Pawpaw Seeds

I plant all the seeds I can get my hands on. If you are hoping to plant your own seeds, here are some pointers to get you going!

My favorite method is to harvest and clean them with your mouth. You must remove all the flesh so it does not encourage mold.  Then stick them in a jar or baggie with moist sphagnum moss, in the fridge, until spring.  I have seen some people use moist paper towels, but they tend to get moldy, so I do not recommend this method. Of note, I have had one batch of seeds arrive in the mail that were still in the pawpaw pulp and they did exceptionally well. You should check on your seeds regularly by sight and smell. If there is evidence of mold growth, rinse the seeds well and replace the medium. Do not lose hope, I have had many seeds sprout after having some mold on them. 

If you buy them online, make sure they have stayed moist and ask if they have been refrigerated (cold stratified) yet and for how long.

They must stay moist but not wet. If the seeds dry out or get too wet, many of them will not sprout. Sphagnum moss is my favorite medium to keep them moist.

They need a couple of months in your fridge to mimic winter. This is called cold stratification and is common for many deciduous trees.

If you wish to go deeper with your connection with the plants, I recommend holding the seeds in your mouth or hands and thinking of your intentions around growing the seeds.  You might pray for them to germinate well, to grow tall and strong, to live in harmony with your gardens, to provide you and your family with nutrition and medicine, or whatever your heart and spirit would like to share with this ancient being. 

The seeds like to be planted rather deep. A general rule of thumb for all seeds is to plant them twice the depth of the seed size. They like to be planted on their sides, laying flat. Once you place them in soil, they need time to sprout! My favorite method is to plant many, many seeds in a deep tray of soil. Be patient as they often take many months to start sprouting.  They focus most of their growth on their taproots so you may not even see them growing at first. Having a deep tray allows the long taproots to have space to grow without twisting or bending. This will help you to have a healthy tree once they are in the earth. 

I prefer to plant the seeds in trays so I can protect them. The tray may need a metal screen or mesh over it to protect the seeds from scavenging mice or other rodents. If they go straight into the earth they have to compete with other plants.  I have much greater success planting them in trays or pots. 

I like to use a soil mix that will help them grow as much as possible. Ideally my soil has aged kitchen compost, loamy forest soil, mycelium inoculated wood chips (harvested as the sap rises in the spring), and sandy silt runoff from our gravel road for that lovely mountain mineral blend. If I am really on my game, I add a blend of dried comfrey leaf, rabbit manure, crushed seashells, dried seaweed from our annual beach trip, and a little bit of epsom salt.  Maybe even some compost tea if I have any ready!

I place the trays in our greenhouse that I have connected to the dryer vent. This keeps our greenhouse warm and moist wonderfully! This way I am able to plant the seeds in late winter and get a longer growing season for my first year to make even stronger little trees. Note: The second year I have them outside overwinter so they can be acclimatized!

Once I plant the baby trees, they still need to be protected. Mine are occasionally snipped by a hungry rabbit or deer. More often, a human comes by with a sharp blade or machine and destroys them. They usually will sprout below the bite or damage, but it does take time. A few of my trees have been damaged or even abandoned all of the growth above ground, and then resprouted from the roots. Be patient and see if they come back on their own! I highly recommend marking your trees with bright colors and even protecting them with chicken wire or fencing for the first four years or more.

If you must store the seeds for more than the first winter, they can last at least three years in the fridge. Do not forget to check them regularly for mold and do not let them freeze or dry out.

Happy planting!!!