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View Full Version : Need your input everyone, more regional sections are coming and we need your advice


MediaHound
08-03-2009, 09:02 PM
So we have had a dedicated section for European members for a short while and its doing really good. Since day 1 we knew we needed to break apart regions and help locals mingle with each other and get down to a more personal and local level, encourage meetups, trading, events, that sort of thing. So we want to add more dedicated forums and finally bring that to the membership, being that we have grown to a point where it finally can warrant the need for this.
Can we please take a look at the map below, take some time, group the areas, and let me know what you think would be best to break it apart as? Is New England the best way to describe the North East or should we have another section for NY and surrounding areas, just south of New England? I would rather have less at the moment than more and we can break them apart further later.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=20404 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=20404)
Please let me know what you all think would be best to name the new Regional sections, and how many we should add. Thanks in advance.
I see three distinct on the West Coast but how many should we add for the East coast? Remember that for every pin that makes it onto this map, there are members that are not putting a pin, as well as tens of visitors to our website that might decide to join if they feel its more warm and fuzzy by having something more of a "home" for them.
How is this for a start, feel free to change it of course:
Pacific Northwest, North California, South California, Southeast, Midwest, and New England?
I would rather be wrong here and corrected than you guys say "yea that sounds good". Lets set up the new regional sections right because it can get messy if we don't do it right at first.

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=20407 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=20404)
Those are typical regions but I dont think its good for our purposes, so we need to come up with our own.

Thanks for all your help and here's to it! This will be a lot of fun over the years.
Whatever moderators we currently have that fall into whatever categories we create will also be the advisers for these respective sections, and if the cards fall with a section without an adviser we will have an empty warm seat with your name on it if you want it.
So lets hear what you guys think the best way to break it all apart and name them and how far the blanket will cover. I need exact descriptions for each to use as the textual descriptions for the new forums, just a sentence or two so lets please put our heads together here. Thanks alot everyone.

saltydad
08-03-2009, 09:38 PM
Not sure of the other regions but I feel Mid-Atlantic would be a more homogeneous grouping growing-wise, than Northeast, etc. This obviously is just for my location, but maybe the 5 regions posted should be divided a bit more. I know this can be taken to the absurd level (Maryland west of Silver Spring and noth of Langley Park), but its a thought.

Scuba_Dave
08-03-2009, 09:43 PM
One site did a breakup by State due to a large number of users
I very rarely used the state forum, nor did very many other people
I generally look at new posts every day, regardless of forum

Maybe a split up by zones?
South in one zone
Mid belt in another
Us Crazy northeners in another? :D

Eric
08-03-2009, 09:54 PM
Just a thought:
North Pacific (ie. Washington Oregon) ---- South Pacific (ie. California Hawaii) ---- Rockies (mountains) ---- Mid Plains (upper) ---- Desert states ---- Prarie states (ie. Kansas Oklahoma) ---- Lake states (due to lake-effect rains/snows etc around Great Lakes) ---- Old South (obviously unique growing region) ---- Gulf states (Texas Florida, due to extreme weather) ---- S. New England ---- N. New England.

Some ideas to kick around, anyway.

Marvin
08-03-2009, 09:56 PM
It 's interesting that Hawaii is not included (seen) on your map. Also interesting, providing that Hawaii is recognized as part of USA, that Hawaii grows more bananas than the rest of America combined.

saltydad
08-03-2009, 10:03 PM
Eric-don't forget where I live. :ha:

Seriously, that's a good direction to go, I would include Mid Atlantic defined as Virginia, Maryland, DC, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey (possibly West Virginia too). New York seems more like New England in growing zones.

MediaHound
08-03-2009, 10:06 PM
Neither is Alaska but you can find both on the bigger version of the map here:
Bananas.org - Member Map - Map of our member's locations! (http://www.bananas.org/vbgooglemapme.php)
Hawaii has 11 pins on the map at the moment and can perhaps at first be grouped with wherever SoCal falls. Not surprisingly, Alaska has 0. The other states with 0 are Idaho (they prefer potatoes over bananas, that's no secret), SD, Maine, VT, and if it weren't for Troy in NH that would be there on the 0 list as well.

MediaHound
08-03-2009, 10:08 PM
btw Marvin, please pin your location on the map if you don't mind, its only as accurate as the members that opt in and participate there.

Eric
08-03-2009, 10:09 PM
Eric-don't forget where I live. :ha:

Wouldn't leave you behind :) ! Figure maybe you & Bob could team-up in South New England - Wow! what a combo :eek: !
Good thinking on those states!

Also figure since Hawaii & California are so similar, they might be considered a growing region. There's so many unique growing regions in the U.S.A., may have to join some smaller, similar regions. Bigger task than I imagined!
Oops, totally forgot Alaska! Couldn't go another day without an ice-box nanner :ha: !

Marvin
08-03-2009, 10:23 PM
Re: Pin on Map

Please assist me ... How do I place my pin??

And for common themes in growing bananas, I have found in communicating with myriad others over the past few years that Hawaii has more in common growing conditions with Florida and Louisiana.

