Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Thank you Richard! :)

A great bunch there Mark!!!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Rob very nice DB bunch. :08:




Konstantinos that one of the biggest bunch of Orinoco I've ever seen. :bananas_b




That's a fat bunch Mark, thanks for the info on Dwarf Namwah and their "pithy cores" I have the same issue with Raja Puri 50 to 80% of the bunch will have a hard but edible core.
My Namwah grows to 10' - 14' the tallest banana plants I have, the fruit is always good. :waving:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I bought the nanner plants four years ago and this year is the first harvest! I lost the tag with the name of the variety as I had kept them in a pot for a year before we moved. I think they are a type of Thai ... very sweet and about 3 - 4 inches in szie. A great little nanner! Banana Gallery - Bananas harvested today - March 2014 !

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

You are right, they are Namwah bananas, which are widely grown in Thailand.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

PK

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

My contact in Sri Lanka says the PK there is called Kolikuttu and gets the highest price at market. They really love it. He also said the name Pisang Klotek is a Malaysian name. I sent him several pics and he showed them to the market vendors. They all agreed.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

More PK!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Thanks Dan, that's really cool!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

From a brief internet search, I think someone here is wrong. Kolikuttu appears to be a Silk cultivar (think "Manzano"). The PK that Mitchel distributed is a Mysore cultivar. They do look pretty similar in photos, but less so much in person.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

[IMG][/IMG]

:woohoonaner:

19.5 pounds of Namwah (first bunch of this mat)
I had already harvested the first hand back in December before the first frost, but these taste even better today.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Oooooooooooooo la la la la!

Congratulations!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Maybe I can sneek away one day next week and go down and do a taste test!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

You are more than welcome to do so.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Thanks. Maybe I can pick up my Fruit Fuel in the next few days and I will bring you some to taste. Yummylicious, but I am biased :)

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

took them a long tome to ripen because they came out just before thanksgiving. But boy they are tasty.my first time eating raja puri and I really like them real sweet.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Goldfingers

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Some fine looking ones at that.
:08:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Nick, how big are those fingers on average, the weight per finger?

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

On average, they are about 100g.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Thanks Nick. For some reason I thought they were supposed to get bigger, more like Cavendish size, but the ones I've seen have been around that 100 g mark that you mention.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

The bunches tend to be very conical. The top 2-3 hands produce fingers in the 150g range.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

A FHIA-17 with short fingers. Took five months from flower to harvest.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Good lookin' bunch.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Very clean looking. They were bagged, right?

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Yes

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I harvested the second bunch on my first Namwa mat.







First hand appeared 12/10/13 and harvest was today 4/10/14.


The hardest part is hanging the bunch. I have no helper so I have to hold the bunch up and at the same time tie it to a post.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Green Red!

[IMG][/IMG]

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

What to do with banana stem and leaves after harvesting? Do you chip this material or let it dry out? I have a chipper but concerned the high moisture content in banana plant material may clog the chute and make a mess.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Your banana mat will still draw energy from the mother p-stem that was harvested. If you leave it in place it will decrease the time till the next flowering. However I believe the industry practice is to chop down the p-stem to five feet or so. In my yard I just leave it. Depending on the variety, it will continue to look nice and be a feature in the garden for several months.

I can't speak for what will happen to your chipper because I don't have one. For me, I break down the plant material into individual sheathes and then run over it with my lawn more with the clippings bag attached. I know that's way redneck, but it makes great mulch that breaks down easy. So far no ill effects on the mower.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

This is supposed to be Ebun Musak, my first bunch off this plant. From Aloha Tropicals. This is supposed to be the type that is green when ripe. Plant looks like a DB, mostly yellow fruit tastes like an underripe DB--certainly not ripe when green. Bunch size and appearance like my DBs. Same height as DB and same 6 month flower to harvest. Hmmm, I wonder what it could really be? Another Aloha Tropicals FAIL. Well 1 out of 11 ain't bad! Will probably kill this one off since I already have more DB than anything else.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I wish I could post some pictures (computer issues) but I just harvested my first kandrian and pisang raja! Any experience on how ripe they should be before eating? Thanks.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Well, I harvested both and their are hanging up on the lanai as we speak. The Pisang Raja was only at 16 lb, but the Kandrian was at 50 lbs!! Both were the first harvest off of the mats and started as tissue culture. One of the Kandrian fingers was ripe, so I thought I would give it a try. I was amazed at the flavor. I has no idea it would taste like it did. To me it was a blend of granny smith apple, custard, banana with a hint of vanilla. I'll try to get pictures up later, but this is a wonderful fruit.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Pictures!! (the quality of photos could be better, but I'm having some computer issues)




Just installed some hanging hooks in the lanai.



