TheVeggieProfessor

Hi all. I'm planning on building a small banana pit/circle but for supporting just a single banana. I'll run my roof runoff into the hole and compost in it to support the banana. What dimensions would you recommend digging this pit and how tall/wide should the berm be for planting the banana in? Thanks for any insights!

cincinnana

Seems to be pretty popular way to garden.
I do not have one but they sure are interesting.
Good luck building one

A quick Youtube search keyword "banana circles" will give you some insight on your build.

There are a few forum threads also just use the search word "banana circles" .
Some of the threads have photos which will assist your decisions also.

Here is a link to one of the threads......there are more.
Banana Circles

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TheVeggieProfessor

Thank you! The trouble is that these are all for "traditional" banana circles, intended to support many bananas. I'm trying to think about how to scale it down for the pit to be the right size for just 1 plant vs. 5 or so.

seventypups

I would suggest at least three foot deep and three foot wide. Three foot deep allows for great composting. I am one that uses it to plant five bananas with a 3 foot deep and 6 foot wide pit.

twotallgirls

So my initial "circle" I dug was about 2.5 feet deep and about 7 feet across and I have a downspout that I semi-direct into into it. I planted about 3 varieties of bananas around it. However, it really is a glorified compost pit that I dump a huge amounts of plant waste. I was so surprised at how much yard "waste" I was able to compost the past two years and I now have incredible soil. It really is no longer a pit as the new compost / soil created is about 18" deep. My banana mats are now very large and are migrating into the "circle"; when I pull back soil the roots from bananas are all feeding heavily form it. Very successful.

I started a second compost area, but I consider it more of an "oval" and swail-like. I have 2 bananas on either end. Didn't dig down much but used some digging to conture the land to slow down rain water (like a small swail); its about 6 feet long and 3 feet wide. I started it layered with banana stalk logs (my Saba I cut was about 20 feet tall). Worm love those logs!

I live in South Florida so my mulch pile breaks down / drops very quickly, so I have tons of yard stuff so I heap it on weekly. I would assume if you are doing one plant you could reduce it down in size, 2+ feet deep and 3+ feet wide or so. Depends on your composting style and amount. I would assume if too deep and not wide it may be slow to compost, or if your soil doesn't drain well (mine is very sandy) then a downspout may give it too much water, or you may need to chop up your yard waste a bit for it to fit. Regardless, your banana roots will find whatever you compost eventually and be happy.

Good luck!

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Blue Java, Raja Puri, Goldfinger FHIA-01, Mona Lisa FHIA-02, Sweetheart FHIA-03, Pitogo, Saba, Dwarf Cavendish, Super Dwarf Cav., Namwa, Brazilian, Mysore, Dwarf Red, and a mystery or two