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Vallejo Ca has contributed to 29 posts out of 2760 total posts
(1.05%) in 1,188 days (0.02 posts per day).
20 Most recent posts:
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
What soil do bananas prefer when planted in ground? Oct 13, 2009 02:03 AM
(Total replies: 4)
What I did was have my wife dig a big hole, (south facing if possible) and just take your time and toss all organic junk from the kitchen in it, Even some lawn clippings but all the junk you can find. The bigger the debris pile the faster it will grow and the more fruit you will get. I collected rain water in one of those green city trash things and tossed steer and chicken manure in it and used that for after. Kept a few minnows in there for mosquito control. Then I piled up some 15-15-15 or 20 stuff, I forget, and they grew fast. The type matters too. I narrowed it down to a few with the Raja Puri and Dwarf Brazilian as my favorites. I toss all the old leaves and chopped up pups around the base and the old stock material. I eat the core in fried rice and stew and the tribe doesn't know the difference between them and potatoes. That's about it.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Sep 6, 2009 01:32 AM
(Total replies: 32)
Well it's been a fine summer here in the Bay Area and my 4 banana plants are still alive. Last year they all fruited. The D Brazilians fruit was harvested as was the Orinoco's. The Raja puri and Mona Lisa fruit was too late in the winter to salvage although only the Mona was damaged beyond saving. This year the Raja Puri was first to fruit and the Orinoco is just now flag leafing although I've been lazy with water and strong fertilizer but they all got the same treatment. I'm surprised the D.Brazilian is not fruiting but should be the next leaf. I hope it waits till early spring. My data shows the Raja Puri as the faster fruiter followed by the Orinoco and certainly the Brazilian as a close 3rd. Mona is slugging along. Since Mona fruited last year I bought a Mohy (sp?) Double and put it where my D Cavendish was. Looks like this winter I'll test how the immature fruits withstand winter frosts and see if any ripen come spring.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
FRUITING BANANA TREE - SHOULD I CUT THE FLOWER OFF?? Mar 14, 2009 01:13 PM
(Total replies: 12)
How big are the fruit?Grocery store size or lady finger size? I harvested my Raja Puri 2 days ago.The fruit is lady finger size as was my Dwarf Brazilian, Dwarf Orinoco and Mona Lisa. The taste is very good all all I tried. The Raja Puri is hanging from a hook in my kitchen now until it ripens. I cut the flowers on all mine and ate them. The inner white part can be prepared different ways as can the white stem core. I'm looking for a dwarf that has regular sized fruit and just planted a Mohi Double. It's a Cavendish mutation and so is the Mona Lisa, or a type of cultured Cavendish as is the store type but the fruit was still small. Climate maybe.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Feb 7, 2009 01:51 PM
(Total replies: 32)
It's a little early in the warming season here but they all seem to of survived.Last year must of had fewer cold mornings.On all plants there is visible crispy leaves that extend over half way back but new growth is starting. The fruit experiment was confusing.The batch in the bag ripened after the batch hanging by itself.After the unbagged batch ripened I added an orange to the bag but it must not give off the right gas.I took them out and they then ripened nicely.They were delicious,equal if not sweeter than the store bought just smaller,ladyfinger size.Even when all black,the fruit is white and firm. The two bunches I left out were the Mona Lisa and Raji Puri.The Mona Lisa rotted...the fruit,not the plant.The fruit on the Raji Puri seems fine and show no black spots and may continue their ripening.The Raji Puri is fruit is hardier than the Mona Lisa here. Since I harvested the D.Orinoco and D.Brazilian I cut them down with the Mona Lisa and their pups are growing.I may replace the Mona and D.Orinoco with a Raji or Brazilian but ordered a baby Mahoi double which I have in the greenhouse right now.I'll try that for sake of extra fruit possibilities and want to see if the Orinoco fruits better without a pup but its fruit was lumpy. I should of just cut half the Brazilians fruit off to see if the other half weathered the winter. A large rooted Nepenthes survived all green again but the last two years they died after it warmed.This year it is larger with a basil shoot and looks fine...so far.The Cephalotus looks good again too. The pineapple tops vary.I have 3 and two look good and the 3rds leaves pull right off but surprisingly has a basil shoot of its own. All 4 banana plants themselves SURVIVE here but the fruit of the Mona won't so it gets replaced.Oddly one of the Gran Nains from last winter indoors was put in a tiny pot and put under the orange tree and is still alive too but was protected from frost.It shrank!It was a good 4 foot tall last winter and was battered by mites inside and the sun scorched it after putting it out so I kept one stalk.It's only2 foot tall now after pulling off all the dead leaves.Totally not hardy here as all the others grew full size,fruited and have 4' replacement pups now. I'll measure first growth next.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Jan 3, 2009 07:50 PM
