IV Organic - One big tip that I can give you after growing bananas for more then 20 years and have a B.Sc in Plant Science, When the "Mother Banana Plant' has finished producing the fruit, Cutting it down its the worst mistake you can do, Since its trunk is its whole "life Savings" Its giving all its nutrients stored inside its trunk back to the Pups, So they grow much larger then they will grow if you will cut it down, Also when you keep the mother plant, the pups will produce larger amounts of fruits, and the fruits will be bigger, since they will be well Nurished, So what you should do, Is to let the "Mother plant" dry out slowly on its own, if your plants are getting a good treatment it may take more then 6 months for the mother plant to dry out if its drying process is much faster it means usually that you may need to water the plants more or fertilize the soil more often, In the "Mother Plant" Maintenance after removing the fruits, you just need to remove dry leafs, as long as the leafs are vital and green don't remove them ! , Try it out and i will love to hear what will be the results after trying what I told you.
Hello Black Jack, You are one of 2 to 3 people to suggest the same, leaving the parent plant trunk to feed the suckers... And so far, I am liking the results and will be applying this technique going forward. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, and this forum! Truly appreciated!!! Charles :-)
IV Organic I LOVED this video! I just moved to La Ceiba, Honduras and planted banana & platanos in my yard. Are you familiar with Honduras weather? Roughly same heat and humidity February to November. Rain season is November to February. do you recommend anything different with different climate?
Hey Black Jack, Thanks for this information. I am doing commercial farming in India and interested to know if after harvesting, mother plant is using water and nutrients, which are actually provided to pups ?
wow, you are one of the best UA-camrs I have ever seen, so much enthusiasm and love for what you are doing! I hope you have bountiful harvests for YEARS to come!
Thank you so much for this video! I have been working on growing Bananas and while UA-cam has been by far the most useful gardening guide around, I have truly struggled to see the full life of growing bananas. However nearly every banana video hits on the basics, but simply skims over the whole suckers and dying after fruiting stuff (which for me, bananas are the only I have like this, so it is really important and hard to understand without seeing it). Thank-you again for putting together the most informative and useful video about this topic I can find.
I can't believe I just watched a 30 min video on growing banana trees and enjoyed it :)) Never owned or planted a tree / flower in my life, but your video was amazing!
Hello Liviu Berechet Antoni, Thank you SO MUCH for the compliment! Hopefully you'll be inspired to start growing things soon! It's so much fun and rewarding... and also good for the environment/ world! Keep me posted! Charles :-)
Very engaging video, thank you. I rent but there is a banana tree in the back yard. I have cut off 2 pups to try to start my own. You obviously have some type of horticulture education. I feel like this is more professional of a video than ones that are supposed to be done by the pros. Even if my pups don’t grow fruit, the are at minimum, beautiful trees.
I just planted one of this ice cream banana/java blue tree wanted two more but they were out at Home Depot so planted two giant bird of paradise on each side they look so similar. In the front I have a few hibiscus finally starting to grow. So my question is, once the tree gives bananas do you need to remove that plant that gave fruit then let the sucker take over?
That's so cool! We're so lucky to live in Southern California and be able to grow so many varieties of fruit! I grow avocado, lemons, mangos, and I'll be growing pink banana ( musa velutina ) more for the look aspect since their bananas are small and very seedy 🌴
Ever since i was a kid, i remember having banana trees in my backyard. Im 31 now and they still keep growing wild in the backyard. Never fertilized them, never water them. I put my compost pile right in the middle of my banana bush, gives them the nutrients needed and locks in moisture. Always harvested sweet fruits. Cheers man ! Ps : when you chop down the motherplant, you can harvest the middle of the banana stem, often called the heart or shoot, and cook it. Its delicious and very healthy :)
hey great video, i am a subscriber from trinidad. Just a tip when harvesting 2 avoid it falling u can chop d tree slowly and d tree lowers where u can reach it easily to avoid d bunch falling and bursting
Dear Sir after watching a few of your videos you have posted I get the impression that you seem to enjoy what you're doing and you give others pleasure and information I do not tend to use the type of chemicals you use but I try to manufacture my own making sure that I have most of the correct nutrients, but it takes a few years to get the correct consistency so carry on and make more videos thank you sam
How we harvest here in the caribbean especially a large bunch that high is we cut the about halfway up the tree not a full cut so that the tree slowly bow down slowly under the weight of the bunch,as the bunch comes within reach we take hold of it and cut the bunch stem and set it aside. Then we remove totally all of the harvest tree as stated earlier to allow the new suckers to come to maturity. Also advice on hanging after harvesting. its good to hang them upside down .This will prevent them from falling of as they ripened.or another option is to dehand the bunches that is cut off all the hands in to separate pieces .Its more easily manageable that way and the ripening process is faster because the sap and moisture in each hand is less than the whole bunch..Lovely bunch brother.. enjoy them...We call them Silk bananas. Very sweet.Got loads of them on my property.
