FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

FHIA-03 Now w/ 6 pups.. :^)


FHIA-03 10 Months ago Closest in the picture..

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Man that's a great looking plant.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

The photo really doesn't do her justice.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

It could work as a decorative banana, like a snow banana. DB's are like that too, imo.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Its 12 months old now.. I don't know how many pups I had to whack.. I sent a couple off.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Wow that is a nice looking nanner. Keep up the nice work.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Looking good.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

What's up with the calcium deficiency? :03::03:

Thought you used AZOMITE®, MYCORRHIZAE, & FISH EMULSION.:08::08:

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

This better? She's over 8' now.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Wow, that thing is FAT.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

She gets alot of last winter's fireplace ash.. I need to go crabbing and bury some shells in there.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

A lil shell action does her good.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

That explains it.

The largest component of wood ash (about 25 percent) is calcium carbonate, a common liming
material that increases soil alkalinity. Wood ash has a very fine particle size, so it reacts rapidly
and completely in the soil. Although small amounts of nutrients are applied with wood ash, the
main effect is that of a liming agent.

Increasing the alkalinity of the soil does affect plant nutrition. Nutrients are most readily available
to plants when the soil is slightly acidic. As soil alkalinity increases and the pH rises above 7.0,
nutrients such as phosphorus, iron, boron, manganese, copper, zinc and potassium become
chemically tied to the soil and less available for plant use.

Calcium deficiency is a widespread problem in banana crops and significantly reduces fruit quality.
Moisture stress is the major cause of calcium deficiency as it interrupts the root uptake of calcium
and leads to localized deficiencies in fruit. Boron is required for the maintenance of transpiration
(water uptake) and therefore also calcium uptake. Over-use of nitrogen fertilizers and excessive
plant vigor also compound calcium deficiencies. Calcium and boron are also essential for plant
strength and therefore deficient plants are more likely to suffer from fungal diseases and
environmental stresses. Calcium deficiencies are common in both acid and alkaline soils even when
exchangeable soil calcium levels are high. This is largely due to the low mobility of soil calcium and
competition with other nutrients such as ammonium nitrogen, potassium and magnesium

Applying small amounts of wood ash to most soils will not adversely affect your garden crops, and
the ash does help replenish some nutrients. But because wood ash increases soil pH, adding large
amounts can do more harm than good.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Thanks, PR Giants.
Makes perfectly sense. That is why I put my BBQ or fire place ashes in the compost, but have heard some different opinions on that, too ( it might destroy some micro organism that are important for the process of composting).
Any opinions on that?

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

This was the first time I've heard of someone using "alot".

Ash is caustic and dangerous, so moderation is prudent.

I prefer chunks of biochar, less mobile and interacts more slowly.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Alot consists of about 8 cups.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

PreFlag is coming up.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

:woohoonaner:

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

You know it... I'll be posting pic's this weekend. In dallas I guess I'll pick up manzano's since I'm over here, And running low on VC's already..

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Flag is up.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Flag is up flower is emerging. She's 29" @ a meter, and the stem is 9'9".. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Flower is up.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

I am new to bananas. Is it common to have so many plants flower this late? I have two just blooming and Abnshrek has what, three, just now throwing out a flower?

:2726:Whatsupwitdat:2726:

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Probably depends on how many plants one has

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

I have 2 hanging in Ark, 4 hanging, and 2 on the way out in La. Of course the a Caligold is fixing to pop too.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Well after flowering the Banana's all got fried and the stem fell over here in N. La..

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Bummer

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Drat.

That was such a fat and beautiful p-stem, wish it could have filled its bunch for you.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

There will be other seasons w/ less winter.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

At my previous home I had an active banana plat. Pups needed to be thinned on a regular basis. But when the main plant was fruiting or near fruiting, I liked to select one pup that had a good chance of maturing in next year's spring and remove the rest. It's an art that comes with experience of each variety in your climate. I wasn't always successful but each year I got better at it.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

I should've just wrapped my monster pup instead.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

OT -- I'm not sure why, but when I post replies, Richard's 'welcome wagon' avatar often appears directly underneath my avatar inside my info box (between my avatar and my other info). This happens regardless of whether Richard has posted in the given thread. If I then hit F5/refresh, the page reloads correctly without that extra image.

This may deserve its own thread, but it just happened again with my prior post so I decided to finally mention it here.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

It just did it again. Here's a copy/paste of my personal info box to the left of my post:
Where it says "welcome wagon" is where I'm seeing the pic from Richard's avatar, but when I copy/paste it into this post editor, it just pastes the words "welcome wagon" rather than the pic of the welcome wagon itself.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

This exact thing just happened to me when I replied in my "why does this happen" thread. The welcome wagon pic was a little circle though not the full sized rectangular avatar.

Edit: just happened when I posted this also. Im currently posting on my phone if that makes a difference.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Yeah, mine's a circle, too.

Desktop here.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

My theory is that Richard is taking over the world.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Getting so close and then having everything fall apart really sucks! :(



I'm not trying to tell you what to do, this is just my opinion.
In your microclimate you know how long it takes for sweetheart to go from pup to flower just add 4 months or so to complete the cycle (harvest).

It's all about timing.
It seems to me you should grow sweetheart in a large pot (25 gallons) by separating a pup or starting a new plant at the right time of year, in doing so you can grow it 80% the first year, bring it inside for winter and then in the spring plant it outside in the ground.

Your technique of storing plants inside is very effective, as long as the plant has recovered from storage and grown 8 to 12 new leaves before it flowers you should be a able to achieve a good harvest.

Don't rely on good weather next winter, if it can be done you will be one of the first to prove it. :waving:

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

The Mat is coming along after last Winter.. I'm not rehashing what was from 3 Corms & no Movement thread.. This pic is from Last Weekend.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Michael - did you ever get a bunch for taste testing? i lost my SH and not coming back -
BTW - how does one give feedback?

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

She flowered then froze.. The one I gave you last fall?

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

And the wait begins.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Michael -:bananas_b I lost some smaller single nana pups that hadn't established mats - the established mats mostly froze to ground last winter but have come back.
Even my SuperBum, D. Red and DC, SDC have recovered. The Caligold was pushing a bloom and froze -two CG pups may bloom this season. pstems are at 5 -6ft.
TJ

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Well this one might be big enough to protect this winter and have a shot next year if the Winter is normal.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

Looking good!

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

The Three Amigos have made some progress since last pic.. :^)

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

I had my first Sweetheart banana. It tastes good. It's sweet and a little tart. It's not at all starchy like Burro.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

"The flavor and texture of boiled
FHIA-03 are practically identical to those of the East African highland cooking bananas,
and this hybrid could also possibly be an acceptable disease-resistant substitute for
these AAA clones."


Anyone know how to copy a photo from a pdf file?

There's a cool photo of a FHIA-03, but I don't know how to copy it.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

I know you can find programs that will convert pdf's back to a word document. Then you should be able to copy it. Probably an easier way but thats the only way I know how.

Re: FHIA 03 Sweetheart
 

if you are using Win7, there is a tool within Windows>All programs>Accessories>Snipping tool which will allow you to copy anything on your computer screen


for example:
from this link i was able to snip the following pic save it on my desktop
http://agroforestry.net/images/pdfs/...n-overview.pdf


for win vista and lower you can use the mspaint tool

How to Use the "Print Screen" Function on a Keyboard: 4 Steps