(Total replies: 32)
This may be a double post,my oiginal did not show up again, A comparison of the immature fruit hanging from the Raja Puri and Mona Lisa shows a certain difference.The temps have been in the high 20's briefly and low 30's with highs in the 50's. The fruit on the Mona Lisa are obviously rotting,turning black starting from the ends while the Raji Puri fruit does not have this happening yet. The leaves look the same on all 4 varieties,visible leaf burn on the upper leaves and tired or wilty looking just like last year except this year the browning or darkening of the leaves are greater.The pups are in good shape so far on all plants.One nepenthes and one cephalotus are still fine.I do believe the cephalotus likes the winter better than he summer here.The summer killed two of the 3 I had in my bog garden although it may of been the scale that lived on the orange trees though it looks like something gnawed the stems or walked on them,perhaps squirrels that bury nuts in the bog.They all 3 flowered and seeded though before the two died so lets see what happens there.Same with my mat of flytraps,they seeded too.Some seeds are going on my front lawn for fun.Hope they sprout but may not be moist enough. My Dwarf Brazilian fruit had not ripened yet but fell off its hook and damaged 3 bananas which I removed and set into a 2 gallon water jug with a lid for disposal into my mulch pile.About 1 week later I opened the jug and they were bright yellow and ripe,much better than the Orinoco in texture.The rest which are hanging are still all green.Sealing up the bananas without an apple or anything greatly speeded up the ripening although there was some moisture in the jug from water which caused a layer of mold to grow thus I did not eat them. I cut the bunch in half and bagged one half in a plastic garbage bag and left the other half to see what happens.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Dec 18, 2008 09:59 PM
(Total replies: 32)
Guess I can sum up some data as to the height width and yield along with growth speed while I'm at it. The diameter...or width of the base of each plant and height to the top of the downward bending stem are as follows... Dwarf Brazilian...11 inches diameter and 8 foot tall Raja Puri...11 inch diameter and 6 foot 8 inches tall Mona Lisa...9 inches diameter and 7 foot tall Dwarf Orinoco...10 inches and 9 foot 6 inches tall The replacement pup on the Raja Puri is twice the size as the Mona Lisa. The main Raja Puri fruited several weeks earlier than Mona and since those two were planted at the same time and same size,the Raja Puri fruits faster and its pup grows twice as fast when only one is allowed to grow although the Mona Lisa is a visibly thinner plant so appears smaller. The yields here are equal.About 100 bananas though the D.Orinoco data is flawed by allowing two fruiting stalks at once.Its yield was smaller in that the first batch did not plump while the pups batch had just 2 hands,one with 12 or 14 bananas and one with just 6.I will let the new pup go it alone to get better data. The stem core is good in stew.Like extra potatoes and is fine in spaghetti sauce too.they blend right in like the onions and does'nt seem to change the flavor much if at all.They have more fiber than anything I've ever tried to cut up.I'm trying deep fried chips next then baking,BBQing or steaming whole to see what happens if one just eats them alone.At best it'll be sweet and filling,at worst I'll get really hairy and sprout a long tail and get an urge to climb things.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Dec 17, 2008 05:37 PM
(Total replies: 32)
Ate my D. Orinoco bananas and find their flavor the same or better than store bought.The two that appeared joined were in fact joined in the center and not separated by a piece of peeling...Siamese twins. Their texture is far below that of store bought as they are 1)much smaller,2)the center seems to have many small but soft seeds while the center also has a lumpy feel to them. They were in some high heat during the summer months so perhaps the direct sunlight scorched...or cooked them a little. Harvested my D.Brazilian bunch last night as there was a hard freeze warning and they were about as big as they should be.The batch weighs 14 pounds attached to the stem which is cut flush with the top hands and yields about 100 bananas ranging from medium large to ladyfinger size towards the bottom. The Raji Puri and Mona Lisa both have similar sized bunches but are younger so I'll let them weather the winter and see what happens.Hopefully they will continue their plumping come spring so I can taste them. I now have the stem cores from the Orinoco and D.Brazilian to eat.They are fine in stews but will try different ways of eating them like breading/frying,broiling with oil and stir frying with rice and any other way I can dream up. As last year,the cold last night produced no visible effect on the plants...yet.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Sep 21, 2008 11:58 PM
(Total replies: 32)
The Raji Puri now has a bunch of bananas.The measurement from the base to the top of the bunches curved stem is 6'8" Its hands are spaced further apart than the Dwarf Brazilian and is a little shorter of a plant.It seems the Raji Puri grows faster than the D.Orinoco or D.Brazilian. All three have ladyfinger sized fruit...or perhaps a little larger but not by much....so far. The remaining Mona Lisa may be sending up a flag leaf.It's the same age as the Raji Puri. The Orinoco's are starting to turn lighter.Two of its bananas are joined together.Strange. Gettn' cool again here.They'll be slown' down now.Still hope to get to try some if they fatten up enough before the first frost. Dang jungle back there.Now I'm thinkn' of ditching the cat for a dwarf tiger and finding a pet monkey to swing around on the things.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Aug 17, 2008 10:03 PM
(Total replies: 32)
The Dwarf Orinocos with their twin flowering stalks are not as productive as their single Dwarf Brazilian cousin.The first Orinoco to bloom only let the bananas get the size of a finger while its twin....on the same corm,put out regular size...6 inch fat ones...except 18 each....or one regular hand with a six finger hand below it.I cut down the original to get more energy to the flowering pup.To late I suspect. The Dwarf brazilians bunch looks like what you see in pictures with 8 full hands with 14 fingers each.A whole lot of nanars except they are only about 6 inches long so far.Like those tiny ladyfinger you see at the store.Still early though. I boiled the Orinoco bud after peeling it back to the pale layers and ate it like an artichoke heart.Not bad.Without the mayo it was a little bitter. I read one can eat the center stem,I easily cut some out but it turned black before I could try it.It's like a 8 foot long white carrot or something.Food for a week if one can prepare it right. Anyhow,one plant per corm is true.More and the nanars are small or few.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Jul 10, 2008 02:04 PM
(Total replies: 32)
Looking good here. The main Orinoco has numerous hands with 14 fingers each and still unfolding and its large pup is now sending out a bud too.It's weird though as I has waited 4 months to let a pup start to grow there.It caught up somehow.With two batches on the same corm,I'm wondering if it will stunt the naners growth so I'm adding fertilizer and steer poo tea as water....that's just manure and water in an old garbage can and poured on a bucket a day....or so along with other organic junk. Also the Dwarf Brazilian had its flag leaf emerge.It was hidden in the corner by leaves and suspected it was chocking so I stuck my head in there and saw the tip of the bud.Nice surprise too! The Raja Puri and Mona Lisa are still sending large leaves out but are younger. The first batch from the Orinoco should ripen but being July,the others are at the mercy of the weather.It'll be close.With a late winter like last year they may get pick able. The Brazilians bud is 8 foot high.The Dwarf Orinoco's is 9'6"....to the top of the bunches stalks downward bend.Not sure what that is in metric. The nectar really does taste like honey of some sort.It drips all over my strawberries.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Jun 18, 2008 12:16 AM
(Total replies: 32)
The Ventricosa was the second to die like that right there.The year before I had another large rooted cutting...2' long,make it through the winter all green and just dry up when it warmed.Perhaps a micro organism,insect or other root eating thing.The Copelandii made it though.All brown but one little leaf,now it's thriving. They are on the retainer wall,under two dwarf orange trees,deep sphagnum moss with misters that go on several times a day through a dechlorination filter. Except for the coldest days,they thrive there.I have the Balmy Koto,Ventricosa red,Copelandii,two Hamatas,Maxima and several more that I picked up from Peter at California Carnivores or had mailed in from Wistuba in Germany. Distilled water is best but my water is low in salts and gets filtered good.Nepenthes are the few carnivores plants that can handle tap water of mild sodium content. In my little greenhouse where the temps and humidity are in the 80's,cool at night,the things really do grow like weeds.Clippings take every time.Even a half dead Home Depot orphan is now putting out giant orange pitchers of some sort. Had a Raja but it died. The greenhouse houses several tree frogs,a little pond with newts,fire bellied toads,minows and a Goliath Bird eating tarantula.3 levels.Plants and everything eat crickets...except the tarantula,she gets whatever it catches.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Jun 14, 2008 11:16 PM
