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Thank you for the reply. What's the name of the full-size papaya on a dwarf tree? I grabbed a papaya plant with two other little siblings attached to it for $5 from a Thai lady in August and got them through winter here (North Florida) and just recently planted them in the ground about a month ago. At the time of my purchase I didn't know anything about papayas but then read about the different flower types and that they don't transplant very well. I'm noticing two of the three plants haven't established a strong root zone and wobble pretty easily once I transplanted them so I can see why they say they don't transplant well, and I can see from your comment that this has probably happened to you as well. Hopefully they'll make it through, but if not I'll have learned my lesson and will be ready to try some of your techniques for next spring (starting them in the fall for a spring transplant).

I'm looking for the large size papayas as my wife loves to use them green for papaya salads ("som tam", she's from Thailand), but don't have a ton of yard space, so if you can recommend any dwarfs that grow well for you I'm all ears.

Regarding the fabric pots, do you think the roots will penetrate through these fabric pots? I use these a bunch for other plants and I'd be open to just throwing them into the ground come spring next year if that means they'll have a better chance of surviving transplant. I just don't know if the roots can penetrate these well enough or not. I guess I could see if any of my current potted plants in these have been able to establish roots on the bottom side successfully or not. If not, I have a meat tenderizer (this guy) that could probably make some pretty decent holes! haha.

I store more seeds than most (Market Gardner).

Large seed (think, like, pea, corn, bean and the like) get stored in quart and half-gallon mason jars. Use the actual canning lids as these are air/water tight. The white plastic screw-on convenience lids allow moisture to seep in.

Small to mid sized get stored in dirt-cheap prescription pill bottles - either 8 dram or 16 dram size. You can get more than you'll ever need for, like, $30 bucks. I think mine were 250 or 270 bottles for $30 bucks. Go in with a few friends. You'll never use 'em all. These aren't water tight. They go inside a Rubermaid container with a gasket that keeps moisture out.

The Mason Jars sit in a dark basement that stays near 60(f) year round. This is key to longevity: Consistent temps. Wild fluctuating temps are a no-no.

The pill bottles inside their Rubermaid get stored in a dedicated freezer kept at 10(f). Seed stored here pretty much last forever. Like, when they tell you Onion seed will only last 2 or 3 years? I've seeded 10 year old Onion with better than 80% germination (was inspected at 92% by the seed company, so it didn't really lose all that much in a decade. )

This works for me.

250-ish varieties across 70 or so distinct crops.

I start my tobacco on polyacrylamide gel, then dibble out the most robust looking seedlings for transplanting. If you leave a lot of the gel on the roots, there's no transplant shock at all.

Example 1

Example 2

I grind up the dry gel granules using an old coffee grinder until they're a powder, add a few drops of fertilizer and enough water to leave the gel as thick as a stiff pudding. Sprinkle the seeds on top, cover about 80% of the area with clear tape to help control evaporation, and leave in a sunny window until everything sprouts. Works great.

My address is:
xxxxx (did not mean to post here)

Send me your addy and I will get the butter beans and parsnips in the mail. The butter beans were one of our favorites this year. I had to fight my 6yr old son over who got to ear more. We cook them down with some stock and maybe some ham...yummy.

The butter beans are from Sothern States and are called "Dixie Butterpea". They are a bush bean and stay pretty low to the ground. The parsnips are from a variety pack of seeds I ordered from here - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LE4RGOE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The germination rate has been fantastic for the seeds that came out of this pack.
Dave.

I use #1 coin envelopes for trading small seeds. I get them for free from my brother, who is really into metal detecting and uses them to store small finds (jewelry, buttons, and well, coins.) If I had to buy them myself I'd probably get something cheaper (and more waterproof, come to think of it.)

3 of these (link below), seeds group by family, kept in seed pouches secured by rubber bands


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8MYVHZ/ref=s9_acsd_topr_hd_bw_bHm8T5_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_r=GD2S6EZXA89C3QP8FGYV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=939e853d-5350-5fe1-b475-ebc2f3051c62&pf_rd_i=262670011

Check your library for the seed saving bible:

http://www.amazon.com/Seed-Growing-Techniques-Vegetable-Gardeners/dp/1882424581/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420352693&sr=8-1&keywords=from+seed+to+seed