Clare_CA

Hey all,

I think it's time to finally put my variegated bananas in the ground. They were shipped to me late last year, and they are starting to put out a new leaf or two. I just bought some Supersoil compost to mix into the planting holes because my soil is very sandy.

Clare

sunfish

I think now is a perfect time to plant them. It's plenty warm ,better now then when you have high temps.

Abnshrek

I agree with Tony :^) Very Nice Pics by the way!!! That's one hell of a chicken coop too :^)

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Clare_CA

Thanks, Tony and Migael. Five out of six are officially in the ground. I found that some had very few roots, and some had some nice roots going. It feels colder than usual this evening. I think a storm might be coming. Anyway, it's good to know that it is the right time. Thanks, guys.

cucurbits

A storm will be coming in on Tuesday.

Abnshrek

Well I hope you have a spot ready for your VC I'm sure they will be calling you very soon, since they are only 5 from your number... :^)

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cherokee_greg

Wow Clare very nice. I really like your chicken house its great. I want a couple of hens. Im still trying to figure out were im going to put it and how Im going to make it. I donot have much room and I only want a couple of laying hens. I had four one time and had to many eggs those girls laid them all the time. Again very nice plants and chickens

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Greg zone 9 Fresno,CA
http://gardenjot.com/garden/view/1980/Gregs-Banana-Farm

Scott

NICE!!! All looks great Clare!!

My fields are turning green and growing everywhere!!
Bananas are doing great and plumeria are showing new growth. Lost a couple due to moisture + cold Rotted cores. We took out some bushes and replaced with sod and 2 plumerias....both with roots from YOUYOUYOU!!! And leaves are beginning to show!!

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niblicksrus

Very inspiring photos, Clare! I have no room for a chicken coop here, as my ever-growing tropical plant collection is taking over all available space, but your chicken sure is a beauty! And your plants look great too!

Rick

Dean W.

Way to go, Clare! Nice chicken coop too.

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LilRaverBoi

Yeah, your chicken run is WAY fancier than anything we ever had. I woulda given them some grass to destroy, though And I won't lie...I'm kinda jealous of your pot collection. I'm always wishing I had more to work with. Looks like everything is coming along well for ya, though.

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Clare_CA

Thanks so much, everyone for your nice comments. I appreciate them.

varig8

Clare;
I am so jealous. You big show-off!! LOL Do you know how nice this is going to look when it matures? Your little chicks ended up in one of the best places possible. I dont think the perlite had anything to do with that banana appearing "pale". Am I mistaken, or is this one of the "variegated" Nam wahs you bought? It Looks suspiciously similar to one of the 'normal' variegation patterns for it. It will appear less faded if you plant it in complete shade and will have less of a tendency to burn out when the leaves age. Your red bananas are ripe when they feel softer-if they are picked too soon, they will still ripen no matter the age they were removed from the raceme. Normally, if these were cut from a tree from your garden, they would have ripened just like the Valeries or any other commercially grown banana and taste just about the same.

Clare_CA

LOL, Steven! You are so funny. I am hoping that it looks really good when mature. I'm a little worried that the mats will get huge and overcrowded so I guess it will be up to me to remove pups, but I have a feeling that I won't want to! LOL!

CValentine

HI Clare!!!

LOVED looking through all the landscaping you are doing!!!

I enjoyed seeing your Plumerias in there with the banana plants...

Just wanted to thank you for all your wonderful advise on getting these cuttings rooted & through the Winter!!
They are doing great now!!!

THANK YOU CLARE!!! ~Cheryl

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DaveE

Looking good! I really like the split level. You will have to post updates when the bananas start to fill out.

DaveE

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Scott

OMG Clare!! Everything looks great!! And it's still April. You're going to be busy this summer!!
Yes, the Brazilian is a survivor fer sur.
I actually removed my corms from the back yard and moved them to the south side of our home. It's like a sauna there.
Chris (Rmplmnz) gave me some pups - Dwarf Brazs for the corner mat. The Tall (like you have) were too tall....as in I can watch the neighbors big screen. So the Dwarfs should fill in there nicely. He also cut a Dwarf Red for me. It died this winter but I kept the corm in the garage...PUP
The plumeria are all pushing leaves! They look like your plants right now. Sandy is sealing our back patio and the yard is only 1/2 new sod....so absolutely no pix! heheheh
As you...I'm looking forward to the next few months. All is blooming

TTL

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MediaHound

Looking good all around, thanks for sharing.

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harveyc

Thanks for sharing, Clare, and good luck!

It's hard to tell with much certainty,but your soil appears to be sandy. Banana roots can extend way beyond the areas where you dug the holes. Instead of spending money on potting soil, you might want to get a load of compost delivered to your place and work it into your native soil in larger areas around where you will plant your banana plants. Maybe 4' diameter, IMO.

I think your weather is fine to plant outside now. Mine has still been a bit cook so I'm waiting another week or so.

Thanks for sharing the photos of your chickens. I've been thinking of building a portable coop on an old military trailer and moving it throughout my chestnut orchard for much of the year (not close to harvest due to sanitary reasons). One of these days....

Edit: After thinking further, I would suggest you consider mixing in compost into the soil around/adjacent to the holes where you've already planted bananas.

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Clare_CA

Thanks so much, everyone, for your comments!

Cheryl, congrats on getting those plumeria cuttings all rooted through the winter. That's not an easy thing to do. It looks like you have an inflo there and will have flowers on that one in about a month. The inflo looks a bit elongated so make sure that it is getting at least six hours of continuous sun. Since you are in Texas, you could probably give them some shade in the hottest parts of the day. Don't hesitate to water whenever the soil looks dry so that the roots stay hydrated. Another note about the inflo, flowers that bloom while the cutting is still rooting is taking energy away from the rooting process, so that cutting will root more slowly. Since some of the energy is being diverted to the rooting process also, the flowers will be smaller than normal. When you have leaves, you know that you have the start of roots. Several leaves means that you have a nice root ball. Congrats again! I'm glad you like my landscaping!

Thanks, Dave. I'll definitely post updates. Many of my bananas are still small yet, but they should look a lot better when they are bigger.

Scott, I hope to see pics of your yard soon! I'll update you on your two Brazilians. They will definitely be the tallest that I have, I think. I'm glad the plumerias are doing well for you. I hope you get some plumeria blooms this summer!

Thanks, Jarred!

Harvey, you are right that my soil is very sandy. I bought a pallet of Supersoil compost when I planted my plumerias and added to each planting hole and did the same with virtually everything that I planted. Every thing that you see in the picture are things that I planted because it was a bare landscape when I started. I think I scattered gypsum as well. I also did mix in the MiracleGro gardensoil into the veggie bed, and I think I used some in the planting holes as well on the bananas. So it was one part sandy native soil, one part Supersoil compost, and one part MiracleGro Garden soil. I also put dried chicken manure on the top of the soil of some of the bananas. I plan to use slow release fertilizer pellets, but I bet that still isn't enough. In some places, the soil was soft and easy to dig, but in other places, it was as hard as rock. I will add compost additionally as you suggest. Thanks! The chickens are so much fun. I think I'm going to be able to add their manure to the base of the bananas as well.