Simply Bananas Updates: July 2012

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:

The girth of the plant should be as big as you have ever seen it.--Healthy, as it were.
A smaller than normal leaf which may or may not have a red mid-rib-called a Paddle Leaf
A tiny shaped leaf--often called a Flag or a Flag Leaf
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!