos fruit?
Chokos also known as chayotes, are members of the Cucurbitaceae family and related to cucumbers, pumpkins, squash and melons. December is the time to plant chokos in Sydney’s temperate climate. They are easy to grow and in Sydney’s hot conditions the prolific vines can produce heavy crops of this versatile fruit. Choko is high in vitamin C and folate and other trace elements.
How to keep choko from drying out?
Keep the soil evenly moist during growth and do not allow it to dry out. Mulch at a distance of 5 cm from the planted choko to conserve moisture, preventing evaporation. As the plant grows the tendrils will hold the growing stem in place on the wire support or trellis that it is grown against.
How long can chokos be stored in the refrigerator?
Picking them small avoids all this extra effort. The chokos can be stored in the refrigerator for at least 4 weeks, wrapped in paper towel and then in breathable plastic vegetable storage bags.
Why do vines stong?
As the vines are heavy when producing fruit plant them against a trellis or a wire fence, or a fence with chicken wire along it, that the plant can scramble over and stong enough to support the weight of the vine.
When do chokos start to grow?
The chokos will start maturing from about 17 weeks from planting. While the chokos can be picked when they are large it is better to pick them when they are about 6-7 cm long, as at this stage, the chokos will be tender and will not need to be peeled and the core will be soft. They are at their tenderest at this stage.
How to grow chokoes?
Make sure there is somewhere for the vine to climb - along a fence, up a tree or along the bushes. Pick the chokoes when they are tiny and before the tough seed inside has formed. Eating baby chokoes. Take a handful of tiny chokoes; peel them but don't bother to cut out the centre as it won't be tough yet.
Can you eat chokoes?
My favourite way of eating chokoes depends on growing your own, so you can pick them young and tiny. Just like baby zucchini are much better than giant marrows, tiny chokoes are far sweeter and crisper than any you'll find in the supermarket.
Is choko a bad veg?
Chokoes are a no-fail veg. Starve them, forget them, and they'll still give you an autumn filled with so much fruit you'll be pestering the neighbors to take some and looking up recipes for choko chutney, choko pie, choko and ginger jam (which isn't bad, actually).
