You might not get that much the first year. Mine produced about 50 per plant the first year (which with 2 plants, is still a lot). When frost arrives, it will kill everything above ground; but provided that the ground doesn't freeze, the crown & roots will go dormant until warm weather returns. It is not a bad idea to protect the crown & surrounding area with much.
In following years, the yield will increase. Provided that the trellis is strong enough to support 15-20' vines in all directions, 100+ per plant is easily possible. The large root system is close to the soil surface & needs to be kept moist, so a thick layer of leaves, straw, or other organic mulch at least 6-10' from the base is helpful. That mulch will also feed the vines as it breaks down, and it was not unusual for me to find roots reaching up into the decaying mulch. If kept well fed, the plants will produce heavily for years.
One of the good things about growing your own chayote is you control the size. Home-grown chayote can get much larger than those in the supermarket, which are harvested young. At full size, they might be 12 ounces to a pound each. Don't be surprised if home-grown chayote have soft spines, even if the ones planted were smooth; that was the case both times I planted.
A note about storage. Chayote squashes are very sensitive to chill damage, even if refrigerated. So while it may be tempting to store some of those large numbers in the fridge, that would severely reduce their storage life. A cool, well ventilated shelf works well, and they will even store for a month or two on a kitchen counter. Eventually the fruit will split on the blossom end, the seed will protrude, and a sprout will emerge. They should be either eaten or planted at that time. To plant, the whole fruit is buried halfway, blossom-end down at a 45 degree angle, with the stem end above ground. The best way to grow your first plants is from mature fruit from another gardener; but if you can't find that, look for large squashes where the seed has begun to stick out.
Chayote is one of
two sub-tropical perennial squashes that I wish I could grow here. The other one is Malabar squash, a.k.a. Fig Leaf squash, Chilacayote, Shark Fin Melon, and many other names. It too is a rampant vine, which can cover a large trellis - or a small tree. (You are most likely to find good photos of the vines if you search "shark fin melon".) The young squashes are good in soups; the mature squash have
incredibly long storage life. I have one sitting on a shelf that was given to me at a swap in February 2020, and it still shows no sign of spoilage. Great Lakes Staple Seeds sells Malabar gourd, listed as "Pastella".
Hopefully someone will find these squashes interesting enough to try, and post photos in the future.
