sunfish

I have had this bag of0-0-27 sitting around for years, thats why I wanted to use it up. So I am looking for a ph aruond 7 ?. Maybe this is why my blueberries have done pretty good. Thanks for the help.

Richard

The goal for bananas is 6.2 to 6.4. Be careful with slower release minerals: you need to stop applying when the pH is headed in the right direction and wait for weeks or months until it stabilizes.

Oh yeah, they are loving it at pH of 5 to 5.5.

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Scot Nelson

Gypsum. It is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. Good soil conditioner, won't raise the soil pH as will the use of ag lime.

damaclese

I'm sure some one will not agree with this but when Banana leafs come out incomplete like i see in your picture this is most often a sign of calcium deficiency and brown dry sections on a newly emerging leaf that has not unfurled yet is often a sign of drought

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harveyc

Here is the chart I referred to earlier which displays pretty well why I don't think it's good to have pH as low as 5.0

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sunfish

Two of my bananas have the problem with dry brown sections. In the photos you can see one has this problem and the other dosn't.These plants are no more than four feet apart. So I am guessing it has something to do with the root system since they both receive the same amount of water.

Patty in Wisc

I save egg shells & crush them into fine peices. Yesterday I mixed them into the top of soil just for a little bit of calcium - in case they need it.

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Bob

Leave it to practical Patty, good idea why waste.

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ewitte

I will have to remember that next time I have real eggs (I've been buying egg whites since thats all I use).

Richard

Tony,

As Scot pointed out, you have leaf deformity from Calcium deficiency. Note that from the classic diagram Harvey posted that with a pH of 5.0 it is very difficult for the plants to obtain Calcium from the soil. Further, the browning on the leaf edges is likely from the acidic condition.

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Lagniappe

I have a blender that's used strictly for making kalkwasser from eggshells. I was pouring them into my worm bed in hopes of getting calcium enriched castings, but I think it would be great to water with as well.
I use a 100 gallon horse trough to dilute tea and molasses which I spray onto my beds and lawn. I'll try pouring some of this into the mix with the next application.

Patty in Wisc

Ewitte, you must be sensitive to eggs like me. Sometimes I eat them fried over easy & will get sick on the not cooked egg yolks, but not all the time.
Richard, it was Pauly that mentioned calcium deficiency.

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Patty in Wisc

Actually I mash them w/ mortar & pestle.
Pete, what is a kalkwasser? I never heard of that & it's not in my dictionary.
Molasses is a new one too. I heard of pouring old coca cola & sugar around but not that. Makes sense-- they must love sweet stuff.

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Lagniappe

It's German for lime water or calcium water. I only did it this way because I couldn't get the particle size I wanted without adding water and my esspresso mill is too small.

Richard

Notice that it is possible to have too much Calcium: Guide to Micronutrients

Generally you would want to limit Calcium to about 1/5th the amount of Nitrogen and no more than 3 times the amount of Magnesium -- measured by net weight.

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jmoore

For those people that live in hard water areas (for those that don't know the level of dissolved calcium carbonate in the water being very high) is it still necessary to add calcium if the plants are watered with tap water providing the pH is low enough?

Richard

No. Calcium deficiency is rare in continental soils or commercial soil mixes. Calcium supplements are most often used in soil-less media or for calcium-loving plants such as cacti.

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sandy0225

I think it's evironmental/stress. I occasionally get signs like this on some of my bananas in the spring, one here and there will be affected in a greenhouse full. They are all getting the same care/ fertilizer/ ph adjustment. I've found that a ph around 6 works well around here for bananas. Fertilizer changes during the season. higher temps=more fertilizer up to 300 ppm, lower temps = less fertilizer down to 50-100 ppm in mid winter. Same with water, more temp=more water, less temp=less water. You can adjust as a hobbyist with white vinegar, just add a few Tablespoons to your watering water to change the ph for cheap. Some nitrogen fertilizers will also cause changes in Ph. It sounds like you've already done enough to your banana for now. I'd give it a rest and flush it out really well with some regular tap water for a while a couple of times a week. Maybe for a month or so. Then check your ph again and do something accordingly.
also has it been windy there? or was it windy there right before this happened? I've found that sometimes wind can affect a stressed banana like that. It takes a while to show up sometimes.

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sunfish

No high winds but we had two weeks of overcast. The problem is random some plants not effected at all.I am going to follow your advice. No fert. just water for awhile. Thanks

sunfish

New leaf on plant looking good.




This is caused by one leaf growing inside the other. I have this problem with a few plants.The leaves are unable to unfurl.