subsonicdrone

i brought the plants out a couple days ago and took some "before" pics



new addition, a gift from a friend, zebrina survived the winter in the basement


supposed blue java pup


lots of sunburn especially the ones which were under the fluorescent lights as opposed to the hps


out front, this one has been at my sisters the last few years.. i will bring it over there soon


my matoke broke dormancy at the perfect time.. the ones in the hallway were dormant all winter...the thai black usually takes a while to wake up so i dont expect to see signs of life any time soon



i am expanding my plants which i leave out for the winter and mulch with chips
on the left is a basjoo i planted out front last year.. it came back
on the right is a mekong giant which i just planted
in behind which you can barely see is my mystery possible thomsonii seed banana which was the only one to survive my dormant storing attempt
i think they got too cold .. same as last year
this year i will just keep some in the heated part of the basement
i am leaving it outside to be mulched since it seems cold hardy



the basjoo in the backyard has 4 sprouting up so far


i took a back up copy of the possible thomsonii inside last fall... i will plant it near the basjoo in the backyard and leave it out this winter mulched

cincinnana

Looks amazing.
Can't wait for the clean slate to fill out and become an impenetrable oasis.
The butterflys and bees can't wait either.

__________________

beam2050

impressive buddy. looks like you have some serious work ahead of you. lol

__________________
...................................................

npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

Valor_X

I've been seeing a lot of those grow bags and I have some questions

What are the benefits of using them compared to water/whiskey barrels & plastic pots? Aeration & Drainage I assume?

Can those bags even hold the weight after filling them up or do you have to cut them open to move/re-pot?

__________________
Varieties I'm Growing

From Corm/Pup
Dwarf Cavendish ○ Super Dwarf Cavendish ○ Grand Nain ○ Niño ○ Manzano ○ Raja Puri ○ Tall Namwah ○ Blue Java ○ 1000 Fingers ○ Praying Hands ○ Orinoco ○ Variegated Florida ○ PR Red ○ California Gold ○ FHIA-03 Sweetheart

Plantains
Puerto Rican Dwarf Plantain ○ African Rhino Horn

From TC
Truly Tiny ○ Manzano ○ "Blue Java" ○ Dwarf Namwah ○ Thai Black ○ Veinte Cohol

subsonicdrone

they hold the weight
transplanting is a pain with these
i roll down the sides and then (with a tall plant,laying on the ground)
push with my knee while i pull down the sides further
it is a real pain compared to a hard tapered container

i move mine with a dolly and as long as the soil isnt soaking wet or loose soil with not filled in roots they retain the shape but there is a higher chance of damaging roots when moving around compared to hard container

animals rip holes in the sides sometimes ( i stuff a dead banana leaf in there to block the soil)

i got most of these on sale someone walked out on an order
different brands have varying durability
these are root pouch, smart pot and off brand ones

i recently built some "fabric pots" more of a permanent outdoor installation using burlap doubled up
sides only no bottom
animals did mess the sides up within a day or two and i wrapped chicken wire around them
i would like to move more towards natural products and not add microplastics to my landscape
i made a couple pottery hanging baskets i might post pics of later

there are natural fabric pots in the market if i were to buy more i would get those so they could compost at the end of their lifespan

subsonicdrone

cincinnana,
i messed up the monarda this year....
i was digging nearby and pushed a bit of dirt over the area and i have very spotty growth

subsonicdrone

thanks beam i will post some update pics soon

Petey

Moved the double mahoi I overwintered at my parents' place (thread) outside, moved from 5 gallon -> 10 gallon bucket, and split off three pups to try and grow as gifts for friends.



Unsure if I'm going to move my smaller dwarf plants outside down here in Boston...can only put on the stoop and worried about them being lifted lol. Also I am running out of space in my apartment as it is and might want to keep them small. I'll post a couple pictures of those when I have a chance.

subsonicdrone

predictably the plants look worse before they look better..
here you can see the lacatans growing through the sunburn they got


the matoke had a big leaf pushing but it snapped overnight one night


some have not shown signs of life yet but they will be growing soon


mekong giant out front pushing a new leaf


basjoos in backyard and possible thomsonii planted on the left side

subsonicdrone

this plant died back in the fall and looked like a stump all winter (indoors)
i was excited to see the new growth after yesterdays rain
it is a mystery plant from seed
edit:
i was hoping it is velutina which was among the seeds i purchased
but i think someone on here said it did not look like velutina so i will have to wait and see what it is

subsonicdrone

i was looking at my thread from last year and on this day i posted some pics
so i took some more today and by comparison the plants seem a bit behind this year
i did bring them outside earlier than normal last year


dwarf green growing well


mystery seedling growing well


the thai black has not yet broken dormancy and the matoke has caught up in pstem height


there were strong winds the other day and the mekong giant lost all its foliage


i am going to dig up the 2nd biggest basjoo and plant it at a family members house


here are those hanging baskets i made (the bottom one with the help of my nephew)
i got some plants into them finally
i would like to make some big pots at some point

cincinnana

I like the southwestern look of the pots.....and great knot work.
Basjoos are going to be monsters this season.

