KINDESS OF AN EMPLOYEE AND A BARGAIN

Was at the grocery store that I go to at lunch (it has a nice garden/plant selection outside) and for a few weeks, they have had this rack of banana plants.

I was curious...but not $17 each curious, ha!  They had two varieties and I did some research on them one night when I was bored.  After reading, I decided I needed to keep an eye on them as possible additions.

One is a "Blue Java" which produces smaller bananas that are said to taste like ice cream (win!) and they are also the most cold tolerant of the banana varieties (win/win!).  It also does very well in our climate.

The other one is called the "Grand Nain" which may not sound familiar to you, but will when you know what they are also known as.  These are the bananas most often found in the grocery store and marketed as Chiquita Bananas.  It is the most commonly grown variety and it will grow in our area as well, though they are not quite as cold hardy as the other one.

Since this is where I got one last Fall (along with avocados and some other plants) on deep clearance, the other day at lunch, I was there and the plant guy was watering.  I asked "do you think these might go on sale/clearance soon?  I bought some last Fall and took them out to our farm and I figure it never hurts to wait for a bargain."

He looked and said "Not sure we'll have them by Fall.  How much did you pay last year?".

I told him they were $5 each.

He said "I remember that. Well, If they are going to a good home, you can grab a couple today for $5 each".

He wrote a note for me to give to the cashier and...

Boom!

Two plants in the back seat of the car at lunch!

 And a few days later...

...in their new home at the farm!

Now we know you all are probably going what are they doing to do with those bananas?  We've been reading up on a permaculture technique called a "banana circle" that utilizes multiple plants.  We think that will work best for us in trying to figure out where to put them.

Update: I got these a couple of weeks ago and they have only a few of them left at the store and they are still full price.  I guess I got a good deal.

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.