The most southern area of CA (greater San Diego area), with the exception of a former famed banana farm in La Conchita (near Santa Barbara) are about all I know of in CA.

Aloha, Marvin

browndrake
08-03-2009, 11:25 PM
If the main reason for the new regional sections is to encourage meetings, trades, and other events, then perhaps another option would be to have a section for: Meetings, Trades, and Other Member Events.

I agree with scuba dave. I question how much regional sections would be used here. With the posted sample regions, I am in the southwest (northern AZ) but closer to SLC, UT than to Phoenix and closer to Las Vegas then SLC.

Breaking up by growing zones would make sense for discussing how and what to grow, but that isn't really the purpose of the new sections...is it? And, there are already sections for many specifics, like cold hardy bananas.

We can see, from the map, were we all live. If we have a section set up to encourage events...it may just encourage events.

just my 2 cents

aaron

Richard
08-04-2009, 12:30 AM
Aaron makes a good suggestion regarding self-organizing meet-ups. It has proven poor practice for other organizations (CRFG included) to have artificial boundaries imposed on social events. I think at the very least it would be a good idea to throw a meet-up forum out there and see what develops.

I can also sympathize with Jarred's desire to make it easier for people in close geographic proximity to find each other. It is common for a new member to say in their opening introduction "I live in xyz -- please contact me if you grow bananas near here".

The concept of sections organized by climatic zones is also interesting. Certainly there are a lot of existing threads with titles like "xxx in Zone 8?". Of course there is a lot more to zones than just hardiness. One interesting section might be the "southern strip" -- roughly everything north of an imaginary line from Galveston to Gainsville and south of a line from Houston to Albany, GA. But not all zonal groupings are contiguous geographic areas: Hawaii and Dominican Republic would be in the same group.

Jack Daw
08-04-2009, 01:30 AM
Eastcoast, westcoast, central? You could separate continental regions from coastal regions, they are about something else, growing is way more different.

Eric
08-04-2009, 10:13 AM
Just a thought, but I'm wondering if an alpha-numeric list of members might be helpful; sort of like a "yellow pages" thing.
For example, the primary "alpha-numeric" digit could be the zone, the 2nd digit could be the State, & the 3rd could be the City. The final digital code could then be followed by the members Username.
Members could then scroll through the list that corresponds to their zone and look for other members in regions they consider closely allied to their own. Those members could then get together, if they wanted, & decide on what get-togethers etc they might want to organize.
If there was a section exclusively for such announcements, etc....
Just a thought.

Dalmatiansoap
08-04-2009, 06:39 PM
This all wasnt so long ago:
http://www.bananas.org/f5/increasing-membership-participation-7770-2.html
and look at this thread now.
We are really evoluting:ha::ha::ha:
:woohoonaner:

Bob
08-04-2009, 06:47 PM
This all wasnt so long ago:
http://www.bananas.org/f5/increasing-membership-participation-7770-2.html
and look at this thread now.
We are really evoluting:ha::ha::ha:
:woohoonaner:

It's the only way it can work. Thanks for the link.

Dalmatiansoap
08-04-2009, 06:50 PM
That "banged" me same moment I sow this thread.
Memories :)
Good to have them
:woohoonaner:

buckeye5755
08-04-2009, 07:13 PM
I like the basic red map you have, but with a few changes. I would split the Midwest in half, going up through the Western Illinois border. Anything to the west is in the "Plains" area.

I think I would also like a States section, as in a forum for each state. Being a "Rookie" gardener, even though I am in the Midwest with Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, I am much more aware of the weather in Ohio, and would be more apt to follow advice of other gardeners in my state, rather than my region.

Overall though, anything is a plus and step in the right direction. Thanks Media Hound for your dedication to the site!

PS. I'm trying to post more! Sorry DamaClese, I am guilty of checking this site each and every day and posting once a week, maybe. Your rant hit home, so I am going to shape up and ship out! :weightliftingnaner:

Jack Daw
08-04-2009, 07:17 PM
Or you can look at Koppen maps and devide the USA (and other parts of the world) respectively to areas A, B, C, D and E.
Someone did the job a long time ago, it would be shame not to use it. :waving:
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/courses/geog401/World_Koppen_Map.jpg

lorax
08-04-2009, 08:08 PM
I'd love to see a "Latin America" section too, while you're at it...

Inoneear
08-04-2009, 10:39 PM
Thats fine with me. Now for Canada ,we'll have a west coast ,central,...and the other side:ha:


Chong ,I'm back from being schooled ,so lets get the meetings started!!

island cassie
08-04-2009, 11:00 PM
Hey - whatever you decide is good for me - if people on this island contact me - result!!!

Richard
08-05-2009, 12:12 AM
A southern-CA section makes sense for meet-ups but not for growing conditions. San Diego county alone contains 5 major inhabited climate zones.

harveyc
08-05-2009, 12:58 AM
I got into quite a discussion with Tog about this 2-3 months ago and I personally prefer no regions at all. Within regions there are many different growing climates and levels of interest so we often a great deal in common with someone in another region. For instance, for the past two days I've been helping out a newbie in Florida who has contacted me by e-mail for some help. I don't know why he selected me to ask for help but I was glad I was able to help out.

