Hydroponic banana growers sound off
 

If you have grown or currently grow bananas hydroponically, please say hello on this thread. This way other people who are just getting started will know who they can ask questions or for help.

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hello. i am growing them hydroponically indoors using rockwool and hydroton as the grow media potted in autopots under 1000W of grow lights. Impressed? peace.

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Yea... :)
Got some pics?

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Yeah, we need some pics!

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ok, here are some pics. its the best i could do for now.

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Looks great, healthy looking!

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Which cultivar is this? Dwarf Cavendish? Looks good!

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thanks. it is a dwarf red. they seem to be growing well in the small pot. i will see if they will flower using this autopot system

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I think only super dwarf desert bananas because of size considerations are suitable for hydroponics otherwise you end up with root cram.

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any plant can be grown hydroponically

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agreed but not all plants are suitable for hydroponics.

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i think the point of this thread is to share info and ask questions about growing hydroponically. i am not clear on why you are posting on this thread.

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To provide useful information to those interested in growing bananas hydroponically. Not everyone is aware of the differences in cultivars..so why am I ? As you stated to share information!

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It's been a while since I've posted so I thought I'd update my fellow hydro nerds on my plant. I had about 10 ensete ventricosums in a hydroponic system, a basjoo, and a super dwarf cavendish. All were doing excellent and growing very fast. I decided to transplant all the EV's and the basjoo to soil due to us moving to a new house and kept the SDC in its bubble bucket. The basjoo didnt do to well being transplanted and only 2 of the 10 EV's survived the switch. The SDC is still doing great in its bubble bucket I'm proud of the little guy.

This was my last hydroponic post with pics of what I had:
http://www.bananas.org/f311/hydopron...anas-8738.html

Now its just the SDC:


Fred posing with the SDC when it first came in the mail before converting to hydroponics



Fred again with the same plant almost a year later but now the plant can eat Fred.



Sent up one nice looking pup.



Root system

I took alot of good advice from some members on here to include Fergus (good call on keeping PH between 5.5 and 6.0) which I'm glad to see his hydros are looking good. My next step is to get this thing to bloom the only problem is I dont know the life cycle of an SDC if this thing is even big enough.

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wow what nice roots on the SDC! its too bad that you lost so many plants.

from what i have read, it is difficult to transition a plant from a hydroponic system to soil and vice versa. i have tried to transition younger banana plants from soil to a top feed drip bucket with zero success (but i see yours went pretty good). i ended up trying these Autopots and it seems to be working well.

keep that SDC growing hydro cause he's looking good.

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Thanks Fergus. The roots really have taken off but I read that bubble pots promote allot of root growth. I really want this thing bloom bad. I'm going to play around with nutes and us a formula that promotes blooming. Then I'll separate the pup and start all over. What kind of nutes are you using on your guys?

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house and garden aquaflakes 6ml per gallon. i havent measured the EC at this strength but it is very low (guessing maybe 1 to 1.5). i have kinda just left it at this concentration cause they are growing good and i havent had too much time to fuss with them lately. ive got them under 1000 watts of grow lights.

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Wow, that root system is amazing. Longer than the actual above ground parts of the plant.
I wonder how many bananas will it bear, once it sets fruit.

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I am matt18e's mom and I am waiting for him to profect the hydroponic thing then I will give it a try. He got me started growing Basjoo outside (I now have 13 not including pups).
Good job Matt the plants look great maybe next year I will go for it.

:drum:

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kewl!

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Here's a home made bubbler made from....well you can see what its made from :-) more hydro poo nics perhaps.
I used it this year to grow on a few Siam Ruby pups.
Producing the home made nutrient was more tricky though.

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Nice thread dear. Perfect for the beginners. Very good information given here by few of the experienced guys and will be helpful when i will be growing few plants.

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Thought I would kick the dust off this thread. Lots of dust.

I cut a 55 gallon plastic barrel in 1/2 the long way. Fixed a frame to lay it down on top of my pond. Installed a bell siphon on one end. Filled with homemade corse sand. Planted Dwarf Orinoco in the center. Water and nutrients come from 720 gallons of fish ponds filled with several varieties of goldfish. The system is inside my greenhouse.

Plant went through quite a shock at first. Then as the water temperature rose the plant recovered and grew nicely. The temp is back down now,high 50's, but the plant looks great and is slowly growing. I expect the plant to flower next year. So far no pups.

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pics would be handy here.

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Yes they would.

April 2017

Today February 16 2018

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Not really sure what to expect from this system. One thing for sure, it keeps my fish water clean. I can see my fish very clearly. The 1/2 barrel is roughly 28 gallons. Is it big enough for this Dwarf Orinoco to flower and fruit? I think so. Will the fruit be any good? We will see. One thing for sure, plant does not have a lack of water. As the water in the system heats up, so does the growing pace of the plant.
I did have one problem with this sand. Because of the sand size, it filters the water very well, but it also clogs with fish waste. Easy fix. 1 hand full of earthworms to the rescue. The worms will eat and process the waste faster than the bacteria can. The worms must be happy because now there are more than when I started.

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great pics thank you :08:

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I am thinking about planting a different variety in the first bed. Either a Raja Puri, a Dwarf Cavendish, or a Grand Nain.

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Mark,

A Dwarf Cavendish has proven to be a good starter plant for me.
While not expecting massive growth and fruit the process has been to watch.

Even in a 5 gal hydro bucket under non pro conditions it still thrives and has pupped a few times.
Water temp is in the 60's and the plant has pulled back some but the roots look/smell good.
I know once the water temp rises back in the 70-90's the plant will respond well

I think if it were in your conditions and setup it will be through the roof in no time.

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Dwarf Cavendish seems to be a popular plant to use. Probably because it is such a common plant, or because it responds well to hydro growing conditions.I think I want to try something else, something not commonly used or not used at all. I will even consider one of my taller plants. Restricted root growth to a 28 gallon container should dwarf the plant some to keep it manageable.

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Recent success with Raja Puri(2 bunches hanging and now a flag leaf on another) makes me want to try one in my aquaponic setup. It will be interesting to see how that plant responds to hydro conditions, and to the confined root area of 28 gallons. Bloom height and bunch size should both be effected.

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Just tossing out....For me variegated plant worked with juice and rocks.
I tried one a few years back and it did well.

You could try it....

This spring I might try a Musa Tanee and maybe a namwa if I can get one.

The plants root like nobody's business.

I had noticed no one has ever posted pics with fruit on the plant.

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Moved mine outside today...

Roots look good, water smells good.

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I have one flowering😀. If I can get a decent picture tomorrow, I will post it

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Aquaponic Dwarf Orinoco blooming with 1 hand showing.

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Next picture i wanted to get the whole plant. A bit of a tricky task with the other plants in the way.



At the top of the picture you can see a Dwarf Brazillion bunch. On the right you can see part of a Tall Namwah bunch.

Dwarf Orinoco flower near the center.

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Several hands showing now. I will try to get a good picture today.

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Old thread but worth replying.

The problem with Pythium root rot on hydro banana plants is that the soil is not rinsed properly from the rootball and Fester's.