Watching your catalogue of great informative gardening and native plant videos “grow” has been as wonderful as eating my fist homegrown artichoke while watching some Monarch butterflies “twirling” in my habitat garden. Some of the best vids on YT. 2 thumbs up!
i love the advice you give not only do you explain how something works but why. I would like to share with you a favorite gardening thing i use vibrating spikes, they are solar or batteries. as you know gophers, moles, mice, snakes, squirels and bunnies (bunnies too can be hateful creatures in the garden) are a problem in San Diego county, I use them by each tree to save my roots, the little critters hate shaking ground although they don't seem to disrupt the earthworms. Best of all you use no poisons of any kind so they are safe around pets and children. I wired one on my wire fence to protect my passion fruit also I put one out in my vegetable garden as well (no tomato worms as yet). I absolutely love them. Large critters(people and pets) don't even notice the vibrations, the vibrations are short spurts about 15 seconds apart. Before I started using them, I did everything right fertilizing, slow watering, compost and wood chips but I never thought about the roots, now my plants are flourishing . I really love them, Snail and slugs are kept at bay too. I hope you try them too!
Omg... i never so a person whit so much passion for the garden like me i can see yr eyes and passion for what y do i love my garden to see my plant's production is my enjoy.
In the West Indies we cut the bunch of bananas when mature but green and cut the bunch into the hands and put them on a flat surface to ripen . They ripen beautifully and are sweet . We use machetes to cut the bunch from the tree . We also cut down the mother tree and new suckered emerge from the root . These grow up and bear fruits .
Banana harvest is so fun to watch! However, there must be a safe way to cut and bring that heavy thing down neatly and safely. Luckily for you, no one gets hurt when the 60 pounder drops while you stand high on the ladder. I'm thinking of steps lumber men used to fall a giant redwood. I would make a horizontal cut 1/3 to 1/2 through near the base of the plant, and an angle cut above the first cut. I then remove the wedge made by these 2 cuts. The plant should be still standing but with a weakened trunk. I should be able to hand pull the plant down, nice and slow, until I can reach and secure the bunch of bananas while my feet both are on the ground.
great form of permaculture. here in arkansas, I do something similar, but do to the winters I rarely get fruit. usually I have to pull them from the soil just before the first freeze and replant after the last freeze. . good video, great garden
Awesome video! I became intrigued with banana trees when I lived in Turkey and as I found a place to live back in the states the main decision maker was the banana tree in the back yard. I have fruit but the back in forth with the weather hasn't produced an attractive bunch. In Turkey I had a gardener who took care of the tree, but here it's all on me so I UA-camd and was sent to your video. Glad I was. Thank you!
Wow! Excellent information I also enjoyed the compost method I’m about to layer mine all over soon. Thanks so much! Love those bright red leaves you have.
Very informative and fun video. I was watching your video and at about 9min into the video when you were starting to cut the bananas... I thought, "Hold it with one hand? He must be really strong..." And then the the whole banana bunch just disappeared down to the ground and I busted out lol. I am growing some bananas too and there were some bananas were about to ripen but then I noticed that they slow down as the weather turns cold, so watching your video convinced me that fact...Thanks. Because of my injured back, I harvest bananas by cutting enough into the trunk about mid way up the trunk such that it will slowly tilt to almost touching the ground, and then I would cut the bananas and leave the trunk like that, because the baby or young bananas plants can feed on the nutritious trunk of the mother plant. I like to do everything naturally because it is good for everybody/everything...Thanks again for the video and the 'Funny Video' whether you intended or not its very funny!
Hello Suzanne Du4, I have visited many parts of the United States, and I am very much aware that the growers in Southern California have the most success in growing the greatest number and varieties of exotic and tropical fruit trees. I am glad that you share my passion of growing food forests! Charles :-)
Love your videos Charles! I've watched 90% of them, they are so addicting. I'm trying relocate some Apple Banana's and Blue Java's to our home in Puerto Rico. Has been a bit challenging as we are only there a few days of the years, but these videos have been very helpful!
Hello Jay Bones, Thank you SO MUCH for the compliment! I try to make every video educational and inspiring! :-) Keep me posted on your gardening successes! :-) Charles
Interesting! My family will be moving from Alaska back home to Louisiana in a year or less. I'm very excited to be able to grow the entire year. right now I get only 3 or 4 months. I am super excited about making plans for the garden and I'm considering planting fruit trees right away. Bananas have been on and off my list. I know they will grow great but now I know that the mother plant dies off....im not sure. I'm super strange about keeping the garden in one place. Lol But hey think of of cool Christmas gifts I can Give! A banana tree!!
i think we have the same variety,been wondering for so long what variety this is..thanks now i know its ice cream banana^^i also use the leaves as mulch.^^
Do the first cut down low, and walk the whole plant down. Use a sharp knife and cut just enough fibres that the plant can barely support itself, and walk it down fruit and all. FAR safer than dicking around on a ladder trying to manhandle 50lb deadweights, you'll kill or seriously injure yourself. Do the cut perpendicular and on the opposite side to the direction you want to lay it down and you'll be able to put it exactly where you want, don't cut to fast, just an inch or two at first, you'll get the feel of it. I've found a sharp, long and heavy knife demolishes banana plants far quicker than any other tool. I once tried to put a few leaves through the mulcher and all it did was whack the water out of them and turn them basically into rope, bringing the machine to a grinding halt, and it's a 7.5 hp petrol engine. A small knife on a long stick for trimming ragged leaves and a big knife for harvest is all you need to manage bananas. Chop it up and throw it all underneath the plant and nature does the rest.
i know i'm too late but there's a fertilizer made specifically for bananas and plantains(yes, they are completely different fruits, with very similar physical forms). it's a 10-5-20 solid fertilizer. it's normally applied once every 3 months. i dont fertilize my bananas. in fact i dont even water them. they get water when it rains. they grow like weeds.