While I prefer forums over "groups", one of the major disadvantages of forums is that it's easy to miss out on discussions. I find that to be the case already with the large number of sub-forums we have and creating regional sub-forums will just increase that.

Sorry, but that's my honest opinion on the matter.

Thanks,

Harvey

justjoan
08-05-2009, 07:44 AM
Whatever is decided here I will go along with, I must admit I would be interested in knowing what others in my area (state) are accomplishing but not alot of nana growers here in Minnesota so......:waving:

Bananaman88
08-06-2009, 12:04 PM
A nice can of worms you opened here, Jarred! Everyone has good opinions and to be honest, I'm not sure the best way to go. I need to think on it a bit.

MediaHound
08-08-2009, 08:04 PM
Re: Pin on Map

Please assist me ... How do I place my pin??

And for common themes in growing bananas, I have found in communicating with myriad others over the past few years that Hawaii has more in common growing conditions with Florida and Louisiana.

The most southern area of CA (greater San Diego area), with the exception of a former famed banana farm in La Conchita (near Santa Barbara) are about all I know of in CA.

Aloha, Marvin

Mahalo Marvin, this is the link to add your pin to the map:
http://www.bananas.org/vbgooglemapme.php?do=addelement

MediaHound
08-08-2009, 08:05 PM
If the main reason for the new regional sections is to encourage meetings, trades, and other events, then perhaps another option would be to have a section for: Meetings, Trades, and Other Member Events.

I agree with scuba dave. I question how much regional sections would be used here. With the posted sample regions, I am in the southwest (northern AZ) but closer to SLC, UT than to Phoenix and closer to Las Vegas then SLC.

Breaking up by growing zones would make sense for discussing how and what to grow, but that isn't really the purpose of the new sections...is it? And, there are already sections for many specifics, like cold hardy bananas.

We can see, from the map, were we all live. If we have a section set up to encourage events...it may just encourage events.

just my 2 cents

aaron

Yes, the core main reason is numerous. This would be for events and to also share techniques, compare notes, trade corms, etc.
I posted it here for discussion and every single reply has added another facet to the bigger picture. I'm not sure the best way to go about this yet.

MediaHound
08-08-2009, 08:06 PM
A nice can of worms you opened here, Jarred! Everyone has good opinions and to be honest, I'm not sure the best way to go. I need to think on it a bit.

Ditto, and agree 100%. I think its good to talk about and take the feedback and act accordingly, if at all.

MediaHound
08-08-2009, 08:07 PM
This all wasnt so long ago:
http://www.bananas.org/f5/increasing-membership-participation-7770-2.html
and look at this thread now.
We are really evoluting:ha::ha::ha:
:woohoonaner:

I was busy with my newborn when it was posted and did not yet read it, thanks for the link, reading now.

Rmplmnz
09-13-2009, 04:50 PM
I was contemplating this with my wife this morning at breakfast and speculated how beneficial geographic forums would be..California..Florida..etc.,…she replied that ZONES would be better as this would unite growers all over the world with the same climate zone.

I think it would be cool to have a ZONE 10 forum for tropical/sub-tropical climate topics in Zone 10 and above. Not sure how the other Zones would break out...but I am certain some of the members have some great ideas on this...

This would reduce some of the duplicate posting that is occurring more frequently resultant of the growth of the board.

Randy4ut
09-14-2009, 08:37 AM
I was contemplating this with my wife this morning at breakfast and speculated how beneficial geographic forums would be..California..Florida..etc.,…she replied that ZONES would be better as this would unite growers all over the world with the same climate zone.

I think it would be cool to have a ZONE 10 forum for tropical/sub-tropical climate topics in Zone 10 and above. Not sure how the other Zones would break out...but I am certain some of the members have some great ideas on this...

This would reduce some of the duplicate posting that is occurring more frequently resultant of the growth of the board.

Think this is a good idea, but only have one concern with it. If it is divided up into zones, there are so many other variables within a specific zone. I know that a "zone 8" here in the southeastern US, is a lot different than a "zone 8" in the pacific northwest. Not sure this would be beneficial since variabilities are so far ranging. (summer heat, annual rainfall, just to name two). It is so difficult to be able to section folks up from a growing standpoint.
Just my 2 cents worth....

Dalmatiansoap
09-14-2009, 08:45 AM
Generally is a good idea. We could finally see differences between US and Europe zones. There was so many debates about it. Are they equal or are they not equal. Something like "...to be or not to be..." issue.:ha::ha::ha:
Good idea anyway.
:woohoonaner:

Jack Daw
09-14-2009, 12:37 PM
Generally is a good idea. We could finally see differences between US and Europe zones. There was so many debates about it. Are they equal or are they not equal. Something like "...to be or not to be..." issue.:ha::ha::ha:
Good idea anyway.
:woohoonaner:
Gulf Stream would be an issue there, wouldn't it. It has different effects on both sides, Florida and Northern Spain/England.
Also humidity is a great problem in Mediterranean (Greece, Italy and Spain mostly)... etc etc. Those places are very difficult to compare.
Spain is also a place with the desertation tendency; a desert might form there within 40 years or less.

