Island Brah

With temps near Atlanta getting down to 33-35 this morning, It was time to wheel in the ones that are way too massive for the grow lights! This borderline freezing temp is only here for one morning and the low's won't be this low for at least another 3 weeks or so. major thorn in my side with a bunch hanging (I homemade wrapped the bunch and hoped for the best).

I wanted to share some pics since everyone has their own way of storing their bananas. I know there are a few threads of this method but hopefully this can help someone spark an idea for their own storage plans if they don't have a crawl space. I have a lot more bananas in pots under lights but this is how I store my larger ones.

These are tall Namwah, tall Orinoco, and Manzano. The tall Namwah in the forefront of the pic of them stacked in my garage and in the root ball pic was over 500lbs! It took me and two of my buddies to get it in...it was a bear. The height of these ranged 14-16 feet.

is it springtime yet??

__________________
Growing: Basjoo, Blue Java (The Real One), FHIA-01 American Goldfinger, Manzano, Tall Orinoco, Raja Puri (USDA TARS), Veinte Cohol (USDA TARS), Patupi, & SH-3640 High Noon (USDA TARS)

beam2050

wow

__________________
...................................................

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

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

edwmax

Double Wow ... show us what they look like next spring.

__________________

Checker55

Amazing!

Akula

Holy cow!!

I've got a monster namwah too and didn't even think this is a possibility. That's got to be one for the record books! Haha.

HMelendez

Amazing!.......Awesome job you did Nick!....

__________________

Annie6078OH

Wow! Great job! That's commitment!

Just thought I'd pass this along as an FYI to keep your eye on: I've also used straps and two of them started to cut into the p-stem a bit from the weight. I now put some Styrofoam between the strap and the stem – problem solved.

Again, great work!!

Island Brah

It was easier than it looks. Especially with a few buddies helping me lift them on the dolly lol. They worked for beer


Hey Annie, That's awesome you have success with this setup!

The straps cutting into the p-stems are exactly what I'm keeping an eye on. I used four 1 inch straps and the exercise ball under the p-stems to relieve some of the weight and evenly distribute it as much as possible.

I was thinking about using cardboard in between the strap and the p-stem but I didn't think I needed it since each one of the straps isn't holding a crazy amount of weight. I also used 4 straps to make sure the p-stems don't sag/curve. How many straps did you use?

When I think of styrofoam, it seams like that would crumble apart when I tighten the straps. What kind of styrofoam did you use? It sounds genius!

__________________
Growing: Basjoo, Blue Java (The Real One), FHIA-01 American Goldfinger, Manzano, Tall Orinoco, Raja Puri (USDA TARS), Veinte Cohol (USDA TARS), Patupi, & SH-3640 High Noon (USDA TARS)

Annie6078OH

You're lucky – I'm 5'3" and had to get them by myself down into my basement. Fortunately, mine weren't near as big as yours, but I swear one rootball/stem weighed like 200# since it was just me! BTW, I also worked for beer!

I used Styrofoam packing material from the top & bottom of a set of speakers. They were about 1" thick. I broke them in 6-8"-wide pieces and just laid them between the stem and the strap "loop" that cradled it. It smashed a bit, but didn't break. It just allowed a bit more distribution of the weight than the single point.

However, my mistake ... after I'd posted, I looked at the photo again and THEN noticed the exercise ball. That was a really smart idea there! I think I may steal that one from you when I get another monster p-stem. Take it for what you will since I am FAR from an expert, but since I had an issue in the past from a p-stem leaning on something that didn't allow good air circulation at the pressure point, I think I will put a folded bath towel or similar between the stem and ball just to make sure air gets to the stem.

Again, really GREAT work and thanks for sharing the ideas!

Island Brah

Wow, great work moving that by yourself! I'd need lots of beer after that much lifting lol.

I too was thinking about the material of the exercise ball and thought the same about a folded towel/door mat or something. I can wedge a piece of some sort of fabric in between the ball and the pstem. My friend who uses the exercise ball said he adjusts the ball a few month in so this doesnt happen and he doesn't use anything in between them. I like the idea of using a towel or mat better then to move them a bit.

I'll also start keeping my eye out for some styrofoam. I'll loosen each strap one at a time and put some styrofoam there too. I think I have some time before anything bad will happen to the pstem due to the straps.

I'm glad you saw this post so we can share ideas. This is my first year storing like this so I'm learning too!

__________________
Growing: Basjoo, Blue Java (The Real One), FHIA-01 American Goldfinger, Manzano, Tall Orinoco, Raja Puri (USDA TARS), Veinte Cohol (USDA TARS), Patupi, & SH-3640 High Noon (USDA TARS)

beam2050

do you have an old 5 gal. bucket, margarine tub? cut the sides out, 4 to 6 inch strips.

I trade ideas for beeer.

__________________
...................................................

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

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

gmichael403

Hi Island Brah...looking good! what temp does your garage average over winter? I have to cut mine down to go in my spare room overwinter..but would love to retain some height and try something similar to your setup.

MusaZombie

Those are some impressive individuals nice job and I hope they survive the storage.

37.667910

Amazing!
Can't wait to see it after it starts putting out growth again next spring.

__________________

Island Brah

If you mean between the straps and the pstem then I don't think you'd want to use plastic for that. its not for the support but to let the pstems breath a little. I would think the plastic firm against the pstem for an extended amount of time would cause unwanted moisture.

Thanks! I'd say the lowest temp I saw in my basement/garage last year was mid-upper 40's and the high is around 60. the temps near the 60's only lasts for a short time in the very beginning when I bring them in and right before I put them back into the ground. It usually stays about mid 50's for the most part.

__________________
Growing: Basjoo, Blue Java (The Real One), FHIA-01 American Goldfinger, Manzano, Tall Orinoco, Raja Puri (USDA TARS), Veinte Cohol (USDA TARS), Patupi, & SH-3640 High Noon (USDA TARS)

beam2050

sorry, thought you was trying to keep the straps from cutting in. no beer.

__________________
...................................................

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

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Island Brah

You still get some beer

__________________
Growing: Basjoo, Blue Java (The Real One), FHIA-01 American Goldfinger, Manzano, Tall Orinoco, Raja Puri (USDA TARS), Veinte Cohol (USDA TARS), Patupi, & SH-3640 High Noon (USDA TARS)

beam2050

__________________
...................................................

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

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Tytaylor77

Woohooo. Wow what a load! Great job Nick. Now I know you can move my tall namwa pup, next I’m sending you a Saba LMAO.

Great job. Can’t wait to see next years flowers.

__________________

150+ Varieties!!. See profile for list. Help me add more!

www.bananapups.com

Akula

Island Brah, was dry root storage of those massive namwahs over winter successful?