Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

more bananas this year I got 12 bunches so far.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Is this one Manzano?

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Yes it is. good eye.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Those look great. Congratulations. And wow, you have already harvested 12 bunches this year so far? Still waiting for my 3rd bunch....

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

no crazy this is my second bunch and I got 10 more bunches on the plants in my yard.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Meanwhile, I'm hoping for 4 bunches next year ... :bunchonanas:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I tried but I really need a better camera
you could not see no detail only white from the flash sorry

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

it is indeed very white just like I said this camera is a hp 318 which is dam near as old as I am...the flesh looks like it has been bleached but the pics do not show it.i have had this plant for 8 years. just poor quality pictures taken from a fossil camera.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Give yourself some credit. That camera is less than half your age!
:0519:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Counting your eggs before they hatch?
Just kidding. With your set-up and the awesome Fruit Fuel that is a reasonable hope.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Harvested my first bunch of Dwarf Orinoco a few days ago, last pic is from yesterday. Today they were ripe...and good! Richard has said they have a hint of strawberry to them, and I agree.

Bunch weight: 0.00325 tons

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

My first Rose bunch. Next tallest P-stem is almost 3' taller than this one was and hasn't flowered yet. 9 hands, but very small fruit, didn't bother weighing it, under 10 lbs for sure. Maybe they didn't fill in properly. 4.5 months flower to harvest. Couldn't resist trying one that was close to ripe right off the bunch. Decent tasting, firm, a bit vegetal, some similarity to a sucrier without the overly sweet taste. Will do a taste report this week.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

So I had some bumper stickers made…


And harvested Veinte cohol and Baloy

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Another Namwah. This was the first fruit from an Aloha Tropicals "Goldfinger". 2 years to flower. 5 months, 1 week to ripe fruit. Densely planted in partial shade explains the delay in fruiting. 9 hands.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Glad to see that Baloy produced bigger fingers. Let us know how they taste.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Taste like a homegrown Cavendish, the Veinte Cohol on the other hand...a whole lot of tangy flavor.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

That's great. I'd like to come over and get some fruit and a pup.

My VC first bunch were quite tangy. Wife spit them out. Me and the dogs loved them. We eat anything! WOOF!

BTW --- Ericksons are in full swing right? Website said they have Pickering this year. Terrific!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Yep, I have been eating mangos daily for about 2 weeks now. They are having their sample Sunday on July 20th. I've had Tommy Atkins, Van Dyke, Dupuis, and Duncan so far.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

First harvest of Mai'a 'Upehupehu, which might possibly be Iholena Lele. Difficult to tell because this was a bizarre bunch which started developing inside the trunk and had to be c-sectioned out (no it is not a Hapai). So the bunch was especially puny. The fruit are more squat like 'Upehupehu should be, but I won't know for sure until the next proper bunch. 13 months to flower, 2 months for ripe fruit. Iholenas are known for being one of the fastest flower to harvest.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

[IMG][/IMG]

Harvested the "real deal" Blue Java - Ice Cream today:

137 (edible) fingers

The ones we ate so far were delicious beyond expectations of anything we had harvested before from this particular mat. Banana heaven for a while...:woohoonaner:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Is it wise to just harvest the entire bunch when only a few are ripe? I am trying to decide what to do. I just noticed this morning a few getting ripe on my Dwarf Namwah bunch and I'm wondering if I should just harvest the hands individually or cut the bunch off the P-stem. What are your opinions please? I live in Sarasota, FL and it is in the low 90's every day this time of year.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Those do look a little skinny. I would harvest the hands or even fingers individually if you can manage it.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I think it's the shadows on them. They are nice and plump.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Thanks for the clarification. Well if they are plump then you are free to harvest! Depending on how many you can eat you might still think about harvesting by the hand. Too often I've stuffed myself trying to eat 8 bananas a day to eat them all while ripe. If you are harvesting a whole bunch, don't go it alone!! (unless you are secretively the Incredible Hulk)

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

My experience with Namwah is that the skins of the fruits start to split if harvested too late. If I see some color change to yellow, I harvest the entire bunch and let it continue to ripen in the garage.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Ditto.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

OK...done! Thanks everyone!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

For my climate, Namwa should be harvested about 4 months after the first hand appears. If you wait much longer than 4 months the skin will split.


After the bunch ripens I eat about 15 to 20 bananas a day.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Like the others who have responded have said, the longer you wait, the more likely they will split. Namwah is the worst variety I have in that regard. In fact, more often than not, if there are ones as yellow as you show on your bunch, in my yard that would mean they had already split.