Rmplmnz
09-14-2009, 12:59 PM
Gulf Stream would be an issue there, wouldn't it. It has different effects on both sides, Florida and Northern Spain/England.
Also humidity is a great problem in Mediterranean (Greece, Italy and Spain mostly)... etc etc. Those places are very difficult to compare.
Spain is also a place with the desertation tendency; a desert might form there within 40 years or less.

Not really looking to "compare" different areas within the same zone...rather group topics by one of the most important growing attributes for Bananas..temperature.

The first thing to define would be what we would use as climate measurement...the most commonly referred to barometer is "The USDA Hardiness Zone".....there are others (Koppen, etc.,). There is no perfect way to divide the forums, geographic or otherwise. From a personal standpoint I have been pining for a Tropical/Sub-tropical forum....maybe we could add just one Forum "Zone 10" for topics related to USDA Hardiness Zone 10 and above. We all appreciate reading about/seeing bananas growing in better/ideal circumstances, i.e. the pics of the mammoth Musa Ingens.

http://www.bananas.org/f2/bananas-produce-biggest-p-stem-9079.html

We have a forum for "Cold Hardy Bananas"....how bout a forum "Tropical/Sub-Tropical"??

lorax
09-14-2009, 04:18 PM
Great suggestion, Rmplmnz - the challenges facing Tropical growers are very similar, regardless of our KG or USDA estimated zones. I have the same problems as John up in Mexico, similar ones to Cassie in the Dominican, and on the other side of the pond, as Tog in KL had. I think that a Tropical Zones forum would go a long way to address our common problems and whatnot.

Bob
09-14-2009, 04:46 PM
Great suggestion, Rmplmnz - the challenges facing Tropical growers are very similar, regardless of our KG or USDA estimated zones. I have the same problems as John up in Mexico, similar ones to Cassie in the Dominican, and on the other side of the pond, as Tog in KL had. I think that a Tropical Zones forum would go a long way to address our common problems and whatnot.

Dearest Beth, as much as I enjoy debating you at times, I would absolutely love to get just this sort of thing going on here. I'd enjoy "spying " on you guys and seeing what I might get out of it......much like I do the Europeans. Tog and I spoke of this often. I hope it comes to pass with lots of participation. In fact I'd hope that it would encourage more members from the tropics to come aboard and stay which is what we need here.

Rmplmnz
09-14-2009, 10:38 PM
More tropical members = more banana supply for the board....many people in the tropics compost more pups than the average board member grows....be nice to get some of the more unusual bananas spread throughout the membership base...

I used to love to read Bill Lessard's old paper catalog (over and over).....and dream of growing the many tastee bananas....there are many varieties that we can all share experiences vicariously through members in the true tropics.

:birthdaynana:

bananadude
09-15-2009, 10:50 PM
WOW....talk of splitting up into Zones/Regions...who thought of this one.....I thought Bananas.Org. was a forum based DISCUSSION group....putting all people...from all zones together to share...learn and grow thru each others...knowledge and experience!

Mind you...this is my opinion....But I get the impression from reading the threads in regards to all of this...is that some people don't like the repeat posts from people, ....Now how stupid is this......at one time u yourself was a new person on Bananas.Org....and u posted questions...questions that were probably already posted....reposting...is beneficial....especially with ever changing techniques taking place!

I get the feeling that the warmer zones just want 2 b in a group all by themselves....you know I get the impression that they think they are...well just all that, if u know what I mean...(I think they make a pill 4 it) and let me add....the bananas you grow in the warmer zones...I can grow successfully right here in Zone 5 Michigan ! Mind you, it won't get as big and I have to dig the suckers up....but it can be grown here! My experience from growing non hardy bananas can be beneficial to many and maybe even you down there in the warmer zones...sharing ones experiences is what this group based forum is all about!

By splitting up into zones/regions would stop the knowledge flow...the flow of new improved beneficial techniques and the ability to learn from the experiences of each others success and failures and the ability to grow! Why change something that is not broken...just for a few!

Isn't this what Bananas.Org. is all about...LEARNING - SHARING - GROWING BANANAS!


Mind u...this is my opinion!

BRIAN

Rmplmnz
09-15-2009, 11:01 PM
WOW....talk of splitting up into Zones/Regions...who thought of this one.....I thought Bananas.Org. was a forum based DISCUSSION group....putting all people...from all zones together to share...learn and grow thru each others...knowledge and experience!

Mind you...this is my opinion....But I get the impression from reading the threads in regards to all of this...is that some people don't like the repeat posts from people, ....Now how stupid is this......at one time u yourself was a new person on Bananas.Org....and u posted questions...questions that were probably already posted....reposting...is beneficial....especially with ever changing techniques taking place!

I get the feeling that the warmer zones just want 2 b in a group all by themselves....you know I get the impression that they think they are...well just all that, if u know what I mean...(I think they make a pill 4 it) and let me add....the bananas you grow in the warmer zones...I can grow successfully right here in Zone 5 Michigan ! Mind you, it won't get as big and I have to dig the suckers up....but it can be grown here! My experience from growing non hardy bananas can be beneficial to many and maybe even you down there in the warmer zones...sharing ones experiences is what this group based forum is all about!