(Total replies: 32)
Update, The unknown could not recover and only new pups started a few weeks ago.It did the same last year. The Gran Nains from inside only grew small leaves less than a foot long.There are now pineapple tops growing in their fancy pots. The D.Orinoco has its flag leaf and bud starting on its main stem.Its big pup seems to of grown thicker than the original.My first batch of naners.It should have enough time to ripen here. The D.Brazilian,Raja Puri and Mona Lisa are doing great now.Clipping pups off regularly. Top coated the ground with steer poo and old leaves and chopped up pups.The Brazilian should flag leaf soon also. The nepenthes Ventricosa died suddenly.It warmed up and then it died deader than a door nail seemingly over night and the Copelandii is now alive after turning 90% brown from winter.Ventricosa survived the winter all green and just died one week. Cephalotus all are great with flower stalks now.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Mar 6, 2008 06:32 PM
(Total replies: 32)
Prev Next Normal view To: oowie@webtv.net From: lil oowie Date: Thursday, March 6, 2008 3:26 PM ? Spring like weather here.Highs are in the high 60's and low 70's.Lows are still in the 30's and 40's at night. All nanners except the unknown are pushing a new leaf.The Oronoco seemed like the first to take off with a whole leaf already.I'm fertilizing them with fresh mulch and a 15-15-15 fertilizer dissolved in rainwater. The unknown is trimmed back with no more crispy leaves and only a light...almost white leaf is starting to show.Its pup rotted. The Gran Nains I put outside had its leaves fried by the sun.It shot up beautiful leaves once a week inside till the mites hit them.The leaves were not acclimated to the sun and scorched right away.They are just leafless stalks with a new green leaf emerging from the top. The outside hardy ones look way better now than the ones brought in for winter.The first two large D.Brazilian,Mona Lisa or Raja Puri pups will be replacing them in their fancy pots as soon as possible.They are better looking than the Orinoco and have really wide leaves.Good for shade and are hardier here.No more battling mites for me and the sun fries them anyhow once outside again. Cephalotus does fine here outside.The highland Nepenthes did fine but the Copelandii could not take frost at all and is all brown except for a little new growth at the tip. Summary...Cavendish breeds and Gran Nains are not good here.40's and below fry them. The other 4 appear equal in hardiness to me and in fact survived brief frosts and temps in the 20's for a few hours a night although it should be noted that the sun was out most of the mornings to warm them quickly. Hopefully my next thread will be titled....Banana Split Taste Test.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Feb 13, 2008 02:07 AM
(Total replies: 32)
Freyja Melbourne seems to have similar weather to the San Francisco Bay Area.0 degrees Celsius = 32 degrees Fahrenheit.Counting in tens and figuring temperature from a water freezing zero seems so sensible to me.Guess us yanks need to learn everything the hard way. Anyhow,Melbourne gets occasional freezes just like my city and this winter we saw many.Seems the banana killing weather is when it stays below freezing for longer than a few hours followed by a sunny day.You know,the water pipe bursting weather.Then the whole stalk freezes and the cells burst and then it's back to square one come spring. The small things add up too.Having them where the morning sun warms 'em is better than where it stays frosty till noon.Against a dark fence and elevated where cold air drains away.Stuff like that helps too it seems.On frosty days my naners are in sun early whereas by noon there is still frost in shaded areas. Last year I lost some by trying to cover them.Where the covers touched,the leaves froze.This year I let them fend on their own and they did fine....considering. Where we live it's up to luck.A warm winter and fine,that freak snow followed by a cloudy week and it's stump city for our little jungle. That's what I've learned.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Feb 12, 2008 10:05 PM
(Total replies: 32)
