Bananas.org - View Single Post - I know nothing about Banana Plants

lorax · 05-06-2008, 05:46 PM

Also, the ones that are fruiting have pretty much reached the end of their lives as pseudotrees. Once the bunch is mature (ie it's not making any more little fingerlings and the ones that are there are swelling up nicely) I'd personally cut the flower and eat it, and cover the bunch in a clear or slightly opaque plastic bag to help the ripening process along, prevent sunburn, and keep the birds and bats off. This is what we do in Ecuador at the commercial plantations. Blue bags also work well.

Be sure to give your nanners plenty of water, and as D&T said a nice mulch won't hurt, nor will a bit of fertilizer.

Once the bunch has nice, fat looking nanners on most of the hands (the very last ones rarely develop for me), you can cut it and hang in partial shade for it to ripen. At this stage, a bag becomes almost a necessity to trap the natural ethyline the bunch produces as it ripens, since you're not going to artificially gas your nanners. It takes my bunches about two weeks to start ripening.

Here's a caution - a developed bunch of bananas is really heavy. Depending on how many hands are on the bunch and the cultivars you're growing, they can go past 150 lbs. Unless you're really burly, you probably want to ask a friend to help you.

Once you've got the bunch down, you may wish to cut down the pseudostem to make room for the older pups. Bananas die after fruiting, so if you just leave the pseudotree it will eventually be only a tall pseudostem.

And there is my long-winded answer to what was essentially a pretty simply question. Sorry 'bout that.

05-06-2008, 05:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
lorax Banned lorax's Photo Gallery Location: Ecuador, South America Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 13 / Köppen-Geiger BSh Name: Lorax Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,532 BananaBucks : 308,731 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 742 Times Was Thanked 3,040 Times in 1,188 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 464 Times	Re: I know nothing about Banana Plants - Help! Also, the ones that are fruiting have pretty much reached the end of their lives as pseudotrees. Once the bunch is mature (ie it's not making any more little fingerlings and the ones that are there are swelling up nicely) I'd personally cut the flower and eat it, and cover the bunch in a clear or slightly opaque plastic bag to help the ripening process along, prevent sunburn, and keep the birds and bats off. This is what we do in Ecuador at the commercial plantations. Blue bags also work well. Be sure to give your nanners plenty of water, and as D&T said a nice mulch won't hurt, nor will a bit of fertilizer. Once the bunch has nice, fat looking nanners on most of the hands (the very last ones rarely develop for me), you can cut it and hang in partial shade for it to ripen. At this stage, a bag becomes almost a necessity to trap the natural ethyline the bunch produces as it ripens, since you're not going to artificially gas your nanners. It takes my bunches about two weeks to start ripening. Here's a caution - a developed bunch of bananas is really heavy. Depending on how many hands are on the bunch and the cultivars you're growing, they can go past 150 lbs. Unless you're really burly, you probably want to ask a friend to help you. Once you've got the bunch down, you may wish to cut down the pseudostem to make room for the older pups. Bananas die after fruiting, so if you just leave the pseudotree it will eventually be only a tall pseudostem. And there is my long-winded answer to what was essentially a pretty simply question. Sorry 'bout that.