growing bananas (as opposed to "going bananas"...)

[mudflap]

we live in zone 7 for hardiness, so bananas shouldn't really grow here, but I found an ad from a lady north of me that has bananas right now, so I sent her a message - we talked back and forth a bit, and I finally had to go see for myself. shornuff - she had a tree with bananas already on it. she doesn't cover them in the winter - just cuts the stalk back to nearly the ground. She's got 40 or 50 of them. I pointed out the ones I wanted, and her husband (from Jamaica) dug them up for me. So, we'll see what happens but:

- bananas are the USA's #1 imported food.
- USA is the largest consumer of bananas in the world
- bananas are a powerhouse of nutrients
- ours apparently will grow 10-14' tall, so it's not something you could fit in a normal greenhouse.
- there are very few places in the USA that can grow bananas commercially
- the lady is going to get some purple bananas (they taste just like vanilla ice-cream), so we'll be trying those next year.
- the whole plant is useful - the flower is edible, the stalk can be used to make paper, leaves can serve as plates, etc.

Anyway here's one of hers:


and ours:

[Gadianton Slayer]

Why not do both?

I don’t think we can grow bananas in Idaho.

[Niemand]

Isn't a craving for bananas a symptom of monkey pox? Careful now.

[mudflap]

Why not do both?

I don’t think we can grow bananas in Idaho.

yeah. so when the breakdown of the US happens, maybe the Second Southern Confederacy of Alabama can enter into a trade agreement with the Northwestern Rebel Outpost and ship you guys some bananas. You guys can send potatoes....

[Cruiserdude]

we live in zone 7 for hardiness, so bananas shouldn't really grow here, but I found an ad from a lady north of me that has bananas right now, so I sent her a message - we talked back and forth a bit, and I finally had to go see for myself. shornuff - she had a tree with bananas already on it. she doesn't cover them in the winter - just cuts the stalk back to nearly the ground. She's got 40 or 50 of them. I pointed out the ones I wanted, and her husband (from Jamaica) dug them up for me. So, we'll see what happens but:

- bananas are the USA's #1 imported food.
- USA is the largest consumer of bananas in the world
- bananas are a powerhouse of nutrients
- ours apparently will grow 10-14' tall, so it's not something you could fit in a normal greenhouse.
- there are very few places in the USA that can grow bananas commercially
- the lady is going to get some purple bananas (they taste just like vanilla ice-cream), so we'll be trying those next year.
- the whole plant is useful - the flower is edible, the stalk can be used to make paper, leaves can serve as plates, etc.

Anyway here's one of hers:


and ours:

Very very coolnever woulda crossed my mind to plant banana trees. You've a great climate for many awesome foods

[Momma J]

I have been trying for 3 years. Plants look fairly decent, but they do seem to freeze off in the winter. I have not had any luck with fruit yet.

[mudflap]

I have been trying for 3 years. Plants look fairly decent, but they do seem to freeze off in the winter. I have not had any luck with fruit yet.

I don't know, we'll find out. the lady I got them from gets a bunch every year. I read a lot about them - looks like they need plenty of fertilizer, all year long. She said chop them back to an 8" stump every year when it gets cold. They also said to separate the suckers from the main root ball, or they'll put energy into the suckers instead of fruiting. Like I said, we'll see. But seeing those tiny bananas on that one in her yard is encouraging.