Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

I did a search on this in the forum but nothing turned up.

Like all of you, I have a lot of banana plants and, of course 'used' leaves and trunks. Has anyone found a relatively easy way of mulching up the banana parts and returning them to the ground. Only thing I've done is cut them up best I can with a machete and layering on the ground to turn them under later.

Ideas?

tks.

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

I do the machete chop too so I'm in for answers. I think I got wicked tendenitis in my arm from chopping up the pstems and leaves last year. I don't turn them down. Just leave on top and they break down in a couple of months.

Maybe run them over with a lawn mower or rent a wood chipper from HD?

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

Me, too on just chop and leave on the surface. I do have a fair population of the corm borers, but the bananas still grow fine. For chopping the P-stems I use a battery powered reciprocating saw - sweet and easy, then machete for the leaves. My favorite ground cover is our native fern, laua'e. It grows well on top and thru all the chopped up stuff. Mine grow on a steep slope, and every once in a while I dump a bucket of rich dirt with a scoop of banana fert mixed in. There are surely better systems, but this one has worked well and easy for me for many years.

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

I used to use my riding lawn mower to get rid of the leaves, works very well if you don't pile them up. but now with my banana circles I just throw it all in them.

I have been contemplating on building a small juicer :rollerbananadone: to get the juice out of the p-stems and see what it does to my bananas in pots. a few years back I could have acquired some shafts from moyno pumps that would have worked excellent but alas the scrapers got them.

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

Leave them to rot. The leaves work well to keep down weeds under the plants. The pstems I chop into short lengths If I need to. Otherwise I leave these up-right on the mat until they fall on their own. Up-right the nutriants feed/drain directly into the corm.

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

For the difference in nutrient transfer between left stems and leaves; and removed, chopped, and mulched banana stems and leaves see:
http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?cs94027

A chopping bench is useful for hand chopping with a machete.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g8a...ew?usp=sharing

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

I am sure that putting wood chips (oak) On top (six inches or so) would really help with decomposition

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

No oak chips in Haiti!

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

Thats pretty much everyone else does....

Chop chop.

Re: Mulching banana leaves/trunks
 

chop up the leaves so they break down faster and let rain soak through better. Pstems small chunks or if I want them for putting around my fruit trees I cut them 12"-20" long sections then slice them down the middle length wise. Put the flat (inner core) facing down on the ground around other trees for instant moisture and mulch. Matt from whatsripening youtube recently showed this method also.