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Zen Gardener
04-20-2012, 08:04 PM
Hi Everyone!

I just joined the forum today after lurking for a while. I found the site because I was trying to find information on growing hydroponic bananas and was prompted to join because I viewed the board too many times. LOL

I used to live in Hawaii and I had a few banana trees in the yard, but now I am in VA and miss homegrown bananas. I have always been fascinated with hydroponics but haven't had any experience until I bought an Aerogarden and now I am hooked. I bought a dwarf cavendish online and planted it in a DWC bucket yesterday.

I have a few pictures of my setup on my blog and I will be posting more pics and updates over time. Category: Hydroponic Bananas - Zen Gardener (http://vitalelement.dalink.com/index.php/zengardener/hydroponic-bananas/)

GreenFin
04-21-2012, 12:51 AM
It starts with a bucket.

Before you know it you've got a 2,000 gallon fish tank hooked up to a giant grow bed of bananas and every car that goes by slows down like it's casing the joint.

DoctorSteve
04-21-2012, 01:08 AM
I have decided that I am going to start all my bananas that way. After almost killing two, one of which has not grown since October but has been slowly dying. It has just started to move after 3 weeks in DWC the other grew quickly after only a week.

Zen Gardener
04-21-2012, 08:18 AM
It starts with a bucket.

Before you know it you've got a 2,000 gallon fish tank hooked up to a giant grow bed of bananas and every car that goes by slows down like it's casing the joint.

That is funny because I was thinking along those lines yesterday. I am seriously thinking about setting up an aquaponic system to grow some veggies. LOL

It is amazing how fast everything grows hydroponically.

Richard
04-21-2012, 09:36 AM
For fruiting bananas, consider in your design that by the time they reach fruiting maturity the base of the stalk will be at least 10 inches in diameter and the height of the stem (not counting leaves) on a dwarf variety will be at least 5 feet.

Zen Gardener
04-21-2012, 02:09 PM
I expect to upgrade from the bucket to the 20 gallon MegaFarm from General Hydroponics within a few months. That is the biggest container that I know of at the moment. Do you have any suggestions?

Jacobtaylar
06-12-2012, 09:02 AM
As the dwarf cavendish is the biggest plant of banana and need more space than all the other plants so take as much bucket as you can. so that you do not need to change it at all.

steve169
06-12-2012, 06:53 PM
As the dwarf cavendish is the biggest plant of banana and need more space than all the other plants so take as much bucket as you can. so that you do not need to change it at all.

yes but at the same time, it is a waste of money to get a 20 gallon bucket, and have to mix for 20 gallons when the plant is only 7 inches tall and a 5 gallon bucket is fine. go with a bucket that is suitable for the size of your plant and work your way up.

Zen Gardener
06-26-2012, 08:12 PM
I went to a local hydroponic shop the other day and the guy said that I would not need to change the bucket to a larger container. He said that the roots may get crowded over time but it wouldn't over grow the bucket and just to keep the roots in an even amount of nutrients and air. I interpreted that as keeping the roots dangling from the net pot in the bucket that is half full.

Illia
06-28-2012, 12:32 AM
Welcome! Just a little tip/advice, if you're going to go with hydroponics, an even better approach is aquaponics :)

Zen Gardener
08-15-2012, 12:37 PM
I would love to get into Aquaponics.