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Island Brah
09-13-2017, 02:47 PM
Hi Everyone- I was going to wait until the end of my 6 month growing season to post some pics but Hurricane Irma changed that plan lol. Enjoy!

April 23, 2017:

This was a new plot location this year. They were put into the ground a little late since we had an unusual cold snap during spring. It payed off to take the small gamble to wait until after the cold snap to plant them.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4387/37207939685_e4c7748010_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YFWqat)

September 1, 2017:

The new plot location was a success. My Manzano (front) had a pstem of 14 feet tall before Irma came. Look at the pstem girth compared to the deck post...Manzanos LOVE growing in Georgia! My tall Namwah (middle) has a pstem about 9 feet base of over 30 inches around. My Veinte Cohol (back right) is 6.5 feet and a pstem base of 23 inches around. The leaves are so stacked it looks like its going to choke and I'm expecting a flag leaf anytime now. The rest of my cultivars were big but noting to note really. All of these grew from a 1 foot plant in the spring. Ever banana plant I have produced over 8 pups each and my Basjoos produced over 15 pups each! I really do have to note that switching to a granular fertilizer and really knowing how to apply it is the biggest key other than soil quality and top dressing...yeah, sun and water help too ;)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/YqHyww]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4389/37035683922_c0494eec1d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YFWqat)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/YFZPdg]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4411/37208602555_c938c5a6bc_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YqHyww)

Hurricane Irma September 11, 2017:

Irma rolled into town. You can't even get mad or upset about something like this because It's all part of the banana game! The footage below is right before the winds started uprooting giant oaks etc. I watched from inside with a few beers when that started happening lol. We lost power for only 1 day.

(GoPro video)
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-8W9bjbYKwg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


[url=https://flic.kr/p/YqH59E]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4383/37035588462_fab98bbe58_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YFZPdg)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/YtkGs6]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4437/37065367601_055ab45d83_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YqH59E)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XrXAdn]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4430/36393380893_fc6ccef112_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/YtkGs6)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XrXcL8]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4335/36393305363_817160240c_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XrXAdn)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Y5LFhY]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4361/36809962100_7754ae0f5e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XrXcL8)

[url=https://flic.kr/p/YFVETt]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4351/37207794105_23aefbc27e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Y5LFhY)[url=https://flic.kr/p/YFVETt]

edwmax
09-13-2017, 03:45 PM
Glad you and family are Ok. ... The nanas look great. Just trim the broken leaves; stand any that are leaning back up. In a couple of weeks you wont hardly notice the storm damage to the plants. ... I surprised that storm still had 50 mph winds by the time it reached Atlanta & the North side.

I got a few plants, williams, gran nain, 1000 finger, dw red, orinoco, from a pup to a base that is 2X as big as my leg. Almost as big as a power pole.

Tytaylor77
09-13-2017, 11:24 PM
Amazing job Nick!! And I know how your plants looked just a month or 2 ago. I would say this is half a years growth!! I truly can't wait to see what they look like next year!!

Congrats man your hard work shows!!

Island Brah
09-14-2017, 02:02 PM
Glad you and family are Ok. ... The nanas look great. Just trim the broken leaves; stand any that are leaning back up. In a couple of weeks you wont hardly notice the storm damage to the plants. ... I surprised that storm still had 50 mph winds by the time it reached Atlanta & the North side.

I got a few plants, williams, gran nain, 1000 finger, dw red, orinoco, from a pup to a base that is 2X as big as my leg. Almost as big as a power pole.

My neighbor is a weather nut and he clocked winds at 66 mph! Truly insane for the metro Atlanta area!

Yeah I cut all the broken leaves off and tried to stand it back before I posted this. Its so wicked how the leaves wrapped around everything like an Ace bandage. I cannot straighten the Manzano back up without having to dig most of it up. The roots on the side the wind blew it to literally feels like it imploded because the roots broke! The whole ground moves like its sitting in mud but its not mud, if that makes sense (hard to explain without showing what I mean).

I'll be digging them all up to dry-store in the garage at the end of October/early November anyways so I'm going to leave it be. Just cutting the 7 foot long heavy leaves made it perk back up some. it should be just fine and will flower early next summer.

Amazing job Nick!! And I know how your plants looked just a month or 2 ago. I would say this is half a years growth!! I truly can't wait to see what they look like next year!!

Congrats man your hard work shows!!


Thanks dude! I really appreciate you sending me most of them, showing me the ropes, and answering 1000 novice questions over the years. you're a great friend! Next year and every year after I will have fruiting bananas from many different cultivars. Now is when it gets fun!

I'm still kind of mad at you for giving me this freak of nature TALL Veinte Cohol HAHA!

beam2050
09-19-2017, 12:57 PM
Irma devastated crops way up into Tennessee. glad to see you ok.