Your northern garden is moving along.

Got the tomatoe plants in.

__________________

subsonicdrone

i took these pics yesterday and i see a difference already this morning
but i will post some more on the 5th to line up with pics i posted that day last year for comparison sake
i potted up several plants that were in 4 gallon pots one of which was this zebrina

the biggest one in this pic is fhia02 which i put in a 65 gallon pot when they first came outside

cat nap

my matoke is on track to be as tall as the house by fall.. the thai black... still no signs of life

in the ground we have basjoo on the left mekong giant on the right out front

i separated some pups off the basjoo in the back but totally botched it
the big one i separated snapped off at the base
surprisingly it is showing signs of growing already at its new home a couple hours north of here
also a basjoo at a friends house which only got 3-4 inches of mulch pulled through although it took until mid june to emerge
the remaining one out back is getting big and i fed it some of my homemade fish amino acid
(and fish emulsion, worm casting, pee, coffee grinds and compost tea)
see pics below v v v v v v

beam2050

looking great. alot of work.

how do you make your compost tea? 5 gallon bucket.?

__________________
...................................................

npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

subsonicdrone

yeah i have been brewing it in a 5 gal bucket although you can then after the 24hrs of aeration pour the bucket or a portion of the bucket into a rain barrel or drum with molasses and aerate for 24 more hrs
i have been using a store bought product called ecotea

beam2050

thanks.

i have a banana that i bought from florida hills as a tc, supposed to be a gros michal but it looks like some kind of dwarf banana. short dark green paddle like leaves with a beautifully colored thickish p-stem. i have not got one to fruit yet, the winter takes them out, but they got, p-stem height, to almost 6 ft.

anyways, i planted 2 mats 5 years ago and when the manure/compost ran out so did they, only reaching 1ft. the last couple of years.

thanks for the info., i believe this might be the ticket i was looking for. i just planted yesterday 2 in a specially prepared hole.

__________________
...................................................

npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

sirdoofus

Looking great!! I am forever impressed with your dedication, motivation and perseverance!

__________________
Who keeps calling me nuts??

beam2050

you know many of us look at your pictures and comment; looks good, alot of work.

YOU have for the years i have been here with a 3 month growimg season, have kept bananas alive and other plants as well, dragging them in and out of a green house. much less the work it takes to keep them alive all winter long for a few pics.

well some places you get recognition for being a master.
not bananas.org, your just one of the other guys. me i as dumb as a lead bar when comes to what you are doing and nobody can tell the difference. but with the proper medals there is a way to tell the difference here.



so I walkinbeam of OZ of bananas.org,,,,, would bestow on you; the inconsequential, unrecognizable, the lugubrious, the unpalatable, the irreprehensible and may i dare say, the dubious, the highly influential and prestigious and astound able award for dependability, endurance, and otherwise pure bullheadedness; the grand master's medal; for you; , , , ,



just a bit of fun while i work to plant another banana here in this heat, i hope yall had fun too.

__________________
...................................................

npk of wood ash 0/1/3 to 0/3/7

npk of banana leaf ash 1.75/0.75/0.5

subsonicdrone

alright i got the gold star!
trying to remember if i have ever gotten a medal before...
thanks for the recognition!

i had to work late so i only have this pic from this morning when it was raining
i will post some more pics tomorrow morning

subsonicdrone

so looking back at last year some plants seem to be on par this year, others behind. although it varies plant to plant
the basjoo for example seems to have less leaves but is taller


possible musa thomsonii, no pups yet this year but growing nicely


last year this sago was a bit ahead in producing new leaves
by comparison the madagascar palm is way ahead this year


lots of plants are re-setting
i was going through some small pots (i killed a fair number underwatering this past winter)
several had solid corms still so i am watering lightly and giving them a chance


the middle plant was alive when it came outside... declined and now lots of pups fortunately


same with this plant although it is clinging to life


in this example the main plant had a rough start but pulled through and the pup is thriving as well













out front:


the thai black has not yet shown signs of life... i am considering cutting the stem shorter
matoke: