Bananas.org - Soil for plantain in south florida

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Soil for plantain in south florida

Hi All,

My wife brought back some small plantain plants from Ecuador and we are trying to grow them here in south Florida.

We initially just put them in the ground but they didn't take at all. We are pretty close to the ocean (1.5 miles) so I think the soil is a bit salty, it is also very sandy.

She dug them up and put them in a pot with some potting soil and they took off. Now we are looking to put them back into the ground again. We are thinking to just dig up a 2'x2' or 3'x3' section of the yard and put in a different type of soil that would be better for them. Does anyone have any suggestions on the type of soil to use? Garden soil? Top Soil?

Also, I assume a place where they get about 2/3 to 3/4 sun is fine for them? I mean in Ecuador they get full sun. She claims this is a red plantain plant and not the normal kind.

Thanks for any tips,
Dal

Re: Soil for plantain in south florida

More organic matter is better. If you got about 200 lbs of Black Kow and mixed it in with the backfill soil when you plant your plantain you will not need additional fertilizer.

Re: Soil for plantain in south florida

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicolas Naranja (Post 261505)

More organic matter is better. If you got about 200 lbs of Black Kow and mixed it in with the backfill soil when you plant your plantain you will not need additional fertilizer.

Interesting. So I don't need to replace the soil that is there already? just dig it up, mix it with the Black Kow and put it back? Is there any test I should do on the soil to make sure it is suitable?