bananimal

The SH 3640 bunch had finished ripening when I returned from Orlando yesterday.

Had a few with breakfast, and I must say - this one is definitely a keeper.

Now I know what NANAMAN was talking about. Fantastic texture and taste.

Everybody --- you got to get you one of these SH 3640's!

Tastes better than most.

Jack Daw

First I've got to get myself a farm in the tropics. Then SH-3640.
But it's on my list. This is one of the Honduras cultivars, right?
Did it have any struggling in Florida? How many hands did it yield?

__________________
Thnx to Marcel, Ante, Dr. Chiranjit Parmar and Francesco for the plants I've received.



Zeitgeist - Corporatocracy 101 (~2hrs)

Zeitgeist - Moving Forward (~2.5hrs)

Worm_Farmer

Very nice picture, how fast did they all turn yellow?

bananimal

Mike ------- They went from all green to all yellow in 5 days. They were hanging in the house for 2 weeks still green.

Jack --------- It's a Honduras standard hybrid. Has been thru trials in many countries. This first bunch had only 5 hands. It went thru 2 short freezes last winter and still produced a bunch. I attribute that to a change over to a new Ag supplier fertilizer blend 6-3-16. The take over pup, right now, has 3 inches on the caliper of the one that fruited and I expect better results if it makes it thru this winter.

The thing that also makes me optimistic for next year is I'm changing over to organic chicken litter as the main fertilizer. Another new discovery. And it's almost half the cost of the 6-3-16. We will see.

momoese

But does it taste like chicken?

DoctorSteve

Is it better than goldfinger?

Worm_Farmer

I did not know we have a Chicken farm in the area. Where are you finding it? From what I read, it would make good worm food. Just gotta find a local source.

Natureboy

Dan, how's the "cool-tolerance" in your experience (perhaps compared to Goldfinger or D. Namwah)? I haven't found much descriptive info on SH 3640.

__________________
Praying hands: a good way to thank God and a darn good banana, too!

Current varieties: Dwarf Namwah, FHIA-03 (Sweetheart), White Iholena, Maoli, Orinoco, Manzano (Apple), Praying Hands, Dwarf Brazilian, Pisang Raja, Rajapuri, Ice Cream (Blue Java), FHIA-01 (Goldfinger), Kandarian

bananimal

Yeah ---------- if you favor the posterior parts.


Just as good if not better. There is mention of it's cool tolerance in some of the trial data. It also flowers earlier thus avoiding the winter zap. It also has thicker skin than Gfinger, so no splitting. After a few more tastes I think I may rate it above FHIA 1. And that's saying something, since Gfinger has been my best performer/taster to date.

Richard

If Bioversity International is correct, the pedigree of SH-3640 it is a AAAB quadriploid with a pedigree of AAB Pome cv. Prata Ana x SH-3393.

I'm probably going to love it. So far the fruits I've tried of AAB cultivars are my favorites. I'm guessing the balbisiana influence gives it a bit more fruity taste.

__________________
Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

bananimal

The stuff I'm using now is made by Purdue AgriRecycle division. Two versions. Microstart 60 is 3-2-3 with minors for bananas, tomatoes, peppers, etc - all veggies.
Microstart 60 Plus is 7-2-2 with feathermeal for trees - avocado, peach, citrus, persimmon, etc.

Our local supplier is Diamond R in Ft Pierce. Microstart 60 is like 14 bucks for 50 lbs and Microstart 60 Plus is about double that for 50 lbs. Diamond R processes and rebags after they add cytasin and yucca. You won't see the Purdue name on the bag. You won't see cytasin or yucca printed either - just the code word organisan. Great price for great stuff.

I hear Homeless Depot and Lowes are also selling chicken litter in some locations under the name Cockadoodle Doo.

Another manuf is selling stuff called Chickity Doo.

Richard

The Microstart 60 is too low in potash for the listed plants. It should be supplemented with additional potash to achieve a net NPK of 3-2-4.5.
I would not use this formula on leafy veggies (e.g., lettuce, kale) it will cause them to bolt early.

The Microstart 60 Plus is also too low in potash. Add a potassium supplement to achieve:
For avocado, citrus, mango, and other near tropicals: 7-2-4.7
For persimmon, apple, pear, peach, and other pit fruits: 7-2-10.5.
In either case, use a maximum of 14.25 lbs per 5-yearold tree per year.

__________________
Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

venturabananas

SH 3640 is a half sib to both FHIA 1 and 18, which are full sibs. All three share dwarf Brazilian (Prata Ana) as their mother. Since I like dwarf Brazilian, FHIA 1, and FHIA 18, I'd have to think I'd like SH 3640, too, but I haven't tried it. Pitangadiego told me something along the lines of "if you already have FHIA 1 and 18, it's probably not worth devoting space to SH 3640 because it is so similar to them."

