Nathan1023

Hello. I have one banana plant, that I got on 06/10/2013 from Edible Landscaping Plant Sale: Buy plants online from our garden center and plant nursery. I posted some pictures in my gallery of it in various stages of growth.

It is growing indoors. I started it in a 10 gal Geopot, in a 50% Hydroton clay pebble/50% Grodan Grow Cube (rockwool) mixture, eventually upgrading to a 25 gal Geopot. I have been feeding it a Technaflora "Recipe for Success 'Grow'" nutrient mix at about 1100 ppm every other day. I was feeding every day at the same strength for a while, then cut back, with no noticeable difference. Every few months, I also give it some microbial compost tea from my local hydroponics store, Lucky Roots in Richmond, VA.

It was growing under a SunPulse 400W 6.4K bulb, in a HydroFarm "Digital Sunburst" All In One Fixture. On 02/07/2014, I replaced that with a 1000W Hortilux Blue bulb, in a Sunlight Supply Magnum XXXL 6" duct reflector without any cooling as of right now, and a Lumatek1000/750/600W dual-voltage HPS/MH electronic ballast.

I've been running it on 600W for a few hours, then 750, then 600 again throughout the day, to get it used to having more light, and to simulate the sun going up and down. Soon, I'll switch to 750/1000/750W, then just 1000W.

Light cycle has always been 18/6.

I mist with water several times a day. The 25 gal Geopot is sitting on a thin layer of Hydroton to help with aeration of the roots, and to increase drainage. Everything is sitting in a big basin that I keep some water in to help with humidity, which I still can't get far above 40%.

The temperature in the room is about 70F, and 85F at the top of the plant, with the light on 1000W.

It used to put out several leaves a week. As it's gotten older, the leaves have gotten bigger, and taken longer to grow. It now grows a new leaf about every 10 days.

That's it for now.