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

Not recommended for growing in USA - Zone 5a regions

  • 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

31 May 12, (Australia - temperate climate)
what goodness is in choko that I should eat them
14 Jul 12, Alexis (Australia - temperate climate)
They're very high in fibre.
01 Jun 12, (Australia - arid climate)
The trick to peeling chokos is to first split them in half, sprinkle some salt on the cut surfaces then rubbing them together to rid them of the gooey substance. This works really quickly like magic!
06 Jun 12, Ryan (Australia - arid climate)
- how about the recipes though, get a bit bored with steaming or pan frying. Surely there must be more ways to use them ?
15 Jun 12, (Australia - temperate climate)
Choko is great chopped up and stirred into curry dishes. Fried in butter, sprinkled with herbs and sweetened with honey is nice too. It can be cooked to a mush for use to thicken (give body to) soup and casserole dishes also.
07 Nov 12, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
A few recipie ideas: - Choko Pickles (plenty of recipies on the web) - Starter: Choko soup - Main: Creamy Basil Choko Ingredients: 4 rashes bacon, cut into strips 1 medium onion, diced 3-4 chokos, peeled & cut into 1/8 pieces 1/2 cup evaporated milk (or cream) 2 tbl sp parmesan cheese 2 tbl sp chopped fresh basil 1/2 tbl sp oil Directions: fry bacon until crispy, remove from pan & place in a baking dish. Cook in bacon fat & oil until translucent, remove from pan & place in baking dish. Add choko pieces to baking dish. Pour evaporated milk (or cream) over top, sprinkle with parmesan & chopped basil Cook in oven at 180c for 30-45 min until choko is tender - Desert: 2 Choko pealed and sliced into 1/8 and poached with 1/2 pod vanilla (or 1/2 tsp essence), 1-2 cloves and 1/4 cup sugar. Serve with icecream.
24 Jun 12, Marguerite (Australia - temperate climate)
From 2001 to 2008 my vine grew enough chokos for the whole neighborhood.. then it wilted, i planted more in new soil, they wilted;At last this year leaves grew.. and male flowers; but no females flowers. i gave them blood & bone, Thrive, etc.. No good. The neighbors probably think that i have grown mean with age ! Any advice please ?
19 Jul 12, George. (Australia - temperate climate)
I'd like to plant 100 metre long trellises of chokos. Could you please give me some advice as to how to go about it? eg. type of trellis, growing conditions, variety, how long does a plant last, yields etc. Do you just use a normal choko for a seedling? Thanks for your help.
28 Jul 12, Inus Bezuidenhout (South Africa - Semi-arid climate)
Where do I get Chayote (Choko) plants or fruit in South Africa to plant in my garden.
28 Jul 12, simon (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
When can you plant chokos in dubbo I have one that is sprouting.
Showing 51 - 60 of 265 comments

Just picked the first chokos from my vine and they are white! Is it a different variety? Isn't it supposed to be green? I bought the plant from local farmers markets.

- Heather

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