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Originally Posted by Island Brah
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1) I now know bananas need 1lb of nitrogen and 1.5lbs of potash per plant per growing season/aka year. My growing season 35 miles northeast of Atlanta is from mid-late April until mid-late October-ish. If I follow the dosage instructions on the Banana Fuel or Fruit Fuel labels, I would never hit the correct amount of nutrients needed in my growing season. For example, if I follow the Fruit fuel label, I'm supposed to use 1 tablespoon/per gallon of water/per month and my growing season is roughly 6 months, I'll never hit the 6.25lbs of Fruit Fuel needed to give it 1lb of nitrogen and 1.5lb of potash. Does the banana plant get the rest of the nutrients from the soil then I'm assuming? If that's the case, how do you really know how much the plant is getting from the soil? ...
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Thanks for the pics & info. Now look at the comment of the first table. It is stated to 'water normally'. More than 1 gallon of water should be used.
Next, look at the small note below the table in the label photo. It states to double dosage when soil drenching.
OK, there are 2 ways to do the watering. One is to use a hose end sprayer. Mix a stock solution concentrate and then set the spray at proper ratio to make the 2 tablespoon (if monthly) or reduced application as needed while watering. This involves a little math but not hard. Then apply water watching the solution level to know when to stop.
The second way which I suggest and easier, is to mix the ALL fertilizer needed for that application in a 5 gallon bucket. This may be stronger than the 2 TB / gal. Then pour around the plant (not against the stem) and water in with the garden hose to further dilute. Watering once a week may be better to keep the fertilizer concentration to a minimum.
Water is a question for banana plants in the ground. Most general garden guides indicated weekly watering at 1/2" equivalent for rain for plants and area. ... For a 10 ft X 10 ft area around a banana plant, this would be about 31 gallons of water. ... But!!! One of the Banana research reports I read stated a mature banana plant expires as much as 92 liters (24 gallons) per day on hot days. So during droughts or hot dry spells Banana plants needs much more water.
So how much water to give a banana plant? ... that depends ...
OMO ... Fruit fuel is lacking in its instructions for use as a soil drench. It doesn't give upper limits of use that would cause nitrogen root burn or other problems and allow reducing the amount of water needed. Exam: For your 6 mn grow season and watering once a month, you need to apply 1 lb per month at 2 tbl / gallon would be about 32 gallons of water per plant or 1 tbl /gallon would be 64 gallons of water per plant.
Fruit Fuel was formulated for potted plants; injection irrigation; and hydroponic use.