Bananas are a fruit instantly recognizable to just about anyone, anywhere in the world. Yet they grow only in tropical and subtropical areas.
那么,世界各地温带地区的杂货店是如何做到全年供应成堆成堆的水果,每个水果的价格在10美分或更低?
Though part of the answer has to do with less-than-stellar working conditions for the harvesters in commercial plantations, a key factor is the sheer ease of obtaining harvests in the realm of25 to 100 pounds from a single banana plant. That’s right — potentially 100 pounds from one, very low-maintenance plant. That harvest is within reach of the backyard grower, too.
通过一些技巧,你可以开始在热带或亚热带的土地上种植香蕉植物,或者大幅提高现有植物的产量。继续读下去,了解更多关于在你的热带家园种植香蕉的知识。
Know the Right Conditions for Growing Bananas
Knowing the preferences of banana plants is an important detail to consider when it comes to growing bananas. The right conditions will turn what could be a frustrating endeavor of trying to coax your banana plants into fruiting, into an effortless, sit-back-and-wait harvest.
Climate Conditions for Growing Bananas
Bananas are originally from the tropical areas of Oceania and Southeast Asia, and as such, they’re big fans of year-round warmth and moisture. They thrive throughout the world’s tropics and can produce well in subtropical zones but will not produce in areas with extremely hot, dry summers or freezing winters.
Water Conditions for Growing Bananas
These are thirsty plants with high water requirements, so if your area lacks consistent, heavy rains, you’ll have to get water to them yourself. It’s a common practice on tropical homesteads to plant groves of bananas in areas where water naturally pools, such as at the bottom of sloping hillsides or graywater drainage areas.
Soil Conditions for Growing Bananas
In terms of soil requirements, bananas prefer rich, nutrient-dense soils with a slightly acidicsoil pH(in the range of 5.5 to 6.5). They appreciate the regular addition of compost to the soil, as well as offerings ofaged chicken manure, worm castings, and the like.
That said, many a tropical homesteader (myself included) grows bananas in unimproved, hard rainforest soils with no additional nutrients other than those provided by last season’s banana plants (more on that later).
Space Requirement for Growing Bananas
Bananas like to grow in groups. Growing many banana plants together offers them reduced wind exposure and lets many plants benefit from the same added nutrients. One popular method is to plant bananas in rings or circles around a central depression where nutrients and water are collected. Bananas grow fine in either full or partial sun, so there’s no worry of them shading out each other.
What to Expect From the Growth Period
If you’re just establishing a banana plant, expect to have your first harvest in about a year and a half. After this initial longer wait, harvests become a yearly affair. The plant must first reach its mature size, which is dependent on the variety you’re growing, before producing a stalk of flowers and fruits.
有经验的香蕉种植者通过寻找“旗叶”来知道香蕉什么时候要结果。这是香蕉植株在结果前产生的最后一片叶子,大约是普通叶子的一半大小。一旦你发现了旗叶,你就知道一串香蕉即将到来。
This is how it unfolds: First, you’ll see the stalk curling downward, ending in odd-looking purple leaf bracts (often mistaken for flowers). As they unfurl over the course of a few days, these bracts reveal the true. little white flowers which drop off without pollination occurring.
Related Post:Tropical Homesteading: How To Harvest Coconut for Fresh Water and Meat
A hand of tiny, green bananas grows in their place. This process repeats down the stalk until you have a seriously impressive amount of baby bananas.
When to Harvest Bananas
Bananas are typically harvested after about two months while still green, even in a homesteading situation. After harvesting a few bunches you’ll know what size to harvest, but other signs that indicate readiness include:
- The bananas become less angular and more rounded.
- The old flower at the end of each fruit is easy to brush off.
- There is a large gap between the lowest bananas on the stalk and the remaining bract layers (the dark purple flower).
一旦它们准备好了,把茎砍下来,把它挂在一个没有捕食者的地方,在你的厨房里是一个安全的选择,因为是一个合理密封的棚子。
悬挂香蕉柄可以让空气流通,更重要的是,当放在桌面上时,避免了香蕉柄的重量造成底部擦伤。或者,你也可以把它们切成不同的手,在它们成熟的时候放在一个平面上。
Strange, but Important, Post-Harvest Banana Plant Care
Here’s the really odd part about growing bananas. Every plant fruits once and only once. After you cut the bunch of bananas, you’ll want to hack the rest of the plant back to near ground level.
Not to worry, though, because chances are you’ve already spied one or moresuckers(yes, banana plant shoots are really called that) growing near the base of the mature plant. Those suckers come from the same rhizomes as the original plant, and one of them will give you another harvest in 12 months.
Related Post:15 Weird and Wonderful Tropical Fruit Trees for Tropical Homesteads
As for disposing of that old plant? The best thing you can do for the suckers is to chop them into small pieces — trunk, leaves, all of it — and lay the pieces around the base of the new generation plants. It’ll break down and slowly provide those new plants with nutrients.
Ripening Bananas
Your freshly-cut bunch of bananas will ripen naturally anywhere from a few days to two weeks after harvest (and once they start, they all ripen over the course of a few days, so be prepared for sudden abundance).
If you tire of eating copious amounts of fresh bananas, consider freezing them for later use in desserts,dehydrating them in the oven, or diversifying your palate with fresh homemade banana bread, vegan ice cream, banana muffins, or a favorite go-to banana recipe.
Propagating More Banana Plants
If you’d like to enjoy more organic homegrown bananas next year (or gift a plant to a friend or neighbor), it’s not a matter of saving seed (bananas have none) but of transplanting a sucker.
在你的种植园中选择一个两个或更多的吸盘争夺空间的地方(通常那些来自同一个地下根茎)。挖出一棵,取出一小部分根茎,移到想要的地方。工作做得好!
Maddy Skinneris an ecologist whose interests lie in permaculture, rewilding, and living respectfully as members of our interspecies communities. She currently lives off-grid at a biological station in Costa Rica.
Leave a Reply