magicgreen

Thank you soooo much Richard!!
And you are not sounding boring!!
Iam newby to this fertilizing stuff and want to get it down pat!
Don't get me wrong, I've always fertilize, well....every once in a while with miracle grow. But never regularly like I've done since coming here to this site and growing bananas!! Heck I've even started composting, and last fall I got horse and goat manure for my nannas to add to the compost pile!
I've learned alot from this site!
And one thing I learned is if 1 person ask the question, somebody else was wondering about that same question.
Now Tomorrow I have to go and find my babies some potash!

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

Rmplmnz

Thanks!!

The most widely grown of all the species of Annona, the sugar apple, A. squamosa L.

Sugar Apple

Origin and Distribution

The original home of the sugar apple is unknown. It is commonly cultivated in tropical South America, not often in Central America, very frequently in southern Mexico, the West Indies, Bahamas and Bermuda, and occasionally in southern Florida. In Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Barbados, and in dry regions of North Queensland, Australia, it has escaped from cultivation and is found wild in pastures, forests and along roadsides.

The Spaniards probably carried seeds from the New World to the Philippines and the Portuguese are assumed to have introduced the sugar apple to southern India before 1590. It was growing in Indonesia early in the 17 th century and has been widely adopted in southern China, Queensland, Australia, Polynesia, Hawaii, tropical Africa, Egypt and the lowlands of Palestine. Cultivation is most extensive in India where the tree is also very common as an escape and the fruit exceedingly popular and abundant in markets. The sugar apple is one of the most important fruits in the interior of Brazil and is conspicuous in the markets of Bahia.

gadget

Here is my ongoing attempt of a tropical desert landscape. When I moved in 4 years ago it was just dirt and 3 palms.







Just planted 4 bananas on the south facing wall


Where my potted plants hide for the summer

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mskitty38583

i think it looks great.

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WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION

magicgreen

Gosh darn Gadget!!
That baby really took off from this spring!!
I like your courtyard there! Looks really inviting!
That palm is enormous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just got to see palm trees and bananas that stay in the ground
all year round, like realllllllll soon!!!
I got the CRAVE!!! ( And I don't mean for White Castle's)

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

momoese

How does one make go about making ash from banana stalks?

Richard

One of my neighbors does the following:
Downed fronds and stalks are collected before rain or water can leach minerals out of the drying material.
These are cut into roughly 16 inch sections using a 7" power hand saw, then thrown into a bin in the shed.
When the bin is full they are burned in an outdoor fire pit. The fire is started with charcoal and hardwood.
A few days later the ashes are shoveled into another bin.
Three or 4 times a year he gives each of his 3 pit fruit trees a large coffee can full of it.
Yup, they put out a couple hundred pounds of fruit each year.
For nitrogen, I believe he just throws some lawn fertilizer on them a few times per year when he is feeding his lawn.

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Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

magicgreen

Gonna try this, this fall when I hack off the leaves.
Thanks Richard!!! Your the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

magicgreen

I glued these together and placed in my garden between the plants to look pretty.

Hope you like them.

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

mskitty38583

magic green i like those. they are very pretty! i would put those in my yard.

__________________
WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION

magicgreen

Thanks Sam.
I used GE silicone glue for doors and windows.

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(Started growing bananas July 2007)
(Zone 6)

mskitty38583

were the plates and bowls yardsale finds? if so maybe i need to start going....like i have any money it all goes to dirt and nanas... lol

__________________
WELCOME TO THE GATOR NATION

Dean W.

Sam, your addicted. All your "goes to dirt and nanas". Nice artistic expression , Lynn. Why the concrete wire?

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thebes11

Wow, there are so many absolutely beautiful yards in this thread. I totally enjoy opening it every time someone adds their pics, so I'll throw my hat (yard) in the ring for viewing, now that I've finally gotten my camera! Pix with cell phones are no fun.


