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BracBananas
10-23-2012, 02:18 PM
Hi everyone. This is my first year growing bananas. The soil on my property is a mix of sand and large rocks/boulders so I've made a raised bed using cinder blocks. I use a mix of the local red mole soil and some black soil mixed into the area around the planting holes. The year round tropical conditions here are obviously a big plus for me and I hope to have a semi regular harvest going around the year eventually. I collect water in cisterns and so far have not skimped on watering which is reflected in how well the plants have grown (IMO). I use a little but not much fertilizer so far. To start, I have 7 different banana plants and 2 different plantains... all mystery varieties that were donated by a local farmer who doesn't really know much about the species he grows. The first plant in the ground (May) is about 10 feet tall and has produced a bunch of fruit - the inflorescence opened 2 weeks ago and there's about 18 hands of medium sized fruit - the males bracts are still popping open at the end. I don't know the species, or how long it will take for these fruit to ripen. I will put some photos in another category and hope I can get some help nailing down the species.

My plan is to find my favourite varieties both for taste and overall viability/hardiness/productiveness over the next year and focus on about 10 varieties.

It's a fun learning experience.. everyday, something new it seems. I'm absolutely stunned at how fast these plants grow. In a few short months, I have totally fallen in love with bananas and look forward to learning lots more and getting reasonably skilled at growing them.

Cheers!

Abnshrek
10-23-2012, 02:21 PM
Hello, Welcome & Happy Growing. :^)