Banana Harvesting

 

I prefer to harvest an entire bunch when the Bananas are still green and many have filled out. I can tell when my Bananas are ready when they fill out and the edges along the peel are almost gone. The Banana looks like someone has blown it up like a balloon.  

There is no precise science to harvesting Bananas by hand. It depends how the tree grows and what is surrounding it. By chance, this bunch grew over my back wall, so I could tie a rope around the bunch and use the tree itself to lower it down after I cut it.

From this point I could carry the bunch to my side yard to hand it.

This bunch had roughly 120 Bananas and weighed about 20 kg (44 lbs). I hung the bunch on my side yard balcony and will cut off a few Bananas at a time to let them ripen. The bunch hanging will remain fresh for a few weeks.

The Bananas on this tree were standard size compared to previous harvests. The yellow Bananas to the left are store bought and to the right are from my tree. The next test is to see how sweet they are. Stay tuned.

Okay it is 4 November and one Banana on the bunch hanging outside ripened quickly, so my wife and I tried it. It was firm and quite sweet. So pleased!

Strawberry Plant (Ichigo)

I still have the original Strawberry plants (Ichigo) from previous posts, but the Strawberries were not so sweet, so decided to buy a new plant to see if I can get sweeter Strawberries. I will propagate them in the sprint when they start growing runners and hopefully will get a lot of delicious Strawberries. 



Banana Pups

The Banana Pups in the front of my house are growing fast. I've never grown a Banana tree in a planter as an ornamental plant, but pleasantly surprised how well it is doing.

Cucumber (Kyuri)

My Cucumbers (Kyuri) are doing fine and starting to flower.

Bitter Melon Flower (Goya, Nigauri)

My Bitter Melon (Goya, Nigauri) are growing well and very productive with lots of melons. I was worried the flowers would not get pollinated because it is starting to get cool, but I was pleasantly surprised to see these tiny bees and flies all over my plants.  

Roses

Banana

This picture is from a few days ago and the Bananas have really filled out. They are ready to be harvested, but they are quite heavy, so I need to devise a cable system to hold them when I cut them down. I'll update this post on how I did it.

Sweet Potatoes (Satsumaimo)

I decided to harvest Sweet Potatoes (Satsumaimo) from one of my planters. I planted them about five months ago, but only got two potatoes (Boohoo). I have three more containers and hope for better results with them. Stay tuned.

My Next Planter Project

I'm planning to build a few more raised planters for the back of my house. I do not have any special design tools, so I used PowerPoint. Forgive my crudeness. 

This planter is a bit narrow, but designed for a specific location with limited space. I plan to plant Kiwi or Passion Fruit in this planter, hence the trellis. Will use some cords initially to help it climb. Also, folks may ask why there is no bottom. Well, I will sit it on the ground and fill it with dirt, so no need for a bottom. 

I had some leftover plywood from Planter 1, so decided to make this. Not sure where or how to use it yet. Shoot, I may even use it as a stool.

This is the plywood cutting pattern. I plan out every cut to ensure I do not waste any material. If I can visualize the material, I can make adjustments to my design to minimize waste. 

I draw how to cut each beam to maximize its use. It is also important to consider the width of your cutting blade, because one small cut may not make a big difference, but many small cuts in a row will add up. The dotted blue lines are where I will cut the beam. 

I usually make a materials list. This helps me determine if I will have enough space to transport the material, as well as help me gain a rough idea on how much this project will cost. 

Lantana Camara ”Pink Caprice” Flower

I planted seeds from a flower I found in the park in May. The plant started to sprout in June and by August I saw a distinguishable Pink Caprice plant. In mid-October it started the bloom.

(5/20) My Pink Caprice flower is blooming again. Based on my posts to date it seems the Pink Caprice flower blooms twice a year, October and May.

How to save a broken Tomato plant

As you may recall, I built a seven tier tower; unfortunately, it collapsed under its own weight. Fortunately, it did not cause a lot of damage to the plants, but it did snap one Tomato plant. Instead of removing it, I decided to transplant it and I'll show you how to do that.

We, as humans, train Tomato plants to grow upward, but Tomato plants, by nature, are crawlers and will spread out on the ground like a pumpkin or gourd. If you notice, Tomato plants have a lot of tiny hair on the stock. These tiny hairs will create roots quickly, if they touch dirt as seen in the above picture.

To replant a broken Tomato plant, remove all the leaves on the stock, except for a few at the top. You want all the plant's energy to go toward growing new roots. Make a hole in the dirt and try to place as much of the stock in the dirt as possible.

Water well and the plant should start growing naturally.

Still doing well the following day. I'll keep posting updates. Stay tuned.

Perked up five days later and the leaves are starting to grow.

Mango Tree (Transplanting)

It is mid-October and I decided to transplant my Kitsu Mango tree in the ground. I was nervous, because I've not had much success in the past, so I went to speak with a professional.

I was instructed to use soil specifically for Mango, Kiwi and other similar fruit trees, as well as add a plant food with high mineral content and fertilizer; however, I was cautioned not to use too much fertilizer, because a fertilizer with a high Nitrogen content can burn the roots and stunt or kill a young Mango tree. I was recommended to use a 5-1-1 fertilize content. The numbers represent the amount of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, respectively. As the tree matures it will need more Phosphorus and Potassium to support flower and fruit generation, something in the range of 6-6-6 to 8-8-8.