Got a new subscriber. I was looking for more gardening guide videos and ran across yours. Super detailed and learned some things other haven't covered with bananas. Thank you for sharing!!
Great video as always. So exciting to eat your own homegrown bananas. Iam still considering to try growing the Cavendish soon. Had no idea the mother plant dies. Interesting.
Hello Rafiqa11, Thank you SO MUCH for the compliment! I was thinking about you and your recent purchase of your banana plant while making this video! I hope I helped answer many of your questions about banana care! :-) I wish you and your family an enjoyable weekend. Much love and god's peace be with you too! Charles :-)
I live in zone 8, in SE AZ. I have a few banana trees but one in particular that I'm hoping will produce fruit this year. I have had it in a large container and I've brought it inside over the last 2 winters. As soon as weather permits, I plan on putting it in the ground. I have two other banana trees I dug up from the ground last year and brought inside. Those two are doing good but not as big and as beautiful as my 3-year banana. Will digging them up and bringing them inside for winter give them the proper time to fruit? As of right now, I have 7 banana trees at various stages. From small to very large and a couple with suckers that need to be removed. I don't know if I'll have room for 7+ banana trees inside my house this winter!
Very informative. I used to grow lots of banana plants but stopped. Last year I decided to grow again one plant. It’s a Lady Finger. Hope it grows fast now that it’s not as cold now. I’m in Los Angeles. Where are you? Your location seems like bananas are very happy.
Hello Charles. I love the videos. I always learn something from watching them. Quick question; will using IV Organics as a foliar spray discourage dogs from eating my young plants? I have a golden retriever puppy who has girdled, and killed two young Meyer's Lemon trees. I have replanted them and surrounded them with chicken wire but, I would like to plant some bananas and other plants that you have featured without "armoring" them first. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks, Colin
Hello Colin, I know of a customer that successfully used IV Organic to repel the continued urination of his dogs on many of the fruit trees in the garden by coating the lower few feet of each of the tree trunks. There may be active oils in IV Organic products (such as garlic oil) that may naturally repel your dogs (as well as garden insects) on your coated plants. However, IV Organic does not make any represenations on the successfulness in repelleing dogs-- YET. Here is a link that shares the product label in more detail: www.amazon.com/IV-Organic-Guard-Paint-Protection/dp/B01AQ15TX0 Let me know if you have any other questions. Charles
Mr. Malki. I live in Central Florida on the East coast and have an Ice Cream banana,and sad to say I've had blooms,but no sizable fruit... If I may ask...where are you located?... I just found your page and will be revisiting often...
Very educational. Thank you. Is that the area where the hummingbird nest was located. I really appreciated that video. I am inspired to grow a banana now. Have you ever tried growing kiwi?
Hello John Sauln, Yes, the nest was about 1-2 feet from that area... and is still there... the hummingbird chicks flew out about a month ago. Funny thing, I was reviewing my property thinking about where I could squeeze a kiwi vine, or two, as I will need the male and female vines. Thank you for the compliment!!! Charles :-)
So question. Would it be helpful just to save the banana peels from the harvested bananas, dry them or put them out and mix in the soil. This would have a natural source of potassium, right? In nature, one would imagine bananas rot around the tree creating a natural source of potassium.
Hello Shelly Brooke, Great thinking!!! And, YES!!! No need to dry, but just throw the peals on the top, or mix into the top couple inches of soil to feed the soil biology that will in turn return all the elements that made that peal back into the nutrients that will be uptaken by the banana plants! Also, never bury un-composted organic matter, including banana peals. The peals, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, leaves, should all be composted well before mixing into the soil... Otherwise, keep the less broken down organic matter near the top/ top soil where it will breakdown at the surface, rather than risk the chance of rotting as it decays in a non-oxygenated (anaerobic) condition... which would happen if you bury uncomposted organic matter, and not ideal for most plants & trees. I hope this helps! Charles :-)
Hi Charles, I really loved your video!! I have what I believe is a plantain tree and not a banana tree in my yard here in New Orleans, that was here when I moved into the house. Is the care for plantain plants essentially the same since they are basically a banana variant? I have had trouble finding videos specifically on care for plantain trees?
I planted bananas and Platanos in June. I live near La Ceiba, Honduras. They are 8-10ft already. Question: When do you remove suckers? I was told by locals to cut suckers until mother tree made fruit. So I’ve been cutting them as soon as they pop up. Is This correct?
I appreciated your video instructions, very helpful. I purchased two ice cream banana trees today in San Diego from Exotica Rare Fruit Trees. Can you leave the bananas on the stalk for ripening and cut them off as needed? Or do you cut because the tree is going to die?
Thank you for the compliment IAMGiftbearer! The most popular dwarf variety I see in nurseries is the dwarf Cavendish. There are a lot of banana varieties to chose from... I think any variety grown would taste more flavorful than the superstore Chiquita (a/k/a Cavendish) variety sold. Here are some varieties with sizes: www.greenhousebusiness.com/bananaplants.html Keep me posted on what you end up purchasing. NOTE: bananas do not grow in the winter-- at all. It would recommend that you wait until March or April to install so that it immediately begins to grow and get established. Good luck! Charles :-)
I really would like to get dwarf Ice Cream Bananas. If they taste like vanilla candy I can't imagine that flavor can be beat! I'm planning on growing them indoors under grow lights. My yard really doesn't get enough sun and I am homebound now, so can't even get out in the yard like I used to, so am bringing the garden to me. :-) Thanks for the link. I'll definitely check it out. From what I've read I have the impression the Cavendish are just produced at more nurseries because they keep well and lend themselves well to various parts of the country but probably aren't the best tasting you can get.
I just ordered a goldfinger dwarf banana plant that I’ll be raising indoors. I heard that particular type of banana is delicious. Wish me luck! I’m doing a lot of research so I’m ready when it arrives! Thank you for sharing your expertise. It was Very informative!
What climate are you in? We just brought out blue Java up to a cooler climate (8b-9a) and are worried about cooler nights. Our tree is in ground and way too large for a greenhouse. It's 1 yr old now and we're still waiting for fruit.
I have transplanted three dwarf banana trees in pots. Now they have pups. However, none have produced bananas. I live in Grass Valley, Northern India. It's very hot in summer and very cold in winter. I just watched your video on transplanting banana pups. I also have a small house rabbit who uses Timothy hay, and I'll start using it with her poop as mulch. Any suggestions for producing bananas on dwarf trees?
never heard of sunburnt bananas. Seen frost bitten Bananas though. Cutting the top off in spring lets them bounce back. Never seen bananas so looked after. Never cut the plant out Just cut it below the leaves let it flop over and over the next few months all the goodness will leave that stool and transfer too its suckers. Anyway I had a good laugh.
IV Organic - One big tip that I can give you after growing bananas for more then 20 years and have a B.Sc in Plant Science,
When the "Mother Banana Plant' has finished producing the fruit, Cutting it down its the worst mistake you
can do, Since its trunk is its whole "life Savings" Its giving all its nutrients stored inside its trunk back to the Pups,
So they grow much larger then they will grow if you will cut it down, Also when you keep the mother plant, the pups will
produce larger amounts of fruits, and the fruits will be bigger, since they will be well Nurished, So what you should do, Is to let the "Mother plant" dry out slowly on its own, if your plants are getting a good treatment it may take more then 6 months for the mother plant to dry out if its drying process is much faster it means usually that you may need to water the plants more or fertilize the soil more often, In the "Mother Plant" Maintenance after removing the fruits, you just need
to remove dry leafs, as long as the leafs are vital and green don't remove them ! , Try it out and i will
love to hear what will be the results after trying what I told you.
Hello Black Jack,
You are one of 2 to 3 people to suggest the same, leaving the parent plant trunk to feed the suckers... And so far, I am liking the results and will be applying this technique going forward. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, and this forum! Truly appreciated!!! Charles :-)
IV Organic I LOVED this video! I just moved to La Ceiba, Honduras and planted banana & platanos in my yard. Are you familiar with Honduras weather? Roughly same heat and humidity February to November. Rain season is November to February. do you recommend anything different with different climate?
Don’t cut the mother plant brotha. Leave it
@Mike John They'll be exactly the same as the mother plant.
Hey Black Jack,
Thanks for this information. I am doing commercial farming in India and interested to know if after harvesting, mother plant is using water and nutrients, which are actually provided to pups ?
I just love how genuinely happy you are with your banana plants
wow, you are one of the best UA-camrs I have ever seen, so much enthusiasm and love for what you are doing! I hope you have bountiful harvests for YEARS to come!
Thank you so much for this video! I have been working on growing Bananas and while UA-cam has been by far the most useful gardening guide around, I have truly struggled to see the full life of growing bananas. However nearly every banana video hits on the basics, but simply skims over the whole suckers and dying after fruiting stuff (which for me, bananas are the only I have like this, so it is really important and hard to understand without seeing it). Thank-you again for putting together the most informative and useful video about this topic I can find.
I can't believe I just watched a 30 min video on growing banana trees and enjoyed it :)) Never owned or planted a tree / flower in my life, but your video was amazing!
Hello Liviu Berechet Antoni,
Thank you SO MUCH for the compliment! Hopefully you'll be inspired to start growing things soon! It's so much fun and rewarding... and also good for the environment/ world! Keep me posted! Charles :-)
IV Organic some day I will. Until then, I'll follow you doing it :)) - just subscribed.
Thank you for your support Liviu Berechet Antoni! Have a great weekend!!! Charles :-)
Very engaging video, thank you. I rent but there is a banana tree in the back yard. I have cut off 2 pups to try to start my own. You obviously have some type of horticulture education. I feel like this is more professional of a video than ones that are supposed to be done by the pros. Even if my pups don’t grow fruit, the are at minimum, beautiful trees.
I just planted one of this ice cream banana/java blue tree wanted two more but they were out at Home Depot so planted two giant bird of paradise on each side they look so similar. In the front I have a few hibiscus finally starting to grow.
