Wednesday, October 27, 2021

MORE BANANA PUPS

The larger banana tree on the porch has put on another "pup" or offshoot.  We still haven't put them in the ground, we wanted them to be more substantial and of course now that Winter is coming, they'll have to wait until next Spring to find their new home (and we have to figure out where that will be).

Banana tree with pups

These can be dug up and planted and they will produce a new banana tree.  Indeed, this is how they multiply wherever you plant them.  We dug up the last one a few months ago (just after the "big freeze")...

Potting a banana pup

...here it is after it was first planted... 

Banana growing

...and here it is now.  Getting much bigger and even putting on another new leaf in this picture.

Banana leaves

Speaking of, this new leaf is coming out on the bigger plant.  They are definitely doing well just being on the porch in their containers.  We won't have bananas yet of course but they are surviving.  We just have to find the right spot in the yard for them.  I think 2nd Man is more excited about the potential for the banana leaves to use in his cooking projects.

In many Hispanic dishes, the banana leaf is used to wrap an item while it cooks or roasts, adding another level of flavor.  Tamales, meat, fish, grilling, steaming, all sorts of uses.  You can buy them in some stores but they aren't always easy to find and they certainly aren't "fresh". One thing we're sure of now...even if fruit is not abundant, we'll definitely have an abundance of fresh banana leaves in our future.


14 comments:

  1. They are doing Great.
    Just think how much better they will do once you get them in the ground.
    You may need to check and see if they are getting root bound. If roots are coming out of the bottom, you may need to transplant them to larger containers.

    We received an inch of rain early this morning. Mother Nature saved me from having to water the newly planted trees

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    1. Yes, they should be happy in the ground. I have repotted them a couple of times so they should be good until we get them in the ground.

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  2. Very nice bananas. much luck with them. Do you know how to grow pineapples?

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    1. Hi! We hope they produce some bananas. They were a gift from a coworker who got them from her parents banana trees and we've had bananas from the "parent" plant and they are so good. We have two pineapples growing in pots. They've been in there for a year or so, we need to get them into something bigger so they can produce. We started them from ones we bought to eat.

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  3. I had two banana trees that made it through the winters in Seguin but that was several years ago. They don't do very well in the wind and they do multiply like crazy. So it's best to weed them out every year or it will be hard to do so if you let them go on their own. Your winters are much colder for some reason than they are here in Seguin so find a place for them with a shield against heavy wind and cold but at least 8 to 10 feet from a building. Otherwise they tend to uproot your house or shed if they spread under it.

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    1. Yep, been doing some reading on them and that's one reason we're trying to find just the right place, ha. Thanks for the tips, we'll remember that for sure.

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  4. I have had bananas the last 6 or 8 years, I don't like them but the neighbor does. I have been cutting them out since they are sending roots under the fence and twining into the fence. They are so full of water I have to cut them into small logs to be able to carry them.

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    1. Yep my coworker said they hold a lot of water. Didn't think about fencing but yeah we'll have to make sure to keep them away from there too. We do love bananas though. Hope they produce at some point.

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  5. Love your banana trees! Their foliage is beautiful.

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    1. They have a tropical vibe to them which seems kind of out of place at the farm which helps make locating them that more difficult ha. We'll see!

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  6. I expected little yellow banana pups! You could grow grapes to cook with grape leaves.

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    1. Oh we can't wait for those. We've eaten the bananas from the plants these came from and they were wonderful. They were smaller than what you see in the store but the flavor was more intense. Fingers crossed!

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  7. Another level of awesomeness for the farm. Please let 2nd Man know that I volunteer for any food tasting he wants to do😁.

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    1. LOL you will always be welcome out there. We need to get things with the house fixed up and presentable and you'll be one of the first ones invited out to see! ;-)

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