Some traits of the Banana plant

Freshly cut fruit especially, but even other parts of the tree, will produce a sap that stains. Be carefult especially on your clothes. Here are 2 examples on our porch from the last harvest.

Another feature of the plant is the last leaf that sprouts out will hide the banana flower (which eventually produces the fruit). It is significantly shorter than the rest.

Here you can see the normal leaf that spans across the top of the fence, from left to right.

The short one pointing like 4 o'clock is the one that covers the flower/fruit.

Here is a medium length leaf side by side with the small fruit leaf...

 

There are lots of videos about which new shoot to keep for the next tree. They are all valid points. But because of the tight space my trees are in, I pick solely based on its position.

Bananas

The bananas are almost ripe

They were from this bunch

This is called Pisang Hijau. They are sweet and ripe as the skin softens and turns slightly yellow. Don't wait till its completely yellow or the fruit will be too overripe.

- 100% organic

- Zero pesticides

- Zero chemical fertilisers

- Zero carbides and whatever else commercial bananas are subjected to.

RM8 per kg. Self collect. Whatsapp 011 6356 3789 to confirm before coming.

Banana Split

For the first tree we cut the whole lot of fruit at one go. It took ages to ripen but it eventually did and turned out really yummy and sweet.

With this 2nd tree, I tought of leaving it on and harvesting only as and when the combs ripened. But we are losing quite a few this way...

So that is why we decided to start harvesting the combs to minimise that kind of damage. The bananas are still far from ripe.

The tree now...

Planted ginger

Ginger plant #1

Let's try ginger...

It's just an experiment. None of my neighbours or family who have veggie gardens have grown it. So no idea if it will work. Anyways nothing bad can happen coz the worst case scenario is that it will just decompose and add nutrients to the soil. 

Covered the ginger. Not enough soil. will add more tomorrow.

7 July 2020 update: Ginger plant #2.

Added a piece of Bentong ginger (I bought it from a nearby shop, so I cant be 100% sure its actually that variety). The original piece I planted showed signs of growth.

Normal ginger on the left, Bentong on the right.

The normal ginger was in the ground for 7 days when I dug it up to reposition it. Here is an illustration of the growth...

15 July update:

Still no shoots surfacing for the Bentong Ginger. The normal market ginger has one shoot slowly emerging.

20 July update:

3 shoots from the regular ginger. Zero from the Bentong one.

24 July 2020 update:
The Bentong ginger finally sprouted!

the regular market one is going well.

29 July 2020 update:
Leaves starting to open out

6Aug2020 update:

Bentong ginger is struggling to grow. It sure looks like a different species just based on its growth rate.

 
8Aug2020 update:

You can see the difference in size from this pic...

10Dec2020: The harvest!

The advantage of container planting

From what I have noticed so far, plants grow best when planted direct into the ground. But containers offer an advantage that cannot be matched... flexibility. It's like rearranging the furniture in your home...

BEFORE

AFTER

Things I have learnt from trial and error...

- The box should be deep, at least 10 inches for the soil, plus a little for clearance so the soil doesnt wash off the top in heavy rain

- Use a big drill bit to make the holes at the bottom. This gives more of a chance to the creatures that live in the soil to make their way through if they wish.

- Make as many holes as possible for good drainage.

- The boxes are heavy when filled with soil, moisture and plants, so handle with care when moving. Use 2 people/4 hands to distribute the carrying weight/pressure on the parts you are gripping. The top edges can break/crack quite easily.

- Use opaque, not translucent or clear plastic, for root health.

Sitting on my Ulam Raja seeds

Dunno yet if these are pests or helpers. Found them on the dried Ulam Raja seeds I was about to harvest...

Update: I don't think they are helpers. I noticed a bunch of them just under a flower over 2 days. And that flower looked worse on the 2nd day.

Fed them to the Puyu.

Banana tree number 4

I have to think of a name for it. This post will be updated over the months it grows. The record of its growth is from 1 July even though it started earlier. Just that I had been cutting off the the shoot up to 1 July.

 

7July2020 update:

7Aug2020 update:

The ropes/cords holding up tree#3 is right in the line of the growing tree#4. I will have to redo/move the ropes soon.

18Aug2020 update:

The ropes and cables holding tree #3 were getting in the way of #4. so had to change their configuration

22Sep2020 update: #4 is growing well.

23Oct2020: making way for #5

26Nov2020: first sign of the flower

4Dec2020: supporting the tilting tree

9Dec2020: perspective

22Dec2020: off with the bud