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About the Author Dekka Newcastle 4th February 2009 5:50pm #UserID: 102 Posts: 219 View All Dekka's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author peter12 4th February 2009 7:29pm #UserID: 1019 Posts: 38 View All peter12's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Dekka 4th February 2009 7:35pm #UserID: 102 Posts: 219 View All Dekka's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... they really need an inch of rain a week , every week to get nice fat fruit . wait until the fruit has rounded out before picking . it will be very angular now . can take up to 6 months depending on what type it is . wait until you hear the fruit bats screaming and eating the first hand then pick !!! hehe .. bag them if you can get up there , and make a note to check in 3 months or so .. keep an eye on them .. I love home grown bananas .. got 6 different ones planted out no , and they are growing like the clappers. | About the Author Trikus Tully 4th February 2009 9:10pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Perth 6th February 2009 7:00pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 12th February 2009 10:05am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 12th February 2009 10:17am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author melbourne 12th February 2009 10:21am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 12th February 2009 12:44pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Tony says... Hi Stella, A banana plant/tree itself doesn't have a deep root system even late into fruit bearing stage. However, the suckers (little banana plants) will eventually spreadout extensively in the surrounding areas. I therefore wouldn't plant any banana tree near an above ground swimming pool. | About the Author Sydney 12th February 2009 8:32pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Stella, Tony's reply implies that you can plant near your pool (but not too close) if you are willing to remove any suckers heading in the direction of the pool. This can be done by using a sharp shovel to "Cut downwards between the mature plant and the sucker". See the following link for more details... http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-bananas.html | About the Author JohnI Melton 13th February 2009 8:35am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 13th February 2009 9:56am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Thanks Jantina, I guess the sort of questions I have are around what things I can do to ensure that my tree's fruit consistently in our Melbourne climate. All the forums I have read for cold climate care of bananas are for extreme environments where snow and ice are an issue. In these cases people uproot there whole tree's and store them over winter in a garage or basement. Others remove all the leaves and rap