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View Full Version : Keith's IV bag on Ae Ae mat - early results


bananimal
06-11-2013, 08:19 AM
I hooked up the main Ae Ae to an IV box similar to PR Giants set up. Early results look promising. Patient responding well to therapy.


IV bag added to boost Ae Ae growth. Filled with grass.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=53247&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=53247&ppuser=820)


New leaf is easily double the size of previous.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=53249&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=53249&ppuser=820)


Ae Ae follow on pup looking better.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=53250&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=53250&ppuser=820)


Sentries hired to guard naners. Need to move them to backyard.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=53248&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=53248&ppuser=820)

jet123
06-11-2013, 08:09 PM
So what is it? A compost pile next to the aeae? Good idea!

PR-Giants
06-12-2013, 09:42 AM
Good Luck, hope it works.

WoW, you already did 4 of them, where are the first 3 located?

It does look nice & ugly.

FYI, grass shrinks 3-D so a weight compressing the GC will lessen the gaps against the walls. Which is the area the roots will first begin to grow and if compressed after, the roots should easily break.

Here's some photos of what it should look like after a few months.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=51655 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=51655)

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=51654 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=51654)

cincinnana
06-12-2013, 08:50 PM
Are those Sandhill cranes in your front yard.......awesome.
:woohoonaner:

bananimal
06-12-2013, 10:56 PM
Are those Sandhill cranes in your front yard.......awesome.
:woohoonaner:

Yep Sandhills. Mom and pop, no pup. We see these threesomes everywhere we travel. Sometimes 2 pups. They are stubborn and take their time getting out of the way of the car. Once in a while I see a squashed pup.

BTW --- just finished the Brewsters you got for me in Ft Pierce. Fantastic! This may very well be the variety I decide to plant. Still want to sample them all first.

jet123
06-13-2013, 10:34 PM
Wait, so you just put the compost pile next to the plant and the roots find it? That is a great idea.

bananimal
06-14-2013, 01:19 AM
Keith does this on his farm in PR. I'm trying it to dispel the myth that it works well cause of the tropical climate there. Believe he sets up one grass can shared by 4 mats. After all the Ae Ae pups I lost over the wet cool winter I'll try anything.

bananimal
06-14-2013, 06:55 AM
Wait, so you just put the compost pile next to the plant and the roots find it? That is a great idea.

Go back to Keiths posts. Dramatic pics of roots travelling out and up into the grass.

What makes this interesting to me is it seems to work best for musa with only grass clippings. Nice neat and useful way to get rid of them.

So for anybody with a naner that seems to be having a tough time hanging in there, and it is no where near flourishing ----- get a plastic barrel, or and old beatup pot, and cut out the bottom. Just keep filling - grass only. As the days heat up the pile in the IV breaks down faster - just as the lawn grows faster. Win win.

Note: it's a good idea to stake the can in place. I cut 4 holes in the rim and added 4 metal stakes.

servatusprime
06-20-2013, 12:13 PM
Keith's system inspired me to try something on my plants. Rather than make an IV compost tub, I have just been laying my grass clippings down around my mats. I can't say how it compares to the tub, but I have seen a big improvement. The leaves have substantially increased in size since I started doing this about a month ago. The tubs might have been a little more tidy, but I don't think my wife or neighbors what to be looking at that.

bananimal
06-20-2013, 01:59 PM
I noticed the first signs of improved Ae Ae growth when the first load of grass in the can broke down and the height went from full can to 20%. I keep refilling and tamping down. No more trips to vacant lots with grass clippings. With the current heat and humidity breakdown is fast.

Side note --- planted a dozen or so moon and stars seeds in the 8 year old compost piles over the fence, and man did those vines take off. Hope to try these heirloom watermelons this season.

servatusprime
06-24-2013, 12:25 PM
Semi-related, this trick seems to be really helping my heliconia too. They finally are starting to take off in the full blazing sun. My thanks to Keith for schemming this up.