By splitting up into zones/regions would stop the knowledge flow...the flow of new improved beneficial techniques and the ability to learn from the experiences of each others success and failures and the ability to grow! Why change something that is not broken...just for a few!

Isn't this what Bananas.Org. is all about...LEARNING - SHARING - GROWING BANANAS!


Mind u...this is my opinion!

BRIAN

Easy now...everyone's opinion is respected..I caution you to use words like "stupid" very carefully (if at all)...Jarred is soliciting input from members in regards to "add more dedicated forums"....not to split the board...

I advise you to read the Banana.org rules...

Bananas.org Rules (http://www.bananas.org/rules.php#3)


3. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. We take politeness very seriously. You are welcome to challenge others points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully.

harveyc
09-16-2009, 12:38 AM
There you go, Chris, starting a fight! Just kidding.

Maybe Brian can related to a cool guy from zone 9 better than some snob from zone 10....Brian, your comments are out of place with the intent of this thread. It seems odd that you mention the forum being about open discussion and then go bashing someone. Enough said.

Like I wrote before, I think we have enough sub-forums (too many, honestly). But I do prefer the idea of climate zones instead of global regions, etc. On the other hand, I think our Cold Hardy Banana session is as much of something zone specific that we need.

bananadude
09-16-2009, 06:34 AM
APPARENTLY U DID NOT READ MY POST CORRECTLY....Like I said....this is my opinion...my opinion is not directed to or at any certain person....it was directed at many-many posts....with expressing ones opinion....helps to make things grow...makes change...I don't think I was rude...I WAS STATING MY OPINION.....I feel the word stupid is very right....that's my opinion....[COLOR="Red"] THE WORD STUPID WAS NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE...IT IS MY PERSONNAL OPINION about a topic........my opinion which is just as important as anyone elses....is being proved correctly already by your response!

Rmplmnz
09-16-2009, 07:00 AM
APPARENTLY U DID NOT READ MY POST CORRECTLY....Like I said....this is my opinion...my opinion is not directed to or at any certain person....it was directed at many-many posts....with expressing ones opinion....helps to make things grow...makes change...I don't think I was rude...I WAS STATING MY OPINION.....I feel the word stupid is very right....that's my opinion.... THE WORD STUPID WAS NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE...IT IS MY PERSONNAL OPINION about a topic........my opinion which is just as important as anyone elses....is being proved correctly already by your response!

I read your post very thoroughly..twice...and there are some fairly strong inflections directed at specific (one directly at me) people within the board..and some at groups of people.

[COLOR="Red"]WOW
some people don't like the repeat posts from people, ....Now how stupid is this......at one time u yourself was a new person on Bananas.Org....and u posted questions...questions that were probably already posted....[COLOR="Red"]

you know I get the impression that they think they are...well just all that, if u know what I mean...(I think they make a pill 4 it) and let me add....the bananas you grow in the warmer zones...I can grow successfully right here in Zone 5 Michigan !


Mind u...this is my opinion!

BRIAN

Adding just my opinion is the equivalent of saying "just joking" after making a disparaging comment about someone (i.e. "Stupid").

This is not a competition..we are all here to make new friends.

Kudos to your on your Northern Success.

Take a chill pill dude.

Do you play tennis?

mbfirey
09-16-2009, 07:08 AM
No division is going to be perfect-(everyone knows that zones are different from region to region) but zones have more in common than do some of these regions. For example: All of Flordia is incuded with the southeast- Most of Flordia is zone 9 and up, while the rest of the South-east is zone 7/8 for the most part. It would probably make me cry to see some of the beautiful things that can be grown in southern Flordia that wouldn't stand a chance here in SC. As far as USA goes- southern FL, Southern CA, and Hawaii- are really in a class by themselves as far as tropical plants go. I don't want to exclude anyone, but if they are in the same "group" you'll still have a lot of posts with "xxx hardy in xxx area" within the group. You could probably lump SC, NC, GA, MI, AL,TN together without much problem.

mckoinld
09-16-2009, 11:42 AM
OK Since we are throwing opinions out there here is one. Before deciding HOW to divide things up there needs to be some clear idea as to what we want to acomplish. What is the goal?

Do we want to facilitate a geographical oriented section to make it easier for face to face meetings, discussions and exchanges?

Do we want to share and cmpare experiences based on growing conditions.
Not just zones but overall conditions including humidity, pests, soils, and even atmosphere maintained in hot/green houses for those who use them?

There are a lot of good ideas on this post. All of them worthy of consideration but there are all over the map on what they will accomplish.

coast crab
09-16-2009, 12:17 PM
Wow, this has gotten HOT!!!

