Ivanov_Kuznetsov

My banana plants are about 14-18 months old, straight transplants. They all seem to have made plenty of pups, too. My pipe fittings on the old well tank all broke 2 weeks ago, so I had to dig out all the big oak tree roots from around the well casing and house line then backfill the dirt with concrete chunks and plumb new galvanized fittings from the pump to the tank and plumb new PVC from the house line to the tank, adding a gate valve, of course. My back is killing me, but it's damned good to have my own running water again.

I later found that the air control valve is bad on my tank (big surprise -- they are apparently notorious out here), so my pressure would not go above 34. After filling that damned ACV with cement, I have very good pressure, which I promptly used to water all the citrus trees and banana plants. One of the plants has finally flowered and has about 20+ green bananas on it in the shape of praying hands stuck together or something similar; the red petals are still present. Forecast says mid 50's are coming later this week, so is there anything I can do?

I have made sure to scale way back on my nitrogen and scale up slightly on the minor minerals like magnesium, focusing on plenty of the trace elements with the majority of the feed being P and K. I'm doing this to promote healthy flowering/fruiting since I've heard that nitrogen overload can make plants overly sensitive to cold and negatively affect flowering.

I was going to take a picture for you all to see, but the camera batteries are dead. Lucky me, I have no spare AA batteries and zero dollars in my checking account. Donations anyone?

Richard

Congratulations on your first flower!

Sorry about the broken parts ... and the pump won't work 'cause the vandals stole the handle

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Ivanov_Kuznetsov

Yeah, it's funny. My 80-something year old neighbor started to yell at me because some genius told her I was going to burn up her pump using her water. I explained, quite rationally, that we were using the water to shower occasionally, cook, and flush toilets, which was a very minor demand on the pump, which was perfectly capable of such a load. She ignored me and cut off my water supply when I wasn't home, which nearly burned up my water heater because of the pressure loss.

Anybody heard of karma? Her pvc pipe going into the ball valve for her house line pushed itself out and was gushing water. She blamed it on my pipe and said, "I told you it was the pump that can't handle two houses!" I followed her into her house and said, "Betty, this doesn't have a damned thing to do with a pump. This is about gluing two pieces of plastic together, and whoever did it the first time did one hell of a bad job. I'll fix it for you for free, and I guarantee it will never come apart again."

Needless to say, it was a quick fix, and she's pleased now. I have to keep my neighbor's happy, but it's difficult with the asperger's syndrome because I tend to be annoying and lacking in common sense

Ivanov_Kuznetsov

Green bananas appear to be at least 30 or more on the stalk thus far, and the red petals are shrinking in size as more fall off. Weather is 50-60F at night and usually 80-90 during the day. I keep them well watered, especially the flowering one. Anyone want to offer advice for a successful-edible yield? I've been working on my good karma.

sbl

You probably have 4 to 6 months until the first ones are ripe. Are you in a frost free area?

Ivanov_Kuznetsov

Frost sometimes happens but is not common. The flat farm lands and roadways with no trees are what usually see the lowest temperatures.

LilRaverBoi

I would say you're probably okay with temps. Mid 40's is tolerable for many species (not all though) during the evening so long as daytime temps are higher. Let's hope for the best!

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