The temps are at mid 60's here and the lows in the high 30's or low 40's.Looks like they all made it.The unknown looks horrible but the rest are surprisingly good.Visible leaf burn on the tattered leaves. The biggest hit came with over a week of constant rain with no sun and highs of 40's.That low has passed and without a surprise hard frost some bananas may indeed sprout from the taller Orinoco or Brazilian. The indoor Gran Nains were attacked by mites.Kept the fireplace cookin' with temps in the 80's and humidity in the 30's or below.Misted when I could.Took them out and sprayed them.Thought about mixing a solution of sugar water and spraying 'em and letting the ants pick it clean but it's warm enough now that they are out shading my deck chair.Spiders will take care of the little critters.The hot dry air and mites took its toll inside but still look better than the outside ones though not by much. Nep Ventricosa and cephalotus survived the light frosts.Copelandii may of survived,not much green left.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Jan 5, 2008 01:20 AM
(Total replies: 32)
The naners took the best this storm could dish out.From my deck,looking SW,one looks down hill to the bay where the wind comes from.Sustained 30 mph winds with plenty of 50+ mph gusts blew all night and up till noon with heavy rain to boot. Behind one mighty oak tree,the street was literally hidden by fallen oak leaves,green ones.Snapped a branch off my liquid amber tree the size of the naners psuedostem in lighter winds.They all seem fine although they look like they are having a bad hair day or something. Drove around while having to maneuver around large twigs,palm fragments and fully loaded garbage cans yet not a banana leaf was peeled off or snapped but it's still a long way from spring.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Jan 3, 2008 08:55 PM
(Total replies: 32)
Well it's been about the same weather pattern since last time except with lower highs and more cloud cover.The unknown looks 45% brown.Poor thing.Hanging on though.The rest are dotted with brown spots and are starting to look tired.There seems no obviously hardier variety too me between the 4 of 'em,tough bunch of nanners though.Tonight we'll test their wind hardiness.A set of 3 storms are heading right for us with wind gusts to 50 mph...so the weather man says. The first set passed and the leaves are shredded but they still are holding on somehow.I'm impressed. The queen palms are whipping.The outside Copelandii Nepenthes has 50% brown leaves.It's not a true highlander.The Ventricosa is still all green and the Cephalotus is hunkered down but fine.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Dec 21, 2007 01:27 PM
(Total replies: 32)
my last post seems to of registered but did not show up on my unit sooooo... Lows since the 4th are 49,48,47,37,28,29,28,32,29,27,25,30,44,44,46,40 and 34 last night. Highs in the 50's. All bananas seem the same except the unknown which has obvious brown upper leaves and spotty lower ones.The others are not bad considering the brief lows.Some minor browning of the leaf edges extending less than an inch on some uppers and noticeable spotting on the rest with random yellowing on top.Lowers look almost normal except for some tiny brown spots on some. From a distance they look normal except for wind torn leaves. Nepenthes look OK and Cephalotus is growing a new pitcher and a thin leaf.The greenhouse siblings are doing much better. On a side note my flytraps are sending flower stalks up.I think they are not adjusted yet as they are less than a year from the stores supplier.My cape sundews are flowering also. My Queen palms are OK too with some slight browning of the tips. Even the strawberries have a few straggling blooms starting. The nanners may be alive due to them being elevated 3 feet on a retainer wall and against a dark fence.The retainer wall is concrete with porcelain tile over it.It might absorb heat from the sunny days.
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Dec 21, 2007 12:56 PM
(Total replies: 32)
test
Banana Growing tips- How to grow banana. »
Cold Hardy Banana Test. Dec 4, 2007 08:46 PM
(Total replies: 32)
A new batch of numbers...and they were cold.As I approach the plants there's a feeling I might get swatted by a huge leaf upside my melon as if to demand I dig 'em up and ship 'em to Hawaii. Anyhow they are all still alive and I'm scratching my head. Low temps since the 26th are as follows...36,35,33,23,24 (brrrr),31,and thanks to the pineapple express...a balmy 52 degrees Fahrenheit last night.Highs 60's. The unknown looks the worst.I think it's a super dwarf Cavendish.It's leaves are so close.Anyhow it is the worst,about 25% yellow with brown spots starting. As for the rest,D.Brazilian has upper yellowing of around 15% with perfectly green lower leaves. Rajapuri and Mona Lisa appear not hurt by the cold...yet. D Orinoco has the same as the Brazilian with green lower leaves and lighter upper ones. Used a marker across the stem and new leaf emerging to measure growth.All managed about 2 inches growth for the week.My Gran Nains inside did a whole leaf each in that time. Outside Neps and cephalotus still fine but stalled.Nepenthes Copelandii has no new growth compared the the Copelandii in the greenhouse that added 2 new pitchers.Same with the cephs...outside slow/greenhouse growing. The lows were brief.Ice...not frost a few mornings on things. |
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