plantman532000

I was just wondering if anyone is growing bananas in hydroonics and how you are doing it. I do have just a few (5) varieties and only one (Little Prince) is in a hydro system. I have it in a 7.5 inch Interior Water Gardens pot.

Any tips on how to grow them well in a cold, northern (northern Pa., USA) area without a greenhouse would be welcome.

John

kgbenson

IMHO growing 'little prince' in hydro is missing out on the real benefits of hydro, namely immediate and massive availability of nutrients. Having said that the interior water gardens system is low tech though and is prolly a good choice for that cultivar, my little prince plants don't do anything in a massive way.

If you really want to do bananas in hydroponics I would go with a dwarf fruiting variety, dwarf cav, dwarf brazillion, mahoi etc. and stick it in: http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge.../megafarm.html

You might get by with http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...wergrower.html but it will get tight.

I had a super swarf in a similar system but instead of using an air lift to deliver nutrient it had a small aquarium pump. (here it is at a website that is 11 years old: http://www.geocities.com/k2benson/Ba.../Hydroban.html - rough and unfinished I know) Man that thing delivered the nutrient. I used maxigrow nutrients. http://www.generalhydroponics.com/ge...igro_1.5lb.pdf

Just watch the nutrient solution, bananas can strip it down to almost pure water in 4-7 days depending on their size and speed of growth.

It can be done. You will need some HID lighting. Many hydroponics stores have a banana in a bucket system just to show you how well the things work. You could make such a system by nesting a 3 gallon bucket inside a 5 gallon bucket and fiddling with a pump and asome tubing. Heck, you could link them and use a singel nutrient resevoir. I would be thinking 400 watts of metal halide light minimum once a banana gets some size. For that smaller one, a 150 or 200 wat bulb should do.

Keith

PS:

http://www.growingedge.com/community...p3?s=yes&q=703

http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/...php3?AID=30317 I have a copy of this is you want it. It is a nice article, but not mandatory.

http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/...php3?AID=10321

http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/...php3?AID=70456

http://www.uk-hydroponic.com/blog.html

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plantman532000

Little prince and Truly Tiny are both not what many people think of when they think 'bananas". That is, they are not massive and majestic plants. But I do enjoy them. I have one of the hydro systems you mentioned (I think the farm one) and it works well. I grew a dwarf banana in it a few years back, and would like to do so again, but I now have very limited space so I am trying the super dwarf types.

What do you think would be the best way to over winter a hydroponicly grown banana? Should I drain the system totally and let it stay dry and cool? Dark or light? This is the problem I had before, I couldn't get the plants to survive the winter, they all would rot on me.

With TT and LP I can treat them more like houseplants in my limited space.

plantman532000

Also, thanks for reminding me of Growing Edge magizine. I went thru my back issues and found the articles you mentioned. Now all I need is LOTS more room for the nanners!

Jacobtaylar

To grow banana you should prepare a green house indoor and then prepare for either hydroponic system or the aquaponics system. Here the nutrients and the fertilizers will play a big part and are necessary for the good grow of the banana.

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