TTP, Fred

Photos are in my photo album.

It was a whole lot easier than I had imagined. I made it out of 1-1/2" PVC. My wife had the great idea to spray paint them a very flat camo-green, and to also use a brown faux spray paint to help hide the grey cinderblocks. She also suggested putting caps on the tops (so wasps and other things can't get inside). If anyone needs any technical advice on this, please let me know.

So, for those that have grown this banana before, am I looking at not taking them off the tree until about 4 more months have passed?

Regardless, we're having a blast watching them develop.

MediaHound

Cool!
I usually spray mine green also:


I was just reading some old threads about these supports, I found a post by Jon (pitangadiego) where he suggests using wire through the ends to hold it onto the plant when the wind makes it sway.
It's a good idea and I'll start doing it, I have had some fall over when the wind blows it far enough the other way.

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Kylie2x

Very cool guys!! Great pic's!!!
Fred your wife is very smart!!! No need to encourage nasty wasps...LOL If you use the wire you can use drill a hole in the caps!

dablo93

I saw the pics, and the musas are looking very healthy! you'll get much fruit this year!
are they growing unprotected?

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hydrojeff

maybe instead of wire, try bungee cords, they will do the same job but not cut into the plant like wire

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Bananaman88

Good point, Jeff.

Bananaman88

Quote from TTP, Fred: "So, for those that have grown this banana before, am I looking at not taking them off the tree until about 4 more months have passed?"

TTP, no one answered your question. That has been my experience here in the Houston area, around 3-4 months. Others may have different experiences so hopefully someone else will share there experiences. If memory serves, last year my 'Orinoco' started blooming in late July-early August. When it still wasn't ripe by Thanksgiving or Christmas (can tremeber which but I think it was Christmas) , I cut it and brought it inside to ripen on top of the refrigerator. It took it a while before any started ripening so I used several of the bananas to make tostones and the rest I ate as they ripened and man were they good. Orinocos have a different texture than your normal dessert banana but I really liked the taste of them when they were nice and ripe. If you're interested in trying Orinoco I'd gladly trade you a pup for an Ice Cream pup.

TTP, Fred

Dablo,

I'm not sure what you mean by "unprotected."

sharpstick

here is my bamboo version of the same thing:
Picasa Web Albums - billy sharpstick - bananas
it is lashed at the crossing point with jute rope. a loop is at the top that acts as a crude pulley to adjust the rope that loops down for support of the stalk. hopefully this will prevent the tree from breaking in half and falling over like the last one did!
i was able to prop that one up though. i watched very carefully. (a previous one started to turn yellow and the next morning it had been devoured by unknown nocturnal assailants) as soon as the slightest sign of yellow appeared, i cut off that hand and took it indoors. i would put one or two bananas in a paper bag with an apple to ripen it in a day or two. this allowed me to space out the ripening.

stumpy4700

Why with an apple?

sharpstick

" * Most fruits, including bananas, ripen in essentially the same way. The key to ripening is the release of a gas called ethylene.

* Ethylene is released when something traumatic happens to the fruit -- like when it's picked, or the skin is pierced, or when a fungus or bacteria attacks it.

* When the ethylene is released, this "turns on" a bunch of enzymes in the fruit. These enzymes do all kinds of things, including helping to change starch into sugar."

"Bananas produce enough ethylene on their own, you can use them to ripen other fruits. If you put a banana in a paper bag and add to it, say, an unripe pear, the ethylene that the banana releases will also tell the pear to get to ripening."

stumpy4700

Great thanks for the info.

mskitty38583

it dosent work to great with citrus.....another science fair experiment that went...boom! lol!

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