Going Bananas

By Joe Real

Banana Facts and Origin

The largest non-woody plant in the world Not a tree but a large herb with succulent juicy stem or trunk (technically called pseudostem) Fruit is a type of berry 4th largest fruit crop in the world. 28 millions tons/year, 65% Latin Americas, 27% SE Asia, 7% Africa Staple food of 400 million people Origin: Indo Malaysian region to Northern Australia Spread by aborigines during prehistoric times. All types found in the Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin Americas can be traced back to eastern Indonesia. Carried to Europe in 10th century AD, spread further by Portuguese from West Africa and to South America.

One type of Dessert Banana

Banana Diversity
1000 known banana cultivars 50 cultivar groups 6 major groups of edible bananas grown world wide
AA AAA AAA AAB AAB ABB Mostly small sweet bananas (gingo bananas, baby bananas) dessert type - eg. Cavendish: the main export variety cooking type - Special group of E. African highland bananas used to make beer dessert- 'Sweet-acid' flavor, popular in Brazil and in India cooking- 'true plantains', common in West Africa and in Latin America cooking: Common in Southeast Asia. Starchy flesh which generally requires cooking.

Worlds Major Banana types

Uses of Bananas
Fresh eating, dessert Snacks: Banana Chips, Turon Banana Shake Recipe Ingredient Vegetable Wines, Beers and other beverages Ropes, Baskets, Sleeping Mat, Clothing Paper, Manila folders Disposable Dinner plates Disposable Wrappers Rafts, and other toys

Musa ingens, worlds tallest banana

Climate Influence
Tropical Areas will have bigger harvest and sweeter fruits. Some varieties improved flavors in Mediterranean type climate by increased acidity Other varieties become tasteless when ripening during the cooler part of the season

Out of 1000 known cultivars of the world, only about 2 dozen edible types are potentially reliable in the Bay Area and inland Northern California.

Pest and Diseases in California

Generally we are disease free during the growing season. Most diseases are caused by cold moist winter: Corm rotting, Black Death, Choking Mites during indoor storage Rats and Squirrels, other Rodents Moles, Gophers Slugs and Snails Caterpillars, aphids

Why grow bananas?

Ornamental purposes Rare fruit, exotic plants in our area

Measures of Cold Hardiness

Sellers will usually rate the lowest zones but the real fine print states that it will survive that zone provided you protect it against the cold during the entire winter. Corm Hardy zone rating refers to cultivars that are hardy at the corm during the winter in that zone. All the above ground parts will die during the winter but comes back every year. This is just surviving, and I have not seen corm hardy bananas ever fruited in USDA zone 9 when planted inground and left outdoors the entire winter. Pseudostem Hardy zone rating refers to cultivars whose pseudostems survive during the winter. These are the cultivars that will most likely bear fruits reliably in your zone. Leaf Hardy Zone rating When leaves suffer minimal damage during the average winter. Theres none for inland California, all edible cultivars will lose their leaves during the winter. Most cultivars are leaf Hardy in USDA Zone 10 and higher. Also in coastal frost-free areas.

General Care And Requirements

Bananas need a lot of fertilizers. Particularly moderate N, low P, and high K plus minors. Apply weekly during the growing season, amount will depend on size of clump. Bananas need constant moist well drained aerated soil. Waterlogged clay soils are deadly for bananas. Install perforated drainage pipes 2 ft below the soil surface. Increase the organic content of your soil by using soil amendments rich in organic matter. Lots and Lots of Organic matter Bananas do very well when shaded 35-65% during the hot summer days. They grow best when temperature is between 75 to 95 deg F. Will stop growing when over 100 deg F in full sun. But should receive at least 4 hours of sunshine.

Best Organic Matter Amendment

Composted Horse Manure from your friends who have horse ranches Free Compost from your city Your own composted yard waste Composted Steer Manure from Home Depot or WalMart

Bananas Need Good Drainage

Drainage pipes from excess PVC

Tips to Successful Fruiting

Cultivar must be Pseudostem Hardy. The pseudostem should remain firm and alive after the winter. The best microclimate locations in your house are the highest portion in your yard that easily drains of cold air and excess water, those high places that are bathed in full sun during the winter, those in the south and west facing wall or boulders, and under the roof overhangs. The worst problem during the winter is not the cold, but the combined effect of cold and excess moisture. So protect the plants by placing mulch and moisture barriers that drains water away from the base during the winter. Have jute sack or cotton sheet and plastic sheets ready to place over growing banana plants during the late winter to early spring in case of arctic blasts. Do not remove any leaves or sheaths from the trunk during the winter. These will provide natural protection for your pseudostem. If your purpose is only ornamental, you can chop off the top part. After the danger of the last frost is over, when temperature exceeds 38 deg F in the forecast, then and only then remove the dead leaves and dried brown outer layer sheaths. Follow-up with removing brown or dried parts from the trunk to maximize photosynthesis necessary for quicker growth and fruit production.

Tips continued
Do not chop off the top part of the plant any point in time except during harvest. Doing so will remove natural cold protection and you may also chop off the unopened bloom within the stalk. Banana stalk will die once it has bloomed and fruited. Apply Calcium during the heat of the summer. Apply Epsom salt when planted in shady areas or indoors. When temperatures are very hot, greater than 95 deg F, bananas will continue to grow when shaded 35 to 65%. Water misters will also help. Pup or sucker management. Limit the number of pups for good quality fruit production. Maintain two to three replacement pups at any one time. The best way to limit pups and concentrate fruit production is to cut the pups at ground level. Cut the excess unwanted pups every month to ground level. Removing the pups will stress out the mother plant and could affect its fruiting. Remove pups to give away only when the mother plant is projected not to bloom that season. Separate pups during late spring to early summer to give chance for mother plant to recover quickly.

Tips continued
Remove the male blossom part. This comes after all the female flowers have been formed and the male blossom never turn into fruits. Male blossom are used in various exotic recipes. If banana bloomed late in the season, thin it out by removing newly formed hands and cutting off the bloom. This will concentrate the growth to the remaining fruits and hopefully make them more plump by harvest. Banana fruits will ripen after your harvest them regardless of size. Increasing chances of fruiting means increasing chances of blooming at the right time. This requires more observations of your plant, especially observing their height during start of the bloom. If it would reach blooming height by fall, you can remove the leaves a month before the projected blooming, and shade out or cover the plant to prevent it from progressing its growth and postponing its bloom during spring. Some cultivars bloom consistently during late spring to early summer. After you harvest the fruits, cut off the banana stalk in half to allow the nutrients to be reabsorbed by the growing pups. Remove completely when the remaining stalk has dried out or turned brown at the core.

Improper way of maintaining banana clump

Maintain 3 pups per clump. This should be thinned out, remove other of same size.

The bananas are not cut down but the clump is overcrowded, reducing chances of getting bigger edible fruits.

Do not remove any leaves nor chop down the plant during winter to increase chances of fruiting.

Properly maintained clumps consisting of 4 cultivars

The BIG Reward.

Slide show for zone 8 and lower.