raygrogan

Me, too on just chop and leave on the surface. I do have a fair population of the corm borers, but the bananas still grow fine. For chopping the P-stems I use a battery powered reciprocating saw - sweet and easy, then machete for the leaves. My favorite ground cover is our native fern, laua'e. It grows well on top and thru all the chopped up stuff. Mine grow on a steep slope, and every once in a while I dump a bucket of rich dirt with a scoop of banana fert mixed in. There are surely better systems, but this one has worked well and easy for me for many years.