Ahava

I emailed going bananas when this thread first came up about a month ago. They told me I'd have to be put on a waiting list, and may or may not be able to get one in March. But I definately would like one. Senorita sounds very interesting as well, but if JoeReal isn't able to get one, I don't know how I'd be able to find one, unless I fly over there, and hijack one back. It's scary I look at my four banana plants I do have but I still want more. >.>

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Banana Student For Life Live the dream ~

austinl01

Please let us know if they are still available. I got on the Reserve List two months ago. I hope you can get one too.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 13-15°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

bencelest

There's a long wait on the waiting list. I just put my name on the waiting list and I won't get mine til June.

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Banana Nut

austinl01

Benny, I hope you can get one sooner. At least they won't be sold out! I'll let you know when mine arrives in April so you'll know what to expect. I'm excited about this one.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 13-15°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

bencelest

Austin:
As long as they don't forget me I can wait a long time. Thanks if you can tell me by April what to expect. I will just hope that I will get one. I ordered 2.

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Banana Nut

porkpi

I am going to their winter meeting in the am(sat.2/23/08) and there is a presentation at 1pm, which I suspect may be exciting(to say the least)

The meeting is at the Bamboo Farm minutes off I-95 in Savannah(zone8 ish).

Our Banana group(for lack of a better term) went there in early October and my wife took these pictures. They tasted great!
,
,

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Afterall...doesn't everyone want a bigger Banana?

austinl01

Ahhh...thanks for enlightening us with those great pictures, porkpi. They are absolutely great! Please post what you find out at the meeting in Savannah. I really wanted to go there this weekend, but the drive is a bit too far.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 13-15°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

Randy4ut

Well, I too went to the meeting and the presentation was simply AWESOME!!! Not only was the presentation about fruiting nanners, it also included the work they have been doing with ornamentals... Hey all you ornamental banana lovers, hold on to your hats as some exciting choices will be released in the near future. BTW, I was hoping to be able to purchase a Veinte at the meeting, but that did not become available, so I have already emailed Going Bananas to try and get on the waiting list which I suspect will grow quite a bit within the next few days after that great presentation... Dr. Wallace "spellbounded" alot of us with the work he and others are doing!!!! My hat is off to them...

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austinl01

Randy, I just knew the presentation would be sweet! I'm sure you learned a lot about bananas. I can't wait for some of the new hybrids to be released to the public--they will bring new possibilities to the average landscape. I'm glad Dr. Wallace and his colleagues are doing work in this area. It's very cutting edge. If you can't get a Veinte pup by fall, I'll send you one (that is if the one I get in April produces some pups).

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 13-15°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

bigdog

The presentation was phenomenal. Dr. Wallace has been busy on his "second job," lol! We are lucky to have him as a member here on bananas.org. I think the best part of the presentation was...his shirt. A very loud but tasteful, Hawaiian shirt with large bananas all over it. I want one.

Seriously, the work that they've been doing with 'Veinte Cohol' is awesome and inspiring! The problems that I run into here with my Orinocos is that even if they flower by the end of July, there are usually only about 3-5 leaves on the plant, and therefore the bunches are pretty small. With 'Veinte Cohol', it's such a fast grower that by the end of July there should be a sufficient amount of leaves on the plant to support good-sized bunches (I think they are getting 25 lb. bunches in Savannah). The cool thing was seeing EVERY 'Veinte Cohol' with a large bunch of fruit hanging from it! This could be exactly what some of us in cooler climates have been looking for, minus the cold-hardiness.

The ornamental hybrid pictures were marvelous also! I believe that they are due to be released next year sometime, and ever one of them looked great. One of them had almost a neon-purple bract color, and the fruit were also very brightly colored. Some really cool stuff coming out soon, and no doubt Richard is working on more stuff for future release.

porkpi

No doubt!
To carry a full time job and do groundbreaking research "on the side" is quite impressive.

Doing the lab work is one thing, but to help manage with the 3(4-if you count his personal banana plot) large areas of banana research(the Big Field, the green House, and ornamental plot) is also very hard physical work. Digging and storing corms, replanting them, laying weed block, running and checking irrigation lines and such in spare time are just a few of the physically demanding tasks they encounter.

We all should be grateful that Dr. Wallace and the others were fortunate enough seize this opportunity with the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens.

I had a chance to spend about 1/2 hour with Dr. Greg Fonsah from the UGA Tifton Campus as he was out chopping down 'spent' p-stems in the Big Field. He is a very enthusiastic banana enthusiast as well. He was a lot of fun to talk bananas with.

The way I see things, the earth has a narrow equatorial belt where bananas are easily successfully grown. The 'discovery' of the Viente Cohol has now expanded that banana belt into zones 8 and 7 in the direction both above and below the equator. This land mass incorporates millions more hectares where it is now easily possible to grow Bananas. This will be crucial to populations struggling with food sources. Thanks!

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Afterall...doesn't everyone want a bigger Banana?

austinl01

I want a transcript of the lecture!!! I really missed out. Did anyone record it???

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 13-15°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

Ahava

What he said! I'm so excited I will be recieving mine in June/July. What awesome work it is that they do. I hope to be doing something much like they do someday!

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Banana Student For Life Live the dream ~

bencelest

Amber:
Go for your dreams!
Let no one stop you.

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Banana Nut

Rmplmnz

Manzanos are "Apple Bananas"

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Rmplmnz

I saw a very plump short banana in Kauai and Maui (pics attached). The flesh was very white...Viente Cohol??

Attached Images

	Viente.JPG (2.21 MB, 18 views)
	Viente 2.JPG (1.71 MB, 16 views)

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chong

Viente Cohol, according some sites, is Pisang Mas in Indonesia. I had posted a link to a site that shows the pulp as light golden yellow. Here is the link again:
Pisang Mas - ..:: Zul + Sue = Darwisy ::.. - Fotopages.com

You can compare what you saw with these photos. You will see that the pulp is not white.

chong

Chris,
I just looked at those photos. Very nice!!!

When I did look at them, I noticed that the fruits were plump, more so than the Pisang Mas, and the angularity is more pronounced than the VC. Now, I don't know if that's just because of the stage of ripeness of the fruit.