Merry Christmas-Early Winter -No Apocolypse Edition!

Bananas roasting on an open fire.....

Wow--Its been a great year for Bananas.-- We are certainly in the final days of the 2012 season.  We first saw traces of green back in March...that was a long time ago.  The plants are looking shaggy--like a boy after a long summer at the beach--sun-bleached unkempt hair and all.  Big plants, many leaves, lots of flowers and fruit....Man what a year!

I mentioned--back in May, that I thought that this would be the best season for bananas EVER in the LowCountry.  Last month, USA TODAY, reported that the weather-on average- was warmer than normal for the past 16 months.  October broke the streak.  Read the story here: click this link!

 

This and That about fruit--Banana fruits that are 2-3 months old will often times ripen and become edible.  If we have to cut some before they have plumped and start to yellow, allow them to hang for a few weeks inside and its likey you will be able to eat them!  For those with fruits already, remember that the ripe bananas flavor changes dramatically every few days.  Often times we make the mistake of eating homegrown bananas too soon.  Later we find out that as the skin thins and darkens, the flavor is the best.  Be patient. 

Frost Alert--While we don't really know when the first killer frost will be the historical record indicates that it will be in the next 30 days or so.  There is not much that you can do for the leaves.  However, if light frosts are indicated in your area--it is possible protect the fruits with a burlap bag or some type of fabric wrapped around them.  If the frost is certain--go ahead and cut the fruit from the plant.  Now is the time to be especially vigilant. 

 The Mayan calendar ended the other day.  We did not.  With 2013 around the corner, we, as banana growers, cannot help but speculate on the remaining winter weather.  Will we repeat the bounty of 2012, spurred by an early growing season or will we return to a nasty 2011-like winter with multiple sub freezing days?  I don't know... I cannot help but speculate that out tropical plants are in very good shape heading into the remainder of winter.  Thick trunks can really protect the delicate center core longer against the cold.  Remember--there is no rush to cut your plants.  When you do cut them--cut them high on the stem. 

 

Whats Santa Clause bringing you??

 

The How's it Hanging Section

 From Daniel Island

Winter Fox and his West Ashley Ice Creams

Dwarf Namwahs from Simply Bananas on James Island

Downtown Bananas...in 1972!

 See you in 2013----Stay Warm!!!

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The Early Fall Update

When will the Bananas be ready?

Have patience...they'll ripen up soon!

October marks the beginning of the end of the growing season for our Banana plants.   Leaf production slows down and old leaves begin to yellow and brown.  They can certainly be trimmed and discarded, or mulched around the base of the plants.  Keep watering on warm days.  Don't be surprised as there will be quite a few late bloomers here in the next 6-8 weeks.

Late Bloomin' Raja Puris....Dang it!

OK--Your well supported bunches of fruit may need a little attention.  It is probably time to remove the flower pod.  You can remove it when there is 16"-18" of space from the last bunch of bananas to the top of the bud.  They say this will force energy into the ripening fruits instead of flower production.   You intentionally leave that 'tail' beneath the fruit as it tends to protect the lower fruits from drying out.

Dwarf Namwahs with 'tail'.

Close up of 'tail' drying out.

I expect that we'll start hearing of fruit ripening in the next few weeks.  You can tell when things are getting close as the bananas will lose that 'angular' shape and begin to plump up and fill out.  If they start to yellow 'on the  vine',  you can eat them right away.  One thing about home grown bananas is that they often taste better if the peels brown up a little bit.  Unlike Cavendish/grocery store bananas,  home grown bananas don't really turn mushy as the peel changes color.

Ripe Raja Puris.

The Raja Puri plant that bloomed in May(see photo above) had some fruit ripening.  However...I noticed in late August that the fruits had stopped increasing in size.  Further investigation led me to discover that the waterline for that mat of bananas was blocked and the plants were getting very little water.  That being said, these tiny bananas are just really, really small.  Their taste is outstanding!


 In early September, I wrapped up season 7 of Simply Bananas at the Charleston Farmer's Market.  It is always fun being down there beside the Wife and talking bananas with so many people.  The Truly Tiny, a super dwarf Cavendish type, was especially well received.  I'll be anxious to hear of fruit in the coming years from this exciting new cultivar.  Thanks to everyone for stopping by we had a lot of fun!

