Growing Choko/Chayote, also Chayote squash, christophene, chouchou, mirliton

Sechium edule : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
      P P P P          

(Best months for growing Choko/Chayote in Australia - tropical regions)

  • P = Plant tubers
  • Easy to grow. Plant whole mature fruit when one produces a shoot at one end.. Best planted at soil temperatures between 15°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 100 cm apart
  • Harvest in 17-25 weeks. Best when fruit is light green and not more than 6 cm long.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Cucumbers

Your comments and tips

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30 May 18, Mike L (Australia - temperate climate)
Normally you buy a choko and leave it in your pantry or window sill - when it starts to sprout/shoot and grow a vine then you plant it. In Melbourne that is December.
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30 May 18, ME- Rachel McCracken (Australia - temperate climate)
You can just buy a choko, sit it in the laundry (or somewhere, on top of a cupboard worked for me) till it sprouts, then plant. You’re going to really struggle though, buddy. The best luck I had was when I bought a choko at a Farmer’s market in SEYMOUR from a grower around Ardmona. They were better acclimatised. It takes two years to start cropping. Best of luck!
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25 May 18, Lina (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)
Our choko plant had thousands of little chooks but they all fell off, in all we picked 15 Can you please tell me why. Please lina
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28 Jun 18, Peter (Australia - temperate climate)
Could be a variation in the availability of soil water. Plants are better producers the more years they are in the one spot. Ours (in Sydney) was in the ground forever, trunk thicker than a forearm, and covered chook shed. Never watered so must have put down some really deep roots. So much fruit we'd play cricket with them. Not very good for soccer though ;)
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29 May 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Probably not many bees to pollinate the female flowers.
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12 Apr 18, Jonathan Manglinong (Australia - temperate climate)
Im planning to plant chokos this month of april which is Autumn period. Do you think Sydney Area is ok to plant at now? Where the temparature is in between 15-30 degrees.
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13 Apr 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If you looked up choko in the temperate zone on this website - is says plant DEC. The purpose of this website is that you work out your climate zone and then look in the vegetables and herbs section and read up about growing a crop.
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11 Apr 18, Nancy (Australia - temperate climate)
Chokoes have plenty of flowers but no fruit developing
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12 Apr 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Pollinates by wind or bees. Are they male and female or just male flowers.
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17 Mar 18, kathleen ingram (Australia - temperate climate)
Questioun Trying to grow a choko i live in cooma nsw can i grow it in a hot house (green house ) could u tell me when it will start flowering please any help would be gratefull thank u
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Showing 81 - 90 of 221 comments
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Best I can suggest is keep a few of the very last ones of this crop. Put them in the pantry. They could take a few months before they start to sprout. The new vine could grow a few feet long by the time you plant. Or say spring time plant them in a 9L bucket or tin etc and grow them there until plant out time.

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