So my question is, once the tree gives bananas do you need to remove that plant that gave fruit then let the sucker take over?
I am 18 and I love cultivating fruits and vegetables this is a fantastic video! I live in Italy so I would cultivate it in pots indoor
This video is amazing! Bananas make the best ice cream yet! I cup frozen bananas, and 1 cup any other frozen fruit! Best ever! 🇨🇦 ❤️
Loved watching you taste that! Lol. You looked so happy and delighted. Like seeing how much joy harvesting brings!!!!! Yay!
That's so cool! We're so lucky to live in Southern California and be able to grow so many varieties of fruit! I grow avocado, lemons, mangos, and I'll be growing pink banana ( musa velutina ) more for the look aspect since their bananas are small and very seedy 🌴
Happy for you to get to taste one! I've bought 2 plants, I already have 2 suckers. Brought them in for the winter.
Ever since i was a kid, i remember having banana trees in my backyard. Im 31 now and they still keep growing wild in the backyard. Never fertilized them, never water them. I put my compost pile right in the middle of my banana bush, gives them the nutrients needed and locks in moisture. Always harvested sweet fruits. Cheers man !
Ps : when you chop down the motherplant, you can harvest the middle of the banana stem, often called the heart or shoot, and cook it. Its delicious and very healthy :)
hey great video, i am a subscriber from trinidad. Just a tip when harvesting 2 avoid it falling u can chop d tree slowly and d tree lowers where u can reach it easily to avoid d bunch falling and bursting
Dear Sir after watching a few of your videos you have posted I get the impression that you seem to enjoy what you're doing and you give others pleasure and information I do not tend to use the type of chemicals you use but I try to manufacture my own making sure that I have most of the correct nutrients, but it takes a few years to get the correct consistency so carry on and make more videos thank you sam
Have you done any extract/ferment from banana leaves?
How we harvest here in the caribbean especially a large bunch that high is we cut the about halfway up the tree not a full cut so that the tree slowly bow down slowly under the weight of the bunch,as the bunch comes within reach we take hold of it and cut the bunch stem and set it aside. Then we remove totally all of the harvest tree as stated earlier to allow the new suckers to come to maturity. Also advice on hanging after harvesting. its good to hang them upside down .This will prevent them from falling of as they ripened.or another option is to dehand the bunches that is cut off all the hands in to separate pieces .Its more easily manageable that way and the ripening process is faster because the sap and moisture in each hand is less than the whole bunch..Lovely bunch brother.. enjoy them...We call them Silk bananas. Very sweet.Got loads of them on my property.
Watching your catalogue of great informative gardening and native plant videos “grow” has been as wonderful as eating my fist homegrown artichoke while watching some Monarch butterflies “twirling” in my habitat garden.
Some of the best vids on YT. 2 thumbs up!
Man that's a bummer! Dropping them was so heart breaking 😮
All that love and time.
We need a banana update! How are they doing now going on 2022? Thanks Charles!
Hello Kenneth 👋 I’ll try to post another update by Spring or Summer 2023. Here’s the last update: ua-cam.com/video/f-ZiB-0X7lo/v-deo.html
Charles 🌱👍
@@IVOrganic Thanks, I'll check it out! And I look forward to the update in 2023!
This is the greatest banana video I've watched to date. Thank you!
i love the advice you give not only do you explain how something works but why. I would like to share with you a favorite gardening thing i use vibrating spikes, they are solar or batteries. as you know gophers, moles, mice, snakes, squirels and bunnies (bunnies too can be hateful creatures in the garden) are a problem in San Diego county, I use them by each tree to save my roots, the little critters hate shaking ground although they don't seem to disrupt the earthworms. Best of all you use no poisons of any kind so they are safe around pets and children. I wired one on my wire fence to protect my passion fruit also I put one out in my vegetable garden as well (no tomato worms as yet). I absolutely love them. Large critters(people and pets) don't even notice the vibrations, the vibrations are short spurts about 15 seconds apart. Before I started using them, I did everything right fertilizing, slow watering, compost and wood chips but I never thought about the roots, now my plants are flourishing . I really love them, Snail and slugs are kept at bay too. I hope you try them too!
Omg... i never so a person whit so much passion for the garden like me i can see yr eyes and passion for what y do i love my garden to see my plant's production is my enjoy.
I'm growing a Ice Cream banana tree, I live in an apartment, lol.
you must have tall apartment rooms
lettuce know how your bananas turn out! I’m going to try the same XD
How is it
I have mine in a 15-gallon pot on the side of my house
After watching this, I’ll never forget how Americans pronounce “Bananas” This dude loves “Bananas” so much passion!
In the West Indies we cut the bunch of bananas when mature but green and cut the bunch into the hands and put them on a flat surface to ripen . They ripen beautifully and are sweet . We use machetes to cut the bunch from the tree . We also cut down the mother tree and new suckered emerge from the root . These grow up and bear fruits .
