harveyc

Just thought I'd give a head's up for those that Jeff has put up a Cal Gold pup on eBay. There as been a lot of discussion about what a Cal Gold is and is not, including lots of speculation. Jeff has become a good friend of mine and I'm of the opinion that he does not make any false claims. Nobody is claiming that this is the best banana in the world. However, it does reliably fruit for us in USDA zone 9 of California.

Check out the wiki. I posted a summary of the eBay auction results from last year. I think Jeff sold about a dozen of them and they ranged in price from around $41 to $150.01, as I recall. Jeff's starting price of $29 is reasonable, IMHO, but some people go crazy in this free market society. It will be interesting to see if the slower economy, housing crunch, and high fuel prices have any influence on the price of Cal Gold pups in 2009. Maybe we can use it as an economic indicator! LOL

California Gold - Cold Hardy dwarf Banana plant / tree - eBay (item 290230683989 end time May-19-08 13:41:02 PDT)

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harveyc

Wow, there were 21 bids by 6 different bidders and the pup went for $101! Maybe we're not headed for recession after all!!! LOL

Did anyone here at the International Banana Society bid???

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Steve in France

Harvey , call me mad but I bought it.
I missed out on a few last year so I went for it and put in a bid of 101 at the last minute , I figured the other guy had put 100 as his max bid, I guess I was right
I wanted an early season plant so it would get a good size this year.
Happy to give it garden space, well in my case container space.
Later
Steve
p.s. Sorry if I out bid another member, some of the guys must have pups of CG.

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Always looking for a lost pup

harveyc

Dear Mad. I mean Steve! LOL

I am glad to hear that you are not the victim of subprine lending and now broke. Maybe you are really from the south, not France or Maryland. I read the other day that some state like Missouri or Arkansas had about 1% of their homeowners with subprime mortgages while 67% of homeowners had no mortgage at all!!!

Best of luck with your new formerly lost pup.

Cheers,

Harvey

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momoese

This makes me wonder what the average age is for homeowners there.

Steve in France

Thanks Harvey , we went fixed rate for our house in France , we felt we wanted to know what the payment was each month and no surprises wanted.
Here we just rent, I wish it was worth buying but for a three or four year US stay the maths says it's not woth getting a huge loan. Love to be free and clear of loans on a place but it will take a long time. So I spend money on plants for fun and exercise :-)
Looking forward to getting the CG and road testing it.
Best Wishes
Steve

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Always looking for a lost pup

harveyc

Hey, Mitchel, I think it is more of a matter of not having outrageous home prices!

I'm not that old and am on schedule to be debt free next year. That does NOT count my share of the national debt!!!

Steve, I agree with the math guidelines you quoted, though you could make a case for still buying if you felt lucky and wanted to bet (as in gamble bit time) on a recovery in our housing market.

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microfarmer

Hey Steve! Congrats on your new CG pup! Mine was the first to put out leaves this year and one of only 3 plants that didn't die to the ground, or die completely. I got mine from Jeff personally and have to echo Harvey's comments. Jeff is upstanding banana grower and only interested in perpetuating a rare variant, not in padding his wallet.

Mr. Excessive

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My new hero...

Steve in France

Thanks for the congrates, I'm sure Jeff is a stand up guy. He only sells a few pups a year, it cannot be a huge money maker for him. I'm very pleased to have a chance to grow the plant. I understand it does not pup much, be nice to have an insurance plant just in case I lose the main one. Maybe I better buy another LOL
I'll grow it indoors over winter, maybe gets some grow lights going this year, we will see.
Best Wishes
Steve

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Always looking for a lost pup

harveyc

Steve, I don't know if it is a shy pupper (?) or not. I've got one with 4 pups right now, though I don't know if 2 of them will both make it since they are very close to one another and very tiny. I'm actually hoping for more to come.

(FYI - no requests for pups, please, I have commitments to a couple of people already.)

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Steve in France

Thanks Harvey, that's good to know , fills me with a sense of hope
Best Wishes
Steve

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Always looking for a lost pup

jpfloors

Awww, man, sold for over $100 and I was at work! Hope there'll be more!

harveyc

I wouldn't think being in zone 10a would lead you to have great interest in this selection. That said, I'm certain Jeff will have more on eBay and I'll probably post it here when I see them.

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jpfloors

It's a banana variety I don't have... enough said. Plus it sounds like a nice one regardless I also like collecting rare and interesting plants as well!

Tropicallvr

I'd like to see CA gold introduced into tissue culture, so people that don't want to fork out a Benjamin can grow it. I'd like one just can't see paying that much for one.

damaclese

hay i was raised in Kansas city and lived most of my life on either the Kansas or Mo side and i don't know a signal person that doesn't have a morged
how ever all say this people in the Midwest don't move around like the do on the coast we like to make a home for are selves all that refinancing is for the birds

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Helping to foster understanding for the learning disabled

harveyc

I read once that Cal Gold could not be tissue cultured successfully, but I don't know if that was simply speculation as I've never actually heard of anyone trying.

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jpfloors

perhaps it was just a single trial attempt and different hormones and media combinations needed to be attempted.

Mark Hall

Steve , Don't forget to post a picture or two of your new pup.

Good luck with it too.

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Time Flies like an Arrow.....Fruit flies like a Banana.

microfarmer

I have not found it to be lacking in the pup department. I have cut 3 off mine, and I have 3 more showing. It does seem to take a little longer for them to come up, though. I'll have one later this summer after they get big enough to cut and ship. Keep watch on the classifieds...

I need to start another pup in my own plantation, just for rmore of them. I like the size of the plant as it's a bit smaller than a Dwarf Orinoco, but taller than a SDC, fitting into smaller gardens with space issues. I also like the cold hardiness. It was the first to put up leaves...in late February...

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My new hero...