OCBLUE

Banana Gallery - My bananas as of Jan 2020 - are they ready to be picked

new to growing bananas, are these ice-cream ready to pick? I made the files smaller, and now they uploaded

I don't recall how to link to my photos

Iowa

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Growing Musa Orinoco since 1993 - Added 2018-Basjoo, Zebrina' Rojo, Ensete Red Abyssinian - Added 2019-Goldfinger - Added 2020-Kokopo (Short Cycle), Double (Mahoi), Highgate, Super Dwarf Cavendish - Added 2021-Pisang Ceylon(Mysore), Musa Margarita, Ensete Ventricosum - Added 2023 - Siam Ruby

beam2050

in your profile

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

OCBLUE

the photos that you found in my profile were the original, when i planted the bananas. I have since made my file size smaller, and they are now linked via my post above. Thanks

Banana Gallery - My bananas as of Jan 2020 - are they ready to be picked

beam2050

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npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Akula

Those bananas can fill out more i.e. get a rounder look, softening the hard angles/corners. You have plenty of green leaves so they will get bigger. Best case wait until one begins to turn yellow. If hard freeze is forecast you can cut the bunch and they will probably turn yellow in a week or two after harvesting. More time = bigger bananas.

Looking good!

OCBLUE

thank you very much for the input. It is very helpful. We will wait. (When you say "green leaves", are you referring to the leaves down further on the banana shoot (or whatever it is called)? Or, are you referring to the main plant itself? It is my understanding that i need to cut down (remove) the main plant AFTER the bananas are harvested. It is already leaning a little, but is being partially held up by several pups all around it. I plan to leave most of, if not all of, the pups. We want the area to become a jungle (i mean that loosely). We live in Suburban Orange County, and we planted the bananas ... not knowing how they would do. They have done very well. Numerous pups. And we have another smaller plant about 10 feet away.

Akula

The main plant has green leaves as opposed to say a plant that has been through a light freeze/frost which kills the leaves (turns brown) but not the main pstem (trunk). Without green leaves further development of the bunch is very, very, very slow. You are in good shape.

Yeah, cut the plant down after harvesting. It has completed its life cycle and is finished. The pups will take the main plant's place in the coming year. Some people like to keep maybe 1/2 the main plant for a while to power the pups like a batterry. I cut it down and chop it up to return the nutrients to the soil. Takes a couple months for it to break down in Florida during the winter.