This video is extremely Educational and Informative. Thanks
Banana harvest is so fun to watch! However, there must be a safe way to cut and bring that heavy thing down neatly and safely. Luckily for you, no one gets hurt when the 60 pounder drops while you stand high on the ladder. I'm thinking of steps lumber men used to fall a giant redwood. I would make a horizontal cut 1/3 to 1/2 through near the base of the plant, and an angle cut above the first cut. I then remove the wedge made by these 2 cuts. The plant should be still standing but with a weakened trunk. I should be able to hand pull the plant down, nice and slow, until I can reach and secure the bunch of bananas while my feet both are on the ground.
great form of permaculture. here in arkansas, I do something similar, but do to the winters I rarely get fruit. usually I have to pull them from the soil just before the first freeze and replant after the last freeze. .
good video, great garden
Awesome video! I became intrigued with banana trees when I lived in Turkey and as I found a place to live back in the states the main decision maker was the banana tree in the back yard. I have fruit but the back in forth with the weather hasn't produced an attractive bunch. In Turkey I had a gardener who took care of the tree, but here it's all on me so I UA-camd and was sent to your video. Glad I was. Thank you!
Very nice video.
In my experience a machete is the best all around tool for clearing dead leaves, harvesting, and removing the old trunk.
Wow! Excellent information I also enjoyed the compost method I’m about to layer mine all over soon. Thanks so much! Love those bright red leaves you have.
Thank you so very much for the compliment Silvia! Keep me posted on your Banana growing successes!!!
Charles :-)
Very informative and fun video. I was watching your video and at about 9min into the video when you were starting to cut the bananas... I thought, "Hold it with one hand? He must be really strong..." And then the the whole banana bunch just disappeared down to the ground and I busted out lol.
I am growing some bananas too and there were some bananas were about to ripen but then I noticed that they slow down as the weather turns cold, so watching your video convinced me that fact...Thanks. Because of my injured back, I harvest bananas by cutting enough into the trunk about mid way up the trunk such that it will slowly tilt to almost touching the ground, and then I would cut the bananas and leave the trunk like that, because the baby or young bananas plants can feed on the nutritious trunk of the mother plant. I like to do everything naturally because it is good for everybody/everything...Thanks again for the video and the 'Funny Video' whether you intended or not its very funny!
I wish I lived in the States. I would have every fruit tree imaginable. You are so lucky!
Hello Suzanne Du4,
I have visited many parts of the United States, and I am very much aware that the growers in Southern California have the most success in growing the greatest number and varieties of exotic and tropical fruit trees. I am glad that you share my passion of growing food forests! Charles :-)
South Florida grows good too
Amazing!!!!! Took the time and day to explain the entire growth step by step. Much thanks.!!!!!!!
9:58 The look of shock was real. lol
Great video, very informative, thank you!
Love your videos Charles! I've watched 90% of them, they are so addicting. I'm trying relocate some Apple Banana's and Blue Java's to our home in Puerto Rico. Has been a bit challenging as we are only there a few days of the years, but these videos have been very helpful!
Thanks Charles! Your videos have inspired me. Just received my first white IV organics in the mail. Excited to coat my meyer lemon and mexican lime.
Hello Jay Bones,
Thank you SO MUCH for the compliment! I try to make every video educational and inspiring! :-) Keep me posted on your gardening successes! :-)
Charles
I am so grateful I found this video. So much great information. Ty!
I really enjoyed your video. I love to garden and I can tell you love what you do. Keep up the good work!
Your face killed me when you dropped the bananas 😟
Most satisfying video I have ever seen...wow
I also like spicy papaya salad with brown sugar, vinegar..but we shred the green papaya first then boil for a few minutes..drain and mix it spices..
TERRIFIC JOB !!! Excited for you and your harvest via your vid! Enjoy your videos!!
Thank you for the knowledge of Hw to care of this fruit tree its amazing Nw I can have good fruit and for your kindness to help others you are amazing
i always recycle the trunks and leaves and my husband (the city dude) gives me such a hard time! LOL good to know others do it too... PS great video
Interesting! My family will be moving from Alaska back home to Louisiana in a year or less. I'm very excited to be able to grow the entire year. right now I get only 3 or 4 months. I am super excited about making plans for the garden and I'm considering planting fruit trees right away. Bananas have been on and off my list. I know they will grow great but now I know that the mother plant dies off....im not sure. I'm super strange about keeping the garden in one place. Lol But hey think of of cool Christmas gifts I can Give! A banana tree!!
i think we have the same variety,been wondering for so long what variety this is..thanks now i know its ice cream banana^^i also use the leaves as mulch.^^
You're welcome Terri! Charles :-)
Hey Charles, I just happened upon an Ice Cream banana at Home Depot and snapped it up. Looked it up on your tube and found your vids. Thanks, friend!
Do the first cut down low, and walk the whole plant down. Use a sharp knife and cut just enough fibres that the plant can barely support itself, and walk it down fruit and all. FAR safer than dicking around on a ladder trying to manhandle 50lb deadweights, you'll kill or seriously injure yourself. Do the cut perpendicular and on the opposite side to the direction you want to lay it down and you'll be able to put it exactly where you want, don't cut to fast, just an inch or two at first, you'll get the feel of it.
I've found a sharp, long and heavy knife demolishes banana plants far quicker than any other tool. I once tried to put a few leaves through the mulcher and all it did was whack the water out of them and turn them basically into rope, bringing the machine to a grinding halt, and it's a 7.5 hp petrol engine.
