harveyc

Boy, that's a shame Andrew!

I wouldn't be too eager to put gravel there unless you actually have a place for the water to drain to. Gravel itself does not lead to drainage but can be effective as a filter to retain soil and allow water to flow through as long as you have drainage below that point (either other soil that is well-drained or a French drain, etc.).

A couple of things come to mind. Maybe you have a leak in you system as you mentioned. Or, if you're watering and your bananas have not been needing water because they slowed down in cooler weather, maybe they were just using less water relative to other plants (whatever you have nearby) if they are less subject to slowing down in cooler weather. Do you have a neighbor behind your fence/wall who could be watering in that area and causing it to come onto your property? If the soil is heavier there it can retain water more than some of your other nearby soil. I hope you get it figured out as the bananas can grow back quickly in warm weather and fill that area back in pretty quickly.

Good luck!

Harvey

__________________