As a newbie to this org, here are a couple of my thoughts:

First, you can't stop or even slow down the repeats. It is just the nature of this beast and happens on all forums my partner and I belong to regardless of the topic (Bonsai, Arisaema, Amorphophallus, Trillium, Banana, Cadillac, Imperial, Thunderbird, Oldsmobile - that's our house). Every new person that joins (and that's what we want, right?) is going to ask a question that's been asked before. We've all "been there and done that". What we can do, as others here have done for me, is provide a link to a previous thread that addresses their question instead of starting over completely - or worse, ignoring it as we saw a month ago or so.

We may actually be able to cut back on the repeats if there were less forums to choose from. For instance, there is specific forum for ornamental bananas that has a total of 6 threads on it. Go to the main discussion forum and take a look at the number of siam ruby and ae ae threads that are there. Why aren't those threads being posted to ornamentals? Because the most traffic is in the main discussion, and if you want something seen and responded to you better put it there because we use it as a "catch all" forum. Do ornamental and species really need to be seperate forums? Do propogation techniques and seed germination need to be seperate? Half of the threads in the for sale and auction forum are [wanted], yet just below this is a wanted forum! And aren't both of these forums already covered by the "classifieds" in the menu bar at the top of the page? Am I missing something? There is so much overlap that I have had to post the same thing in different forums so the right people would find it and answer a question. In other online clubs, moderaters will move threads when they end up where they should not be, but there are too many options here.

I can see the logic behind both sides of the zone split thing, but I would end up in "no mans' land". Here on the northern Gulf Coast (and the southern Atlantic Coast) we may not have a zn 10 and higher 365 day per year growing season, but we can grow most every banana y'all grow and almost as well. Maybe a little smaller and slower, but we do just fine here, thank you. On the immediate coast we may lose a few winter months of growth and our foliage to frost, but I can't remember the last time I lost pstems to a freeze, but just a few dozen miles inland things change fast. My clump of ice cream is putting out its second flower of the year now. Will it amount to anything? Probably not, but that's not why I grow bananas - its just a perk when it works out. You folks growing bananas in pots or worse - digging them up to store in a basement for the winter - amaze me. That's what I call dedication! I rarely go to the cold hardy forum, but actually replied to a siam ruby post there (the least cold hardy banana I have)! As for the container forum, this doesn't factor into my life at all except for some new plants I potted to establish and give a little extra protection to this winter. Just like the zone 9 and 10 guys, bananas in containers (full time) just doesn't apply to me. Could the cold hardy and container forums be combined and dedicated to folks growing bananas outside the "comfort zone"?

I'm eager to see how this works out, my guess is that we'll survive either way. Sorry for the blah blah blah.

Russell

mckoinld
09-16-2009, 12:57 PM
I agree that re posting is a reality. It's going to happen. But maybe it's not such a bad thing. Reposting is like composting of ideas. You put them on the pile, they settle and mellow, then when they are turned back to the surface the have the chance to become more useful than they were at the beginning.

lorax
09-16-2009, 12:59 PM
WOW....talk of splitting up into Zones/Regions...who thought of this one.....I thought Bananas.Org. was a forum based DISCUSSION group....putting all people...from all zones together to share...learn and grow thru each others...knowledge and experience!

Mind you...this is my opinion....But I get the impression from reading the threads in regards to all of this...is that some people don't like the repeat posts from people, ....Now how stupid is this......at one time u yourself was a new person on Bananas.Org....and u posted questions...questions that were probably already posted....reposting...is beneficial....especially with ever changing techniques taking place!

I get the feeling that the warmer zones just want 2 b in a group all by themselves....you know I get the impression that they think they are...well just all that, if u know what I mean...(I think they make a pill 4 it) and let me add....the bananas you grow in the warmer zones...I can grow successfully right here in Zone 5 Michigan ! Mind you, it won't get as big and I have to dig the suckers up....but it can be grown here! My experience from growing non hardy bananas can be beneficial to many and maybe even you down there in the warmer zones...sharing ones experiences is what this group based forum is all about!

By splitting up into zones/regions would stop the knowledge flow...the flow of new improved beneficial techniques and the ability to learn from the experiences of each others success and failures and the ability to grow! Why change something that is not broken...just for a few!

Isn't this what Bananas.Org. is all about...LEARNING - SHARING - GROWING BANANAS!


Mind u...this is my opinion!

BRIAN


All that I will say to this is that prior to moving to Zone 13+ I was from Northern Canada and grew bananas outdoors there (ornamentals) in USDA 2a. My hope for a tropical-specific forum stems from the fact that a Michigan grower will likely never face the problem of deterring a tapir or javelina from eating his plants, whereas for me it is a common problem, as it is for anybody in the tropical forests of mainland South America. Equally, I never have to worry about overwintering anything here - just about protecting it from seasonal flooding. As Bob points out, I and others in my general geographic region compost more pups than many of you grow.

Splitting us into geographic regions doesn't stop the flow of information - the Europe group has proven this - and it actually increases the support network for those of us who don't live in North America. Certainly it also opens the doors to more banana trade within the entire Society, not just our respective zones or regions.

Those are my 2 cents on the matter.

