Bananas.org - View Single Post - Has anybody tried heaping soil over the P-stem to help them winter over? (Kansas)

Lord Snooty · 01-22-2013, 10:22 PM

Hi Terri,
I definately wouldn't cover the stem in soil unless you live in an extremely dry climate, but here in the UK where I am, it would certainly lead to rot. 2012 has been the wettest for 100 years here!
This year I covered the root area and corm in a 4 to 6 inch layer of wood chips. I built a cage around each plant by driving 3 or 4 wooden stakes into the soil, wrapping chicken wire around the stakes in a rough circle. I put a layer of old polystyrene packing material on top of the wood chips in an effort to stop damp wicking from the ground up. I packed the cage loosely with rockwool loft insulation (I've used straw or bracken and dry leaves in the past) leaving an air gap between the stem and rockwool. I cut all the lower leaves off the stem leaving the top two which i folded upright next to the cigar leaf. The wooden stakes I used weren't long enough to reach the top of the plants (9 to 10 ft) so I extended them with thin bamboo poles, tying the tops together to form a teepee shape. I wrapped the whole structure in a couple of layers of horticultural fleece and tied a plastic sack over the top to a depth of 2-3 ft to keep the rain out. The rest of the fleece isn't covered with plastic and so far, the rain seems to be running off it rather than being absorbed by it. I'll find out if all this has worked in 3 months or so. Good luck with yours.

01-22-2013, 10:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lord Snooty Location: North Wales, Great Britain. Find me on the map! Zone: ? cool, damp & windy Name: Paul Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 67 BananaBucks : 15,261 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 32 Times Was Thanked 54 Times in 26 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 56 Times	Re: Has anybody tried heaping soil over the P-stem to help them winter over? (Kansas) Hi Terri, I definately wouldn't cover the stem in soil unless you live in an extremely dry climate, but here in the UK where I am, it would certainly lead to rot. 2012 has been the wettest for 100 years here! This year I covered the root area and corm in a 4 to 6 inch layer of wood chips. I built a cage around each plant by driving 3 or 4 wooden stakes into the soil, wrapping chicken wire around the stakes in a rough circle. I put a layer of old polystyrene packing material on top of the wood chips in an effort to stop damp wicking from the ground up. I packed the cage loosely with rockwool loft insulation (I've used straw or bracken and dry leaves in the past) leaving an air gap between the stem and rockwool. I cut all the lower leaves off the stem leaving the top two which i folded upright next to the cigar leaf. The wooden stakes I used weren't long enough to reach the top of the plants (9 to 10 ft) so I extended them with thin bamboo poles, tying the tops together to form a teepee shape. I wrapped the whole structure in a couple of layers of horticultural fleece and tied a plastic sack over the top to a depth of 2-3 ft to keep the rain out. The rest of the fleece isn't covered with plastic and so far, the rain seems to be running off it rather than being absorbed by it. I'll find out if all this has worked in 3 months or so. Good luck with yours.