Kandrian close up (cutting down that one was interesting) I tied to use a method I saw on youtube with a rope over the peduncle. Yeaaaahhhh..... that didn't work.



Pisang Raja close up. Kind of lame in terms of size. But this variety does not appear to be very robust in my yard.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Thanks for the pictures!

Your profile says you're growing:
Goldfinger
SH 3640
Brazilian (general consensus)
Pisang Raja
Double Mahoi
Creamwah! (Namwah)
Kandarian
Gros Michel
Zebrina
"X" (Grand Nain) x Sumatrana)
FHIA-3
Pisang Ceylon

Of those you grew and tasted, how would you rate the taste (best to worst) ??

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I'm glad you like it. I was not a fan. It was high yielding, I didn't like the fruit that much though as it tasted like orinoco to me. I also never could figure out how to harvest it without breaking fruit. That being said, I sold about 100 boxes over two years.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Hi Richard,

Well I wish I could say that I've had them all. But I started less then two years ago. I should get some before and after photos of my yard. The difference is pretty stark.

So far I've only harvested namwah, brazilian, kandarian, and pisang raja. I'm not a hundred percent sure which one I like the most yet. It might be either kandrian or the pisang raja. I tried the pisang raja today and it was another surprise in terms of flavor. It had a little hint of green in the stem so it might need to ripen a little more. But it tasted very bright and fruity with a strong presence of cherry and orange citrus. Not much of a classic banana flavor. It was also every so slightly dry with a firmer texture than a standard cavendish.

In regards to the other varieties, I should have fruit off of the SH 3640, double mahoi, and gold finger, and namwah within the next few months. I also suspect I'll have another brazilian flower very soon. The gros michel should flower soon, but boy is is ever slow. The other varieties won't be ready to fruit anytime real soon. (sweetheart and pisang ceylon are brand new TC)

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I could see some similarities between the varieties. The kandarian seems to explode with flavor compared to the orinocos I've had before. I haven't had an orinoco in while, I just don't recall the flavor being as complex or having as pleasant of a texture. I remember orinoco being nice enough, with a light strawberry-banana flavor. I will admit that the person growing them didn't give them the best of care, so I might not be making a fair comparison.

I totally agree with the harvesting. It wasn't easy and three fingers snapped off. But I didn't manage to keep the p-stem standing up and looking nice. (wife likes to leave them up for aesthetic reasons) I think next time I'll have to notch the p-stem and lower it down gently.

I know that this is a really tall variety, but its robust, very cold hardy, and attractive. It would only be better if it was was a dwarf. I would recommend it to anyone who has the space and doesn't mind working with the heights. Its a keeper for me! :woohoonaner:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

My biggest Double Mahoi bunch (30lbs, single bunch), and a so-so sized DB bunch.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

These were mine

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Yikes!!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Looks great Nick. Mine aren't that tall yet. (everything seems short in my yard) I could see why you might not to grow these in abundance. Harvesting many mats single handed would be a bit labor intensive. (as I recall you don't have too many people working under you)

When you did grow and sell them, how were they received in comparison to your other varieties? In addition to the harvesting and flavor profile, did market demand influence your decision to stop growing them?

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Planted in 09, sold 2011-2012.
They almost all got sold wholesale as Orinoco
The market for Orinoco is not that great. The price paid tended to be in the $7-$10/box range. They were not popular at the farmer's market the few times I brought them. I can retail the fruit from a 45# stalk of goldfinger or Namwahs for $30 at the farmers market. I could wholesale them in the low $20s.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

The Namwa bananas harvested are getting better. The first few fruit harvested were kind of crunchy in the center. However, now that they have ripened further, the texture is much softer. Namwa bananas are one of my favorites: they have good cold tolerance and are very productive with excellent flavor. This is a banana cultivar I can recommend.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

2 bunches of Gros Michel. Both stalks snapped within a day of each other, but they are at 4 months so should be wonderful. Was planning to harvest them this weekend anyway. Bunch on the right had a week's less growth and aren't as filled out.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Did they snap from wind?

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Weight of the bunch. They weren't propped up though. Both snapped about 2 feet from the top of the p-stem.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Well I guess you could say that's a "natural way" of determining when to harvest them. Let the plant decide for you! I'll have to keep that in mind with my GM. It should be flowering soon.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

But we are not growing them under "natural" conditions!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Well you got me there, but I meant it tongue-in-cheek ;)

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I had a stalk snap in the same spot last week. Now I have a very under filled bunch. It was my first GM bunch.