Charleston Farmer's Market rare purple bananas EGGPLANTS!

Bananas in the News--From the almost-too-much-information department, Australia's AussieBum Underwear company, has discontinued its Banana Fiber and Cotton men's underwear.  How do I know...Kate tried to get a pair for me for my birthday from them, but had to go the eBay route.  Here was their one and only commercial(sfw) from YouTube:

I figured this would fit in nicely near the How's it Hangin' section!

 

the How's it Hangin' Section

Photos of LowCountry Bananas!

Doc's Ice Cream Bananas from Daniel Island

 

 

 

From Mark in Mount Pleasant

Well supported Orinocos from Folly Beach

More from Folly Beach

Even more from Folly Beach

More from Folly 'Banana' Beach

Belle Bananas from Simply Bananas-James Island

One last Orinoco bunch from Folly 'Banana Beach', SC.

Send your pictures to me,   SimplyBananas1@gmail.com

See you in a few weeks--Enjoy your plants....time is running out!

 

Keep updated even more by clicking this FaceBook Link

 

 

The Late August Update

Hello!--

This past week, the Charleston Horticultural Society, came by for an educational Banana Tour.  We had 20 plus folks traipsing around our mosquito-infested, fired-anted yard to view the 23 varieties of banana plants.  We met many nice folks and had a fine evening.

Nathalie Dupree penned an article on her 4 banana plants with fruit for the Post and Courier.   The story centers on the plethora of fruiting banana plants in Charleston this summer. 
You can access Nathalie's story here:  Low Country Bananas.

Some of Nathalie's recipes call for banana leaves.  You should have plenty.  First soften the leaves in hot water, or over an open flame.  Like this guy!

Tropical Weather--One grower observed that every time his bananas fruit, "it means a hurricane is coming".  Likely a barb that the high winds will blow down the vulnerable plants and he will lose the fruit.  Maybe.  I thought about it a bit, then realized that this is a logical statement.  Warm winters= Bananas in Charleston.   
Also
Warm winters=Warmer Ocean Waters=Low Country Hurricane potential.
Keep an eye on what's rolling up from down south.

Support your Plants--It's always a good idea to support the fruits especially on already leaning plants.  Heavy racks of bananas can often pull over exhausted fruit-bearing trunks.  The easiest method is to lash it to another structure or banana plant with a bungie cord(watch your eye) or rope.  Another way is with a PVC pole with Y connector on the end.  Just prop up the bunch.  The pole can be painted dark green to soothe the eyes. 

In other Banana news:
Reports that regular water and bananas can be better for you than gatorade!  Here's the Linky.
Also:
Are you tired of your bananas rotting before you have eaten them?  A new Spray Gel made from shrimp peels can keep them fresh for days longer.  Perfect for the Lowcountry.  Give it a try!

 
Why not--have a teak table and a banana umbrella?

Another Video--We spent the first weeks of August down in Costa Rica.  Once again we had the pleasure of spending some time at the Paradise Botanical Gardens.

Robert Beatham let me cut down and have a nice bunch of the best Red Bananas! He also sold me the Gros Michele Banana plant(Banana Grande) for the finca.  Gros Michele was what people ate before Panama Disease and Sigatoka forced the big fruit companies to switch to Cavendish types of bananas.  Enjoy the video.

Hows it Hangin'? 
A lot is hangin'.  See for Yourself:

Ice Cream #1 from the Fox banana plantation.  West Ashley.

Ice Cream #2 from the Fox banana plantation.  West Ashley.

 Ben's Bananas--Smith st., Downtown.

 From Billy, way out on James Island

Another from Billy, way out on James Island.

From Joan Perry, Percy St, Downtown. 

From King St.


Another Ice Cream Bunch from Michael, on James Island.

From our house, James Island.  Ornamental Bordelons!
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for timely updates! 

See you Next Month!

July 2012-Mid-Summer's Update--Supersized!

Wow--What a scorching start to July.  Dry--Hot--Windy--did I mention dry?  We need some rain to break this heatwave.  While it was not nearly as hot as was forecast for the first week of July, it was well above average.  It seems like this may last for a few days more, so I must advise to keep the hoses handy and water your plants every day.  Yep.