That said, if I can avoid it, I harvest bananas directly from the bunch, rather than harvesting the entire bunch at once. At least in my mild climate, they ripen over a much longer period when left on the plant. In some cases, I've harvested bananas from a single bunch over nearly 2 months, instead of having to consume or give away 50 pounds of bananas in one week if I harvest the entire bunch.

Harvesting fingers or hands off the bunch is only practical if you can reach the bunch, so it doesn't work for me with tall varieties. And then with Namwah varieties you have to get them before they split, and I often wait a day too long, and then I have a bunch of split bananas.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

FHIA-17 55 lbs. Top hand fingers were 9.5" long. Bottom hand fingers were 7.5" long. Only 7 hands.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

:0519:Harvested another AE AE pup:0519:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

What do you all do with all your ripe bananas that ripen at once? I need to deal with about 20 pounds of nanners right now. HELP!

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Give to friends, family and co workers!?... I have never harvested a bunch of my own but I found binge dieting on bananas only for one week is impossible but somewhat very healthy; my skin seemed smoother/softer, whiter eyes and thicker fingernails and beard... Best banana bread is made from overripe bananas IMO. I try to give lots of my vegetables away that produce more than enough for me to eat.

edit: I've heard of people freezing them but my experience turned them to mushy yucky.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I freeze mine or turn them into banana bread, which also freezes well.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I second that and smoothies and ice cream.
Friends, family, neighbors, colleagues.... , to make it short: there are never enough bananas on one bunch or lets say it this way, you have actually more friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues than you ever would have thought... :ha:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Creamwah!! These are huuuuuge, almost as big as Kandrain fruit. I might be imagining it, but the texture seems a little less firm/dense. This is the same mat that I harvested a couple of weeks ago. :woohoonaner::woohoonaner::woohoonaner::woohoonaner:

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Anyone know what type banana these are,I have had them growing about 24 years now. They were here when I bought this place and I might add they are super super sweet.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

orinoco banana

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Harvested another bunch of "real deal" Blue Java/Ice Cream today.
No photo, because I am too embarrassed to show the small bunch. It was so small because the plant did not even have one leaf left after last winter to support a proper filling and ripening of the fruit. Nonetheless, some nice bananas are better than none and they taste surprisingly good, too.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Gros Michel and FHIA-3, the calabaza are the fruits I didn't sell. I had about 1000 lbs this Summer

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

The Gros Michel were decent sized, 7-8" with a 33mm diameter. 20 lbs bunch. It was bunch number 2 from the mat. Bunch number one, blew down immature, it didn't taste very good. I'm expecting better this time now that they are filled out.
The Fhia-3 are about 7" long with a 40mm diameter, also a 20 lbs bunch. It was bunch number 1 from the mat

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

some more great bananas

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

Some skinny but very red Morados, a little over 40mm diameter.






The skinny bananas don't have very good flavor but the puppies didn't seem to mind.







attn: PETA

They don't just eat dessert bananas, they already ate their maduros.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

My 1st success is my greatest blunder

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

i have read that gros michel don't do well in florida so i am hesitant to try them in 9b, but it looks like they are doing well for you. do you give them any special care?

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I have a mat down here in Fort Myers. From my experience, they are slow to establish and are fairly cold sensitive. You might be a little too north to grow them successfully without protection. I can't say I am an expert yet since I haven't harvested a bunch yet. I had one well on the way, but some wind gusts took it down. (needless to say I was not thrilled)

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

They are merely a curiosity. I don't do anything special except the bunch pruning. They are planted on a ditch bank about 200' from Lake Okeechobee so they are about as protected as bananas can get in interior Florida. They get sigatoka bad, they don't handle the cold well, the yields are awful, and they take a long time to make their first bunch. I would rather have FHIA-17 or Williams. I have a limited quantity but if people want to try them I can send them.

PM me before Wednesday if you want some Gros Michel bananas to try. They should be able to get anywher in the state of Florida without going overripe.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

The gros michel bananas taste good. They are soft and taste like bananas. Creamier than Cavendish.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

I never get big bunches like some members do, but they are always great eating.

Re: What did you harvest today (bananas)
 

It's a function of variety, cultivation, and weather. A Namwa in southern CA blooming late spring from a 3rd+ generation corm produced in an ongoing planter bed will usually have 120+ fingers. A Brazilian (Apple) in the same conditions might have 60 fingers.