Rmplmnz
09-16-2009, 01:31 PM
I agree that re posting is a reality. It's going to happen. But maybe it's not such a bad thing. Reposting is like composting of ideas. You put them on the pile, they settle and mellow, then when they are turned back to the surface the have the chance to become more useful than they were at the beginning.

Absolutely reposting on an existing topic can be beneficial. When members are referring to eliminating some of the reposts the reference relates to "continuing existing threads as opposed to starting new threads". That way experienced and new members alike can leverage off of the time and effort that has already been expended on the topic. There are a few threads I enjoy (i.e. African Rhino Horn) to dig up and add information (as opposed to re-typing the exact same information on a new thread).

One of the primary motivations in having multiple forums is to catalog topics (think library) to make information more readily available to members (as opposed to Craiglist style threads that people would have to haphazardly search through). I am personally amazed at the attention and effort put forth by the many experienced board members. The key is to how best to present this information "for everyone's benefit". Hence, sub-dividing the information in to forums. Russ raised some good points....we should look at the cataloging of the forums on an overall basis.....the problem is as the board grows this would require reducing or moving existing forums and threads (not an easy assignment).

The difficulty of on-line forums is that we rarely have the opportunity meet and differences can be misinterpreted and people get offended. I have been fortunate enough to meet many of the members of the board in person and the experiences have been amazing..the most polite and generous folks I have ever socialized with.

hammer
09-16-2009, 01:46 PM
What about the people say who live in zone7 but has a very big greenhouse and grows banana plants from zone 10 does these mean they will be cut off from information.

mbfirey
09-16-2009, 01:52 PM
Reposting is also good because information changes- how many posts are there about cold-hardy "tropicals"?- something that wasn't thought to be hardy- might be tried out and be added to the list. New plants come along all the time, discovered and hybrids. Anyone should, of course, search past posts before asking a question, but a year-old post may not be completely correct anymore. As long as it's not the exact same question-every couple days- reposting is a good thing.

mbfirey
09-16-2009, 02:06 PM
What about the people say who live in zone7 but has a very big greenhouse and grows banana plants from zone 10 does these mean they will be cut off from information.

Not at all, but a person with zone 10 plants in a green house would get a much better and aplicable answer posting in a section devoted to zone 10, than in a section frequented more often by people from Zone 7-8.

This wouldn't cut anyone off at all- you can go to the European section right now if you want- though the info might not apply as well to you as a section about your specific area.

If you look at a lot of the posts- you'll see a lot of "does "X" plant grow in "X" area- zones might not perfect but it's not bad place to start.

hammer
09-16-2009, 02:41 PM
I think it would be a good thing to get info from members in in my area but they should have old post for info and some of the information is hard to find sometimes you can dig and dig and still cant find it maybe its just me.

D.C._Palms_N_Sports_Fan
12-15-2009, 10:19 AM
Wow, this has gotten HOT!!!

As a newbie to this org, here are a couple of my thoughts:

First, you can't stop or even slow down the repeats. It is just the nature of this beast and happens on all forums my partner and I belong to regardless of the topic (Bonsai, Arisaema, Amorphophallus, Trillium, Banana, Cadillac, Imperial, Thunderbird, Oldsmobile - that's our house). Every new person that joins (and that's what we want, right?) is going to ask a question that's been asked before. We've all "been there and done that". What we can do, as others here have done for me, is provide a link to a previous thread that addresses their question instead of starting over completely - or worse, ignoring it as we saw a month ago or so.

We may actually be able to cut back on the repeats if there were less forums to choose from. For instance, there is specific forum for ornamental bananas that has a total of 6 threads on it. Go to the main discussion forum and take a look at the number of siam ruby and ae ae threads that are there. Why aren't those threads being posted to ornamentals? Because the most traffic is in the main discussion, and if you want something seen and responded to you better put it there because we use it as a "catch all" forum. Do ornamental and species really need to be seperate forums? Do propogation techniques and seed germination need to be seperate? Half of the threads in the for sale and auction forum are [wanted], yet just below this is a wanted forum! And aren't both of these forums already covered by the "classifieds" in the menu bar at the top of the page? Am I missing something? There is so much overlap that I have had to post the same thing in different forums so the right people would find it and answer a question. In other online clubs, moderaters will move threads when they end up where they should not be, but there are too many options here.

I can see the logic behind both sides of the zone split thing, but I would end up in "no mans' land". Here on the northern Gulf Coast (and the southern Atlantic Coast) we may not have a zn 10 and higher 365 day per year growing season, but we can grow most every banana y'all grow and almost as well. Maybe a little smaller and slower, but we do just fine here, thank you. On the immediate coast we may lose a few winter months of growth and our foliage to frost, but I can't remember the last time I lost pstems to a freeze, but just a few dozen miles inland things change fast. My clump of ice cream is putting out its second flower of the year now. Will it amount to anything? Probably not, but that's not why I grow bananas - its just a perk when it works out. You folks growing bananas in pots or worse - digging them up to store in a basement for the winter - amaze me. That's what I call dedication! I rarely go to the cold hardy forum, but actually replied to a siam ruby post there (the least cold hardy banana I have)! As for the container forum, this doesn't factor into my life at all except for some new plants I potted to establish and give a little extra protection to this winter. Just like the zone 9 and 10 guys, bananas in containers (full time) just doesn't apply to me. Could the cold hardy and container forums be combined and dedicated to folks growing bananas outside the "comfort zone"?