A small knife on a long stick for trimming ragged leaves and a big knife for harvest is all you need to manage bananas. Chop it up and throw it all underneath the plant and nature does the rest.
You’re an awesome guy.I hope one day my garden can look like yours!
absolutely excellent information in your video, what a pleasure to watch and learn. Thank you and great Job with your yum looking bananas, enjoy..
Thank you for the information. I’m learning a lot.please make a video of how to start planting your banana tree from the actual banana fruit
i know i'm too late but there's a fertilizer made specifically for bananas and plantains(yes, they are completely different fruits, with very similar physical forms). it's a 10-5-20 solid fertilizer. it's normally applied once every 3 months.
i dont fertilize my bananas.
in fact i dont even water them. they get water when it rains. they grow like weeds.
Got a new subscriber. I was looking for more gardening guide videos and ran across yours. Super detailed and learned some things other haven't covered with bananas. Thank you for sharing!!
Great video as always. So exciting to eat your own homegrown bananas. Iam still considering to try growing the Cavendish soon. Had no idea the mother plant dies. Interesting.
Thank you SO MUCH for the compliment Anja Wietholter! :-)
Charles
So very informative, you have an easy to understand way of explaining, I am subscribed
Thank you so very much for the compliment & your support Lee Banman! Charles :-)
In the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago) that type of banana is called a silk fig. Maybe because of the silky texture of the fruit.
very informative video, thank you charles. much love and god,s peace be with you
excellent
Hello Rafiqa11,
Thank you SO MUCH for the compliment! I was thinking about you and your recent purchase of your banana plant while making this video! I hope I helped answer many of your questions about banana care! :-)
I wish you and your family an enjoyable weekend. Much love and god's peace be with you too!
Charles :-)
so good ..i want the heart the blossom..we eat that to make a dish
I live in zone 8, in SE AZ. I have a few banana trees but one in particular that I'm hoping will produce fruit this year. I have had it in a large container and I've brought it inside over the last 2 winters. As soon as weather permits, I plan on putting it in the ground.
I have two other banana trees I dug up from the ground last year and brought inside. Those two are doing good but not as big and as beautiful as my 3-year banana.
Will digging them up and bringing them inside for winter give them the proper time to fruit?
As of right now, I have 7 banana trees at various stages. From small to very large and a couple with suckers that need to be removed. I don't know if I'll have room for 7+ banana trees inside my house this winter!
Very informative. I used to grow lots of banana plants but stopped. Last year I decided to grow again one plant. It’s a Lady Finger. Hope it grows fast now that it’s not as cold now. I’m in Los Angeles.
Where are you? Your location seems like bananas are very happy.
Excellent information and strategies.
I never see my grandpa's banana plantation was fertilized. All I remember is when they harvest they harvest a lot.
Where do you live ? you have hit jackpot with banana plants.
😯 this was the look on my face when I saw the banana fall to the ground
Absolutely awesome and informative video. Thank you.
Try leaving a good portion of the pseudostem intact after harvest as it can provide nutrients to the next generation of banana plants.
Hey Charles great videos. How are your banana plants now? Still bareing fruit???
Your own compost looks amazing, what do you think about compost tea?
Very interesting to watch thanks you very much !!!
Do you do the whole feeding process once a month? Meaning powder fertilizer, dry and wet compost, fish/kelp and mulch?
Beautiful garden! New subscriber! Also a fellow southern California gardener!
Your videos are full of info ☺️
Great video dude. Can't wait until I can get a property with enough room to grow bananas
I knew those bananas were going to plummet!
Awsome ,Really liked this vid ,Learned alot,Keep doing more if you can thanks.
Hello Charles. I love the videos. I always learn something from watching them. Quick question; will using IV Organics as a foliar spray discourage dogs from eating my young plants? I have a golden retriever puppy who has girdled, and killed two young Meyer's Lemon trees. I have replanted them and surrounded them with chicken wire but, I would like to plant some bananas and other plants that you have featured without "armoring" them first. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks, Colin
Hello Colin,
I know of a customer that successfully used IV Organic to repel the continued urination of his dogs on many of the fruit trees in the garden by coating the lower few feet of each of the tree trunks. There may be active oils in IV Organic products (such as garlic oil) that may naturally repel your dogs (as well as garden insects) on your coated plants. However, IV Organic does not make any represenations on the successfulness in repelleing dogs-- YET.
Here is a link that shares the product label in more detail: www.amazon.com/IV-Organic-Guard-Paint-Protection/dp/B01AQ15TX0 Let me know if you have any other questions. Charles
Is it beneficial to plant beans ,clover or other cover crops at the base of the bananas to give nitrogen to the soil
Will order some protector soon. You should really treat yourself to a large glassed in tropical greenhouse.
Very true sir, we need to remove the young plants so that the mother plant can save its nutrients to grow bigger fruits.
Mr. Malki. I live in Central Florida on the East coast and have an Ice Cream banana,and sad to say I've had blooms,but no sizable fruit... If I may ask...where are you located?... I just found your page and will be revisiting often...
You don't have to destroy the parent plant you can simply remove the offspring when it grows enough to sustain itself
Very educational. Thank you. Is that the area where the hummingbird nest was located. I really appreciated that video. I am inspired to grow a banana now. Have you ever tried growing kiwi?