My wife and I are avid divers and our favorite place on earth is Cozumel, Mexico. We wanted to re-create, as much as we could, the feel of Cozumel whenever we went out back. From the outside bars, to the palms, to the pool, to the hammock, we wanted this feeling more often:


I made this film about our "drinking day" on Cozumel. We dive every day, so drinking is at a minimum, except for the last Friday. Our flight out is always early, and we follow the "don't fly within 24 hours of diving" rule. Friday always leads to hung-over flying on Saturday.


We've still got some work to do, but we are at the point where our backyard is a mini-vacation destination!

Here's a panorama of my entire backyard:



It's my first attempt at making a panorama, and it's not perfect, but it gives you the idea. Here's the three pictures that make up the pano:

Left side, deck and bar



Center section with deck, palms, crepe myrtle



Right side with pool and hammock


The pool is still in "party mode" with the volleyball net strung across. It's not permanent, but I planned the pool for volleyball, it's deep in the middle and both ends are shallow. The net is wound up against the fence most of the time.

The structure in the back was built as my "Hammock Hideaway". It get very little sun, so it stays cooler (but never gets used June-September because of the heat). It's my retreat to go take a nap or read a book. Here's a closer pic:


Hammock Hideaway



I have a very narrow section of land on the south side of my house, so, being a good ex-Ohioan, I put in a horseshoe pit:

Horseshoe pit


If I had known about bananas a five years ago, this area would probably be lined with banana plants. That would upset my friends though, as this is one of the more popular activities during parties.

Speaking of parties, I can't help but tell the story of how we named the bar. We had a golden retriever named Jose Cuervo Golden Retriever,

Jose for short (we also have a cat named Tequila...see a pattern here?). We had to put him down at 13 on Sept. 7, 2007. Aside from our sadness, all of our friends were affected also since we have many parties, and Jose was an active participant. He would sit on the steps at the end of the pool and if the ball came to him, he would hit it with his snout (think Air Bud hitting the basketball). Everyone on that side of the pool knew the rule: The dog is in play!

Well, we just knew it wouldn't be a good party without the old man, so I surprised my wife and had this sign made:

Jose's Cantina


So now he watches over every party we have!


And finally, the front of the house. Much to the neighbors chagrin, this was the last part of our yard to receive attention. They like the final result though, as do we.

Front Yard





It's just a little spit of land compared to many of your yards, but it's pretty large for beach lots here. We couldn't be happier with out little piece of paradise.

Excuse me now, after looking at these pictures, I have to go edge my driveway.

fishman0422

Wonderful job Gary. It really looks great! Neat idea with the pool being shallow on either end. The story of Jose's cantina was touching...losing a dog sucks. It's nice to have a vacation in your backyard!

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The Reluctant Gardener

momoese

You not only have an awesome yard it's huge compared to mine! I wish we had more room to grow but honestly I think if we had more space it would just fill up with more dog agility equipment!

natedogg1026

Gary, Everything looks great! You did a great job recreating Cozumel. And again, I love the Tiki lounge, makes me jealous.

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Banana's are a safe addiction. Right?Maybe I need classes.

fishman0422

My back yard has come a long way since last spring, but I still have a lot to do! I still plan on making plenty more rock pattern walkways. I hope my basjoos get larger. At the end of this season I plan to do a better job of wrapping them up. Last season there was definitely room for improvement, I had lost too much of the psuedo stem height this spring!





















Thanks for checking it out!

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The Reluctant Gardener

saltydad

Gary- loved the video and the yard pics. When can I make a reservation at your resort?

Fishman- beautiful. You obviously have put a lot of work and love into your yard and it shows!

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Men In Nursing- "A Few Good Men"

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." - Francis Bacon





"If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; that is what they meant by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal."
John F. Kennedy, September, 1960


http://flickr.com/photos/saltydad/ and
http://community.webshots.com/user/saltydad
http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/xx151/saltydad/

nucci60

fishman, your yard looks great! Are the cannas "tropicana gold"?