I'm eager to see how this works out, my guess is that we'll survive either way. Sorry for the blah blah blah.

Russell

It HAS gotten HOT in here! Like a naner in a hothouse, this thread is taking off!:ha:

I even sense a little bit of "Zone Envy" here and there! LOL! C'mon, admit it, MOST of us have at least a little bit of zone envy!


Anyway... on to the topic at hand:
I tend to agree with alot of what I have quoted above. I tend to be of the mind set "if it aint broke, don't fix it" when it comes to things that work, and for the time I have been reading and posting here (and admittedly I could participate alot more and will try to do so) everything seems to work pretty darn good the way it is. That is not to say there cant always be room for improvements. Reposting is inevitable on any forum, it just happens, and I am one of those that do not think its a bad thing at all. Granted, there may be times when a topic gets reposted too often, and if that happens, well, perhaps its just time to combine the threads on the same topic sticky that topic for a while, or direct people to use the forum search function.

I agree with the poster I quoted about the overlap, and about how the forums are used. Perhaps too many "choices" are not t he best thing. I have noticed some of the same things they pointed out in their post. It seems to me that some of the forums here could be pared down by combining them into one singular section. For instance, the "classifieds" as pointed out above. Also another thing that has proven very effective on another message board I post on is user moderation. People who have the time to, and participate regularly, even if not posting all the time, make great candidates to "moderate" forums, and by moderate, mostly that means making sure that threads get moved to the appropriate place.

As far as zones go, well lets take a look at zones. I think zones can be somewhat lumped together here. Here is my way of thinking. 1,2,3, in one group, 4,5,6, in another, 7,8,9 in another, and 10+ in another. I know there is ALWAYS going to be variations, and "edges" of zones, so some may have to visit a couple areas, but I think a grouping like that addresses the vast majority of folks since that type of zone breakdown seem to me to have more in common than not. For instance, 7,8,9, while zone 9 can gro more than zone 7 for sure, one BIG thing they all have in common is frost / freezes. While zone 9 gets considerably less than zone 7, it is still a major component of most in those zones in as far as overwintering, / cold hardiness, protection methods. zones 1,2,3, all freeze and freeze rather deeply, but zone 3 probably has a longer and HOTTER summer. Zones 10+ are all much more tropical in nature, and frost / freezes are relatively rare. I personally live in an area that is a cusp. Its 7b, and also 8A. Some microclimates here are easily 8A, and some even approach 8B. However, we CAN, and do once in a while experience 7b, and 7A cold, but generally given the city and its urban heat island and the influence of the tidal river here, are a rather warm 7B or cold 8A over all. There are microclimates here where Serenoa repens grows outdoors, unprotected, and does just fine. Saw Palmetto, which isnt nearly as cold hardy as Sabal Minor, or even Butia butia capitata. I have also seen someone overwinter a Red Abyssinian here in a micro climate. I think some lines need to be drawn in terms of breakdowns, and inevitably that is going to leave some having to use multiple forums more often than others, which is not a bad thing at all IMHO. I dont think you want to compartmentalise too much anyway because while that may be "Convenient" it may also curb or slow the spread / dissemination of experience, knowledge....etc

General growing conditions are great, but so are geographic locations for trading, swap meets, local / regional clubs or groups..etc.. but perhaps that could be covered under one subsection, which is further devided by state, say a sub forum called "state forums' where each state has its own forum and people can "connect" on here via posting in their particular states forum. This solves the whole breaking down the country into regions or sections, and also provides MOST, with a viable forum to go to post gatherings in their area/ region. There are going to be some who live in places that are on state lines, but that can be overcome by posting a "metropolitan area's gathering, in two or three different states forums as needed, to cover that cities entire metro area.

If you are going to break it down into regions such as your map in the initial post, while I cant speak for others in other areas, I can say that many people in the mid Atlantic states prefer to be called just that. Im not too sure the good folks of NJ, DE, MD, even PA want to be lumped in with the northeast or new england, nor do they want to be lumped in with the southeast. There are even those in NC, who prefer to be referred to as a mid Atlantic state. From what I have seen, the mid Atlantic states are largely defined as, NJ, DE, MD, DC, VA, and often NC and PA are included. But I digress, there is ALOT of climate / zone disparity in just that one region.

So many great ideas in here! I think the big question lies in Mkoinld's post a few posts back and is spot on. Specific goals should be set as to what exactly we want to accomplish here. The goals, and which direction we want to go I think MUST come first, and once those are sussed out, then we can really think about how to go about the best way of attaining those set goals, and making the appropriate changes to meet them.

Just thought I would put my .02 in. Sorry to be so long winded!

I hope something I said here someone found worthwhile! Happy holidays everyone!

momoese
12-15-2009, 10:44 AM
If you are like me and you visit the forum daily then you only need click on the "daily posts" or "new posts" button. Anything new shows up regardless what section it's in.