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View Full Version : New, and stuff. Yes.


JPercy
11-23-2009, 09:07 PM
Greetings,

My name is Jeremy, and I currently live in the northeastern US(zone 5, brrr), although I am working on joining the US Coast Guard and may try to get assigned towards the Florida area(zone 9) after basic training.

I'm rather interested in trying my hand at some small scale Banana plant cultivation at that time(or even earlier, I have an Aunt that lives in Florida I might be able to convince to let me at least plant one or two plants in her backyard, also Zone 9), an interest which has been sparked by a rather obsessive(and ongoing) desire to eventually get my hands on a pup of, or at least taste of the fruit of a Gros Michel. The real one, none of that "FHIA 23" stuff or things like that.

Well, rambling aside, I'd like to to get fairly acquainted with some of these banana species for a while to see if there's anything else that catches the eye, so it looks like this is a good place to learn.

LilRaverBoi
11-23-2009, 09:56 PM
Welcome to the site! I hope you enjoy it here! Sounds like you already know quite a bit about bananas....I think you'll fit right in with the rest of us banana nerds!

Abnshrek
11-23-2009, 10:22 PM
Welcome & Good Luck in your Banana Pursuits :^)

Kevin
11-23-2009, 10:58 PM
Welcome! I'm newer than you - can you elaborate on this quote?

a Gros Michel. The real one, none of that "FHIA 23" stuff or things like that.

Thanks.

Richard
11-23-2009, 11:18 PM
Welcome!

You'll find loads of information here: All articles - Bananas Wiki (http://www.bananas.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Allpages)

:woohoonaner:

Eric
11-23-2009, 11:25 PM
Welcome aboard, Jeremy :) ! Sounds like ya already know something! There are members who are just as dedicated to true Gros Michel, here, and Florida sounds like a super place to start! It's a very friendly and info-packed site. If ya have any questions about using the forum, just ask!

Kevin :),
(just pass-up anything ya already know)
The Gros Michel was the 1st cultivar to be sold commercially - till around 1960. It was taken out by Panama wilt fungus & replaced by the Cavendish cultivar discovered in a botanical garden in Vietnam (Saigon, I think). The song "We got no bananas" was based on that disaster. Gros Michel was a better tasting banana.
FHIA is Fundacion Hondurena De Investigacion Agricola. In English, The Honduran Agricultural Research Foundation. Here's a link to their site:
FHIA Corporation Home Page (http://honduras.com/fhia/)
They've been in charge of the whole banana industry since the beginning. They also are in charge of coming up with new cultivars. FHIA 23 is an offshoot of the Gros Michel, not the original cultivar.
Hope that helps :) !

Seaner
11-24-2009, 09:39 AM
Hello & welcome! I'm new to this stuff, too. Florida sounds like a great place to start, though. Best of luck!

JPercy
11-24-2009, 09:57 AM
Thanks for the welcomes, I'd say it'll be a couple of months before I can really start playing around with anything, but I am looking forward to seeing what I can grow when I can.

I do remember my Aunt having two Banana plants in her backyard at one point, of which she thinks are "Williams Hybrid" and Raja Puri. I haven't seen them in a few years so I couldn't say for sure, or even if they're still there(I sent a message asking but haven't gotten a response yet), but if she does I'll have two good plants to start with when I can really get going.

And then I start the real quest for the Gros Michel!

Seaner
11-24-2009, 01:08 PM
I've been told that the original Gros Michel (Thanks Eric) grows in Hawaii and is also called Bluefields.

stumpy4700
11-24-2009, 03:10 PM
Welcome to the site.

cherokee_greg
11-25-2009, 09:26 AM
welcome from Fresno, California