I dug a hole about two feet (60cm) deep, which is perhaps deeper than necessary, but my property has a lot of clay and want to give the tree a chance to develop a strong root system. I filled to hole with 30 litters of soil and two handfuls of fertilizer and set the tree on top. I placed a handful of mineral mix on other side of the tree and added some more dirt.

I built a frame around the tree and filled it with mulch to keep the moister in.

Finally, I covered the entire tree with a fine nylon net to protect it against the wind and pests and have a 4mm water hose on top. The net is fine so the water gathers on top and drips in like rain drops. It has been 5 days since I planted the tree and it is doing well and actually growing.

Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)

If you recall, this Acerola Tree bloomed in late April. A couple of days ago I noticed cherries. Yahoo! Also, I noticed new blooms.

This is another cherry. It ripened a few days after I took the picture above. I only have this one small tree and there are not a lot of cherries, so only get one ripen every so often; however, I planted many seeds last year and now have perhaps 10 saplings. Where to put them is my challenge. 

Fall Planting in a Sub-tropical Climate (Update)

In addition to what I have in the tower, I also planted a verity of vegetables in individual planters on 30 September, and just starting to see the first signs of growth. 

Can see some Green Pepper (Piman) sprouts to the left.

The leaf of this Bitter Melon (Goya, Nigauri) plant is larger than my previous plants. I have a lot of seed stock and some from fruit I ate, so believe these seeds are not from my original seed stock, but that's fine. I'm curious to see what the fruit looks like.

Some of the Strawberry Guava seeds are starting to sprout. Now Strawberry Guava is a tree, so I will need to transplant them soon.

I lost the Tomato plant to the left, but the other two are doing fine.

Both Eggplant are doing fine.

Tower (Update)

everything in the tower is growing well and I added one more tier, making a total of seven tiers. I planted Red Leaf Lettuce in the new tier. Below is what I have:

• First Tier - Basil
• Second Tier - Green Peppers 
• Third Tier - Tomato
• Fourth Tier - Lettuce
• Fifth Tier - Tomato
• Sixth Tier - Lettuce
• Seventh Tier - Pineapple and Garlic

Mango Tree (Kitsu or Keitt)

Well, I finally did it. I got a Mango tree. This is a Keitt Mango (also known as, Kitsu in Japanese). Most people are familiar with the small reddish Haden, Irwin, Tommy Atkins or Palmer Mango fruit which are esthetically pleasing and taste good, but the sweetest Mango verities are the green one's, not to mention they are typically much larger. 

This tree is two or three years old and will most likely start fruiting in two or three more years, if I take care of it well. 

Many Mango verities require a green house to control the temperature, moisture and pests, but Kitsu Mango do just fine without a green house and are fairly drought resistant when not fruiting. 

However, as with most fruit trees, abundant watering is necessary when fruit are developing. But, just before harvesting stop watering the tree. This will encourage the tree to push all the nutrients to the fruit making the fruit sweeter.

Typhoon season is not quite over yet, so I am waiting to plant the tree in the ground, which I plan to do in late October or early November. More to come.

Herbs (Mint)

Had a really nice surprise recently. I found a Mint plant in one of my planters that I thought had died months ago. I just transplanted it and going to find a safe place to spoil it so it stays healthy and grows tall and strong. 

Kiwi

Last week I picked up another set of male and female Kiwi plants. It seems like I killed my previous plants, but do not know how it happened, so need to study up again. Stay tuned.

Passion Fruit

Last weekend I picked up male and female Passion Fruit plants. I've never had Passion Fruit before and need to study up on how to take care of them, as well as find a home to transplant them. Stay tuned.

Hornworm

For over four months my Sweet Potato plants experienced a pest free life until recently. I started to see the dreaded signs of the mighty hornworm, which are small black pellet like droppings. I checked my plants during lunch, but could not find anything; however, as soon as the sun went down the hornworms came out. I could find over 10. I have a lot of plants and think they can take one or two worms, but not 10 or 15. But now I think my plants will do just fine. 

Swiss Chard

Last weekend I bought some Swiss Chard seeds and plan to plant them in the planter I recently made. It is hardy, tasty and healthy, not to mention the color it adds to stir fries.

Swiss Chard tastes a bit like Spinach. but healthier. It is an excellent source of magnesium, potassium, calcium and other minerals that help control blood pressure.

Planter

Today I made this planter. It is a simple 90 cm (35.4 inches) square with no top or bottom. The soil on my property it poor and primarily consists of sticky clay, so I'm gravitating towards raised planters, not to mention it is a more comfortable way to garden. Additionally, raised planters drain well and make it harder for pests to get to your plants.

Now this is a deep planter and you may be wondering how I will fill it all. There is a technique call, hugelkultur. by which you fill the bottom portion of the planter with waste organic matter, like tree trunks, branches, leaves and the like. Most plants only use about 30 cm (12 inches) of soil, so you can fill your planter with refuse organic material and the top 30 cm with high quality soil for planting. The organic refuse material will eventually break down and create a great home for worms and good microbes.

I moved the planter to the back and need to clear an area for it. I have a large growth of Shell Ginger (Getto) to the right of the box that I think I’ll clear for the planter. I’ll dig up the Ginger and keep some, but this is an extreme hardy plant and difficult to kill. I will post about Shell Ginger in a separate post.

I lined the inside with a plastic liner and stapled it down. The planter is made of wood so it will eventually rot, but the stain and inside liner should give me a few extra years of use.