Bananas for Crowley

Bananas for Crowley – A year ago at Fruit Fest hosted by Bok Tower Garden we purchased a baby banana tree from Cody Cove Farm. This year we are already getting a pretty impressive and heavy inflorescence (flowering and fruiting part) from the pseudostem (mother plant). Banana plants are herbaceous and soft. The more bananas in the cluster and the weight as they grow and mature, the heavier the inflorescence.

Mr Noah and I noticed the pseudostem starting to lean toward the east fence. We knew with the coming rains and the number of fingers (bananas) we are already seeing, that this would become a structural issue for the plant and could result in the loss of the fruit. So we came up with an idea. We found a small width push broom with a long wooden handle and wrapped the broom head in some loose airy burlap material. This wrapped portion we positioned on the pseudostem just below peduncle (stem the banana cluster grows on). We screwed the wooden handle of the broom to the nearest fence post at an appropriately 35 degree angle. This angle of contact won’t allowed further leaning of the mother plant. Then, we further secured the support in 3 different areas with rope to prevent it moving with weather. The part contacting the plant will dry quickly to prevent rot but is cushioned enough not to cut into the plant. We may add more support directly to the peduncle if needed. We plan to watch our first cluster as it matures and learn as it grows. If more support is needed or changes are needed, we will see to that as well. As we worked on this, I admired the overall beauty of the plant. I discovered, much to my delight, beautiful translucent petals.

Once the mother plant is done fruiting it can be cut away and used as food for the rest of the agroforestry system. All the while, the bananas become food for us and the animals! This garden has been a wonderful journey of learning and we are excited to watch and share it all with you!

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