Hello John Sauln,
Yes, the nest was about 1-2 feet from that area... and is still there... the hummingbird chicks flew out about a month ago. Funny thing, I was reviewing my property thinking about where I could squeeze a kiwi vine, or two, as I will need the male and female vines. Thank you for the compliment!!! Charles :-)
this video is so satisfying tbh i love it lol
Does the banana flower still grow the bananas in winter or do they stop growing and developing?
Excellent! Thank you!
This is the only banana I prefer to eat. I grew up with it.
So question. Would it be helpful just to save the banana peels from the harvested bananas, dry them or put them out and mix in the soil. This would have a natural source of potassium, right? In nature, one would imagine bananas rot around the tree creating a natural source of potassium.
Hello Shelly Brooke,
Great thinking!!! And, YES!!! No need to dry, but just throw the peals on the top, or mix into the top couple inches of soil to feed the soil biology that will in turn return all the elements that made that peal back into the nutrients that will be uptaken by the banana plants! Also, never bury un-composted organic matter, including banana peals. The peals, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, leaves, should all be composted well before mixing into the soil... Otherwise, keep the less broken down organic matter near the top/ top soil where it will breakdown at the surface, rather than risk the chance of rotting as it decays in a non-oxygenated (anaerobic) condition... which would happen if you bury uncomposted organic matter, and not ideal for most plants & trees. I hope this helps! Charles :-)
yes and no. It would certainly attract half of the animal and insect kingdom, but yes it would provide minerals
Hi Charles, I really loved your video!! I have what I believe is a plantain tree and not a banana tree in my yard here in New Orleans, that was here when I moved into the house. Is the care for plantain plants essentially the same since they are basically a banana variant? I have had trouble finding videos specifically on care for plantain trees?
I planted bananas and Platanos in June. I live near La Ceiba, Honduras. They are 8-10ft already. Question: When do you remove suckers? I was told by locals to cut suckers until mother tree made fruit. So I’ve been cutting them as soon as they pop up. Is This correct?
I appreciated your video instructions, very helpful. I purchased two ice cream banana trees today in San Diego from Exotica Rare Fruit Trees. Can you leave the bananas on the stalk for ripening and cut them off as needed? Or do you cut because the tree is going to die?
How old is your Blue Java? How long from pup to that heavy rack of bananas? What did you feetilize with? How often?
It was nice seeing what Mitt Romney has been up to
He's finally doing something productive.
Nice, i like bananas i have in my backyard
Awesome video, thanks for sharing.
Thank you, I have learn so much. But, can I plans the banana in South Carolina ?
I would love to see you grow garlic and gigantic garlic!
Hello Randy Rosiello,
I've been intending to grow some more garlic soon... I will be sure to share the post in the upcoming weeks! Charles :-)
Very interesting! Do you know if there is a dwarf version of the Ice cream Banana?
Thank you for the compliment IAMGiftbearer! The most popular dwarf variety I see in nurseries is the dwarf Cavendish. There are a lot of banana varieties to chose from... I think any variety grown would taste more flavorful than the superstore Chiquita (a/k/a Cavendish) variety sold. Here are some varieties with sizes: www.greenhousebusiness.com/bananaplants.html Keep me posted on what you end up purchasing. NOTE: bananas do not grow in the winter-- at all. It would recommend that you wait until March or April to install so that it immediately begins to grow and get established. Good luck! Charles :-)
I really would like to get dwarf Ice Cream Bananas. If they taste like vanilla candy I can't imagine that flavor can be beat! I'm planning on growing them indoors under grow lights. My yard really doesn't get enough sun and I am homebound now, so can't even get out in the yard like I used to, so am bringing the garden to me. :-) Thanks for the link. I'll definitely check it out. From what I've read I have the impression the Cavendish are just produced at more nurseries because they keep well and lend themselves well to various parts of the country but probably aren't the best tasting you can get.
I just ordered a goldfinger dwarf banana plant that I’ll be raising indoors. I heard that particular type of banana is delicious. Wish me luck! I’m doing a lot of research so I’m ready when it arrives! Thank you for sharing your expertise. It was Very informative!
no there is not but grown in a pot you can keep it much smaller.
What climate are you in? We just brought out blue Java up to a cooler climate (8b-9a) and are worried about cooler nights. Our tree is in ground and way too large for a greenhouse. It's 1 yr old now and we're still waiting for fruit.
Hi IV organic. Do you cover the fruit at anytime to allow ripening? Squirrels always get to mine before they start ripening.
I have transplanted three dwarf banana trees in pots. Now they have pups. However, none have produced bananas. I live in Grass Valley, Northern India. It's very hot in summer and very cold in winter. I just watched your video on transplanting banana pups. I also have a small house rabbit who uses Timothy hay, and I'll start using it with her poop as mulch. Any suggestions for producing bananas on dwarf trees?
never heard of sunburnt bananas. Seen frost bitten Bananas though. Cutting the top off in spring lets them bounce back. Never seen bananas so looked after. Never cut the plant out Just cut it below the leaves let it flop over and over the next few months all the goodness will leave that stool and transfer too its suckers. Anyway I had a good laugh.