Fertilizers for Florida
 

Hello everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. I just planted 6 different bananas and 5 are shooting out new leaves and I’m still waiting on the last (corm) to root. For the plants that are starting to grow I would like to begin applying fertilizer. I have conducted a little research and have a few ideas. I live in southwest Florida and I would like to see if anyone has figured out some great local/regional options to procure fertilizer that is both good for bananas and you don’t pay out the nose for shipping. I thank you in advance for your wisdom. :ukkibannana:

Re: Fertilizers for Florida
 

A lot of the palm fertilizer that is sold in Florida is 8-2-12 + 4Mg and it should perform fine for you. Being on sandy soil I would strongly recommend using composted manure. You might have really good luck using fish hydrolysate as well. The key with sandy soil is not putting out all of your fertilizer at once. You are probably looking at putting out 8-9 lbs of fertilizer per mat per year. Depending on how warm it is where you are I might consider only fertilizing in the winter if you get a lot of rain. Otherwise 1 lbs per month March-November and during the rainy season I'd think about putting out 1/4 lb per week because if we get 4-5 inches of rain one week you will lose all the fertilizer.

Re: Fertilizers for Florida
 

Fixing the sandy soil situation would be my first priority if you plan to be there for any length of time. Layering the soil with compost, leaves, manure, mulch, etc will build up a nice flora/fauna conducive to fixing nutrients, the going being that your added fertilizing and regular irrigation gives you much more bang for your buck. Soil amendments are free if you call around; never seen a stable charge for removal of their surplus organic material.

I've done this approach myself; I'm about half an hour east of Tampa.

Re: Fertilizers for Florida
 

I second that approach!

Re: Fertilizers for Florida
 

An easy way to measure out fert by the pound is to use a 16 oz plastic drink glass. You know, the red or blue ones used for get togethers. A full cup weighs a pound. I buy 6-3-16 with minors for my naners from Diamond R. They have various locations in so Fla and sell to the public as well as the grower. Great prices --- like 24 bucks for 50 lbs --- by the bag or by the pallet.:woohoonaner: If you don't have a Diamond-R near you look for a local AG supplier.

Re: Fertilizers for Florida
 

The unfortunate thing about most urban residential soil in Florida, is that it is not native soil. It is usually some kind of fill sand brought in and it's primary purpose is to drain really well.

Re: Fertilizers for Florida
 

I am going to clarify what I mean because I read it twice and confused myself. If you are in LaBelle, Lehigh, Port Charlotte or Venice, I wouldn't fertilize between December and February unless you get some leaching rains. If you are on Pine Island, Ft, Myers, or Naples then go ahead and Fertilize during the winter.

Re: Fertilizers for Florida
 

Wow. Thank you thank you everyone. This is helpful and I love all the input. I live in Fort Myers and straddle the 9b/10a line. My soil I believe is loamy fine sand (i believe) and it holds moisture well. In the more compacted areas (right up against the house) it does not drain well. But in the sloping areas it seems to drain great.

Because of the potential drainage issues in some areas, I've placed my bananas in raised beds. I constructed the beds by roto-tilling composted manure into the native soil, then added 6-12" rich gardening soil with high mulch content and will top it off with pine bark mulch. Hopefully that’s a decent place to start. The naners seem to love is so far.