__________________

bananimal

Richard --------- I'm doing just that - adding potassium supplement with the higher K ratio 6-3-16. I don't bother with lettuce or kale anymore but I do know that my certif organic farm guy grows lots of leafy stuff with chicken 3-2-3. I'll ask about bolting. And his tomatoes are awesome. Especially the grafted ones with disease resistant rootstock. Those are part of a USDA trial run. All veggies are planted in raised beds in 100% compost in greenhouses.

Everything really changed for me when I found an Ag supplier with very affordable ferts close to home. Gotta be practical.

The rate recommended for the naners for 3-2-3 is 2 cups per mat every 2 weeks from March till end of Nov. Supplemented with K.

Richard

I agree.

Here's a way to be more practical. Your fruiting vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, bananas) and your pit and pome fruits (apples, pears, peaches, plums) all perform best with N to K ratios of 1 to 1.5. So you only need one of the 3-2-3 or 7-2-2, plus a potassium supplement. I would choose the 7-2-2 because your near-tropicals (citrus, avocado, etc.) would prefer the lower N to P ratio.

Fertilizer should be applied by weight, not volume unless someone has pre-calculated the volume knowing the density of the fertilizer.

To get a suitable mixture for your fruiting vegetables and deciduous fruit trees: for each 1 lb of 7-2-2 add 1+1/3 lbs of 6-3-16. This yields a mix that has an approximate N-P-K of 6.4-2.6-10 -- which has an N to K ratio of 1 to 1.5.

To get a mixture for your near-tropicals: for each 1 lb of 7-2-2 add 0.2 lbs of 6-3-16 to achieve approximately 6.8-2.2-4.3 -- which has an N to K ratio of 1 to 2/3.

In both cases (deciduous and near-tropical), the nominal application rate of these mixtures per 5-yearold tree is 7 lbs per tree per year, with a maximum rate of 14.5 lbs per year. This maximum is based on the trees' capacity for nutrients, and still way below toxicity.

__________________
Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

Caloosamusa

SH-3640 in SW FL grows more vigorously than does FHIA-1 & FHIA-18. The fruit tastes wonderful, with each pseudostem producing eight hands, each with 13 large fingers. Did I mention how good they taste? Much better tasting than FHIA-1 or 18, with much larger fruit than FHIA 1,(Length and width) (wider than FHIA-18).

SH 3640 takes cold temperatures much better than Dwarf Namwa and Goldfinger (FHIA-1).

venturabananas

Richard, don't these rates, especially the maximum rates, ignore the fact that your native soil also is probably providing some of these nutrients? For example, if you were working the piece of land that Nick has been working and you followed these recommendations, you'd be overdoing it on N because that soil is already so N-rich? If you were growing fruits for a living, wouldn't do a soil test and then decide what you needed to add?

__________________

venturabananas

Thanks Caloosa. Your raves about SH-3640 were one of the reasons why I've been interested in them. I wonder how much your results are specific to where you are growing them. In a study done in the Philippines, SH-3640 and FHIA-1 were about equally productive (bunch weight and time to harvest). FHIA-18 was a little less productive in both both weight and longer time harvest. I wonder if SH-3640 prefers a little more warmth than FHIA 1 and 18, which would make it better for you and worse for us here in cooler CA. I definitely want to try SH-3640 at some point, but I just don't have the space now.

__________________

Richard

The amounts I'm specifying are yearly consumption.

A five year-old under-fed fruit tree will have consumed all but trace amounts of N-P-K in the soil at root contact.

If I was growing fruits for a living, I would do soil tests before planting, then bring the soil up to balanced proportions (including micros and organics), then plant, and then apply the the above ratios of N:P:K in a complete fertilizer. I would also apply supplements at key times of the year.

As for the fruiting vegetables growing in the straight compost mix, we already know that each of the N, P, K provided by the compost will be less than 1%. So again the above ratios of N:P:K are appropriate.

Straight compost is better than some choices, but it is not a media I would choose for fruiting vegetables. The plants would do better if there was horticultural sand and either perlite or crushed rock pumice (1/4 inch) in the mix.

If I were growing tomatoes hydroponically, I would grow determinant varieties in a compact form. For this purpose N:P:K ratios of 4:4:7 are better suited.

__________________
Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

bananimal

Ken ----- Thanks -- I'm finding out later than you -- and I now agree with everything you said.

The rest of the bunch that couldn't be eaten in time just went in the freezer.

Dan