So many Bananas---so little time.  There are hundreds of varieties of bananas and plantains.  Some of the better ones locally are the Thai Bananas(similar to Namwahs) at the very large  H&L Asian Supermarket at 5300 Rivers Ave.  Check it out and have lunch up there any day but Tuesday.

As you will see below-- in the 'Hows it Hangin' section, the fruits are beginning to show up on local plants.  I expect many more to arrive in July.  Keep an eye on the plants as these blooms can sneak up on you.  Here are some key items to look out for:

1. The girth of the plant should be as big as you have ever seen it.--Healthy, as it were.
2. A smaller than normal leaf which may or may not have a red mid-rib-called a Paddle Leaf
3. A tiny shaped leaf--often called a Flag or a Flag Leaf
4. Finally the bloom emerges like a giant ear of corn.

Mulch/Thatch--As you know, I am a big advocate of mulching banana plants for water retention, weed control, and free nutrients.  I mostly use bagged grass clippings(thatch) from around the neighborhood. While looking for thatch, these lines just came to me early one morning...

A Mulch Poem

I went driving around so I could snatch some free thatch.

I looked wide and far and found nary a batch. 

Perhaps the grass was too low for the sack to catch
or the new paper-bags the county requires were not a good match.
I nearly gave up when I noticed a patch
Of over plumped bags in an affluent  cul-de-sac.
Into the van they went 'til I barely shut the hatch
And back home to the bananas for a final dispatch.
Kate said I should scratch the poem about all the free thatch
because of just one line that didn't quite match! 

How's it Hangin'... 

Here we post your pictures of fruit and flowers of local banana plants.

Dwarf Namwah bunch on Edisto Beach

 Junction Lane,  North Charleston

From Eric, at the Banana Plantation

Thats up near Cosmopolitan st.

 

Joppa St. Banana #1

 

Joppa St Banana #2

Dwarf Namwahs at our house...James Island, SC.

Keep sending in your pictures to

SimplyBananas1@gmail.com 

  Thanks!

Remember To:

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The June Update 

 

June--This month consists of the longest days of the year.  That is great news for our banana plants.  Sunshine of course, is what creates broad leaves and healthy fruit.  Last week, I saw dawns first rays hitting our Saba's leaves at 6:38 am and the sun finally was off of them sometime well after 8pm.  That is nearly 14 hours of sunlight.  
So for every week, we actually get an extra day's worth of sunlight!  This reason alone explains the banana plants rapid growth for us during this time a year.  Enjoy!


May--What the heck, was was up with that?  Not one, but two Tropical Storms!!  That north east wind pretty much cut the banana leaves to shreds, but they powered through.  May also brought record rainfall on the night of the 17th.  Nearly 6 inches of rain fell in places on James Island in just a few hours. May was an incredible month for weather.


Community Gardens--If you'd like to get involved in community gardens, a very active one is the Chicora Place Community Garden on Spruill Ave.  They are doing a great job up there!


News Flash--You may have seen the recent article on Bananas 
 and some other fruits in the Charleston paper:

If not, here is the link: Banana Boy Speaks.  Its a subscription service, but you can trick it.  The story left out a few items.  Bananas actually take months and not weeks to ripen.  These are the 60 Raja Puri bananas, which are no where near ripe and wont be until the fall.  

The photographer held his camera over his head and clicked that 'great' shot of me counting the bananas after my 14 hour work day.

More Blooms-- We have had 2 more blooms here at the Simply Bananas Banana Plantation on James Island.  Our enormous Dwarf Namwah finally spit out a huge bloom.

Also, our diminutive (20 inches) ornamental banana put out a beautiful magenta bloom.

This is the same type of ornamental banana that normally grows to 14 or 15 feet tall in Central America.  Here is a shot of this plant under ideal conditions at Paradise Tropical Garden in Costa Rica.

If you have a bloom send us the pictures.


The Farmer's Market--Has been great this spring.  We have sent bananas down south to Florida as well as a planter-only variety all the way up north to Philadelphia!  There have been many stories, even news of an Ice Cream banana that was able to fruit in a planter here in Charleston. Kudos to them!  Come on by one Saturday for some great local food, produce and Art!

See Y'all in a few weeks!

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