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Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Hey from south Georgia,
We own a property that has a 1.4 acre swamp on it. The water level during the rainy season is right at 18" - inches not feet, just dig a hole and it fills with water. My question: Will the bananas love it or hate it? Soil is sandy, some blue clay, peat. Oh yeah and my horses add some horsey manure daily. Okay, will the roots rot or grow like crazy? :2118: |
Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Bananas don't like waterlogged soil, but if the water table is 18 inches below then it shouldn't be much of a problem. Banana roots only extend to 2 feet below the surface. It may be beneficial to pile up some soil on top and plant them in that though.
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Plant them on mounds
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
I grow bananas next to Lake Okeechobee. My water table comes up higher than 18" every summer.Rt
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Hi Ipatelski,
do you have a first name? Surely Ipatelski is not it? Anyway, I have never had the opportunity to discuss their preference for moisture content in their soil with any bananas. :) However I have seen in the tropics many bananas at the edges of rice fields, no more than 5 or 10 feet away from open water tables clearly less than 18 inches from the top of soil level at the plants. These plants seemed to be thriving. A couple of caveats though: • They might have been specific cultivars, but I doubt that • Bananas do not react well to significant changes to their environment, although they always seem to recover. I would not plant them there, while the water table is relatively high, to give them time to adapt, while the water table rises. Also plants moved to soggy soils should have a good head of leaves, to enable them to disperse of excess moisture. Good luck! Olaf |
Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Ipatelski,
I am breeding bananas suited for low effective depth soils -especially the high water table and clay soil combo (about the worst that you can get!). Bananas can work. Use close parallel ditches into the water table. Six foot ditch spacing is adequate. Mulch heavily with aged clippings etc. Bananas are surface Feeders. AAs, AAAs, AAAAS, AABs do well... the key is to allow the upper water table to be oxygenated. I have Silk, Mysore, Thousand Fingers, 168-12, 3405-1, Pisang Mas, Musa acuminata malaccensis, Red Banana and Musa laterita doing exceptionally well. Under those conditions of well oxygenated upper water table even Musa balbisiana is growing and fruiting. I also have recently put in Ney Poovan and it seems to be fine. Monthan, Pelipita, Saba and Orinoco seem to need a bit more coaxing... but your soil is lighter than mine (by far!)... bananas appreciate low-bulk-density soils (not clays, like I have). Leaf-prune religiously. Fungal and bacterial banana pathogens thrive in moist environments...so please space your plants! hope this helps! shannon shannon.di.corse@gmail.com |
Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
I think being in zone 8 you will have problems come winter. Wet and warm is much different than wet and cold
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Hydroids property experiences high water tables and his bananas grow like crazy. I believe that his is seasonal but some times of the year if you walk across some of his yard where he is growing bananas you will get wet feet and the water level is very close to the surface. I'd guess less than a foot but he'd have to say for sure.
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Ipatel --- how many days a year do you have temps below 32 F? We are talking GA, right?
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
We are 18 miles from Florida on the Northern Mid Border. There were several days we hit 32 and below, but not for sustained periods of time like in the past. I mulched my bananas with loads of horse manure and hay. The leaves died back and then came back every time. Our swamp land seems to get colder because there is a lack of concrete and houses.
Linda Patelski:2715: |
Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Thanks, Linda, I like calling you that a lot better than "Ipatelski" :ha:
Olaf |
Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
I'm with Tony, I think the wetness is going to be a problem during winter given your climate. During summer, I bet they'll thrive.
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
One of the things that I've noticed is that bananas grown under wet conditions seem to make themselves a little hill as suckers start coming up higher and higher. 18" Is not something I would really worry about.
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
:pics::woohoonaner:
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
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I'm not sure that is going to help. I think it will just slow it (growth) down. As the corm grows and it produces pups it's mass increases. As a result it has to do one of two things. Compress (sink) the soil or push the soil off it's top as it swells in volume and the top of the corm gets closer to the soil level. The corm not a root doesn't lengthen as much as it swells. All of my older mats appear as if I planted them on little mounds. I know that it isn't the mulch as it breaks down into almost nothing. I'd leave the water flow as is if it is working for you. |
Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
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So when are you gonna post pics of your backyard again? How's Hydroids and your PK doing? Dan |
Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
Shrek ?
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Re: Is anyone growing near a swamp?
How about this for swampy conditions...
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