William LeGro

thanks to Momoese, I have several Hawaiian apple banana trees and a couple of other bananas that I can't remember the name of but he said they're from India and even better than the Hawaiian ones (which are actually Brazilian). One Hawaiian became 7-8, and the Indian one is now 3. The Indian got really tall but no sign of a flower yet, and it's leaning so much I might have to cut it down before it falls and tears out a terrace wall or two.

But here's my question: One Hawaiian actually has a stalk of bananas, but they stopped growing and have been at a green, small stage for months now. No signs of rot but the flower is all dark and dried up. After a few months like this, is there any hope of them ever ripening? I guess they're getting plenty of water because the trees are multiplying rapidly (though I wonder what people must think when they see my banana trees poking up during a drought...). If they're not going to produce, I should dig them up (ugh! what a job!) because they use a lot of water and space in our small yard.

BTW - just got back from Kaua`i where I gorged on apple bananas - they're no ka oi! We have 4 acres there and a perfect place to plant bananas.

Thanks everybody.

pitangadiego

Bananas take 6 months plus to ripen, in most cases. Patience, dude!!

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William LeGro

did not know that - you mean in California? because they ripen a lot faster than that in Hawai`i - unless that's just my perception because there I don't really pay attention, they just grow and I just eat'em -

but shouldn't they at least be getting bigger in size? I guess that's what concerns me - I was wondering if it was winter that slowed them down, but then we really didn't have winter - it's like winter isn't a season here anymore - it's just a suggestion

I was also wondering if all the pups are taking too much of the water, slowing down the ripening...want some pups?

anyway, thanks - I'll try to stop watching them...

Going Bananas

Theres another thread on here about nanerViagra.
Give it a try!
It might just do wonders for your limp naners...
Grow More "Stimulant"

Heres another 1 I found to get plumped up naners...
But again if Richard has been pumping up the nutrients
on that Namwa esp with that fertilizer hes been promoting
plus seaweed and fish emulsion plus hugging and peeing....

All of you are TOAST!!!!!

I found this post by Jared
back in May of 07 on a Pitogo thread...

I just went out today and put liquid fish and liquid seaweed at the base of my blooming plant.

I keep the hose nearby and water it throughout the day (its burning hot here at times).

Leave the pups on it for now, don't kill any roots.
Some growers like to top off the pups (you know, like behead them) to restrict their growth at this point but I can't bring myself to do that with mine!

Leave any green leaves on the plant, don't cut off any dying leaves that still have moisture or green in them.

You can also cut back any old dry parts of the pseudostem to reveal the green chlorophyll behind. This will obviously assist with additional energy production, too.
But only cut off totally dry material, leave the part where it's not dessicated yet.

Pad the mat with old leaves and compost.. it does a few things including retaining moisture by blocking the drying winds and sun, it adds nutrients, and block weeds from making the nutrient rich mat their new home.

Give it a hug every day.

And pat yourself on the back for all the patience and hard work.


>>>Some of these classic posts are sooo full of priceless information for newbies like me. They really need to be resurrected<<<
Cheers!

robguz24

They take 6 months here in Hawaii, occasionally a few weeks less or more.

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Going Bananas

WLG
Sounds like you also met momoese.
He had some full proof varieties for SoCal.
Dw brazilian, FHIA 18, Namwah and probably
the Pisang Klotek is the tall one youre referring to?

Cheers

Thanx also to Mitch. Hes not on here anymore.
I recently requested him to post and contribute
his SoCal experience & knowledge but hasnt yet.

William LeGro

mahalo for the advice, much needed, goingbananas - I'm pretty sure the other variety I have is the Namwah - I know it started with an N. Wish I could post photos in this thread but can't make the instructions work (re: desktop URLs - I use a Mac, no such thing as Properties, images don't have URLs that I can find).

I'm realizing what must be part of my problem: I've never fed the plants once except at planting. I've always grown them on Kaua`i with no food or water - they just, like, grow. And grow and grow and grow. I hope it's not too late for fertilizer to have an effect, but the stalk has only 3-4 hands.

OTOH, I wouldn't mind if they never ripen, because that means I have to chop the tree down. I'm not looking forward to lugging spent stalks up 3 flights of terrace stairs (30-45º) to the street and trying to figure out how much weight the greenwaste bin will hold before the truck can't hold onto it. I know what it's like to wait too long to get rid of the old stalks - yuck & pee-yew! When they finally ripen, picture me looking at the tree and scratching my head and saying, "Duh, now whut?"

robguz24, your site is terrific. It's amazing what you're doing with half an acre! We're just getting started on our 4 acres, and so far it's just been clearing the jungle, trying to keep the old ditch from flooding, and figuring out how to manage the 2 dozen pigs roaming the area. I'm kind of old to be starting off with so much land, but from the time I moved there 40+ years ago I've dreamed of one day owning some land. It's not quite like LA, to say the least. We're in Kapahi, mauka of Kapa`a, at about 400' with 90-100" of rain (though global warming has changed that dramatically in the 40+ years I've been there - rain is much more inconsistent with more downpours and droughts - Wai`ale`ale has dropped about 100" from its longtime average). I've visited Puna once, to see my nephew, who grew up there on the coast southeast of Hawaiian Beaches.

BBTV so decimated the crop on Kaua`i that it's hard to find nurseries with any pups - have to ask farmers. Anyway, we're not close to moving to Kaua`i yet, so I have to be satisfied with my LA bananas - can't stand supermarket bananas, no taste and they stick in my throat.

Going Bananas

WLG
Your join date is 2012?
Recent member here and posting pic instructions...
How to post images in your threads

I download all my pics onto the personal photo gallery of bananas.org first.

robguz24

Aloha William, Congratulations on planting your land! I'm on Kauai every few months. We get about the same amount of rain, but since it's porous a'a lava it might as well be 1/4 of that amount. Most years are way below average and trade winds are not what they were even 10 years ago. The climate here has definitely changed some. I think our island is the least affected by BBTV, though it's here. Perhaps since everything is so far apart it hasn't spread as easily.

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William LeGro

No, haven't started planting the land yet because we can't live there yet, and so we couldn't protect plants from the pigs and be sure they got enough water.

As for trades - the decline is really noticeable, especially on the windward side where we are. Lots more calm days (but so much nicer for surfing on the Eastside), lots more easterlies instead of northeast, lots more days of really muggy conditions, and a lot more vog days (t'anks, eh?).

New study shows number of trade wind days decreasing - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

JP

[quote=William LeGro;261407]No, haven't started planting the land yet because we can't live there yet, and so we couldn't protect plants from the pigs and be sure they got enough water.

I would have loved taking care of that delicious pig problem of yours! I can send you recipes!!!

William LeGro

Good one! These pigs you have to cook in an imu for 3 days before you can eat'em. I shouldn't really call them pigs - they're boars. Big, ugly, terrifying boars. Give'em half a chance and they'd eat you.

JP

Trust me, if I see those terrifying but delicious boarspigs things, they're done! They won't stand a chance. If I ever decide to travel again and in those parts of the world, bring a shovel and plenty of friends! They're gonna smell the pigs roasting up to here in Canada!!! Hehehe!!! Or I could just bring my smoker. Had it custom made from quarter inch steel so I can smoke slowly while holding a precise temperature. Aaaaah. You see, you got me hungry now! All this talkin' about pigs... Lol!

William LeGro

OK - managed to upload some photos to my gallery (what a chore - didn't put in descriptions, and found no way to do that after uploading, so had to delete all of them and start over) - couldn't paste one in my post despite the directions - my computer doesn't do "properties" but I did the URL thing with [img] etc and also the Insert Image tab above, but nada...

JP

What I do is I right click on the image url (wich is already uploaded in an album on this site wich has to be done before this step) and copy it. Then I open the thread or reply I want to post. I click on the insert image icon. I delete the http and I paste the url. Hope it helps.

William LeGro

doesn't work at all for me - I go to the image and copy the URL, paste it in the Insert Image field, and...nada. The URL shows up in the Preview, but the post itself is totally blank. I'm wondering if this site doesn't like Firefox.

robguz24

Try setting up a photo bucket account. Works quite well and is free.

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Stay on my Big Island banana farm cottage

gnappi

They'll ripen, just be patient. Mine have stalled like yours, possibly due to when the flowers erupted, but they ALWAYS plump up and ripen, unless the plant dies :-)

William LeGro

Thanks!
...
...
wait...
...
...
...
What?
...
...
...
D-D-D-DIES?!

William LeGro

Well, another month since I last posted and the bananas haven't ripened any further, haven't changed size or color - just as green and small as ever. Now it's been at least 6 months, no change in the last 2-3 months.

Meanwhile, another apple banana tree has begun a stalk - now about a month old - and the Namwah has just bloomed! It's leaning so much it can't possibly hold a stalk of bananas - gonna have to loop a rope around it and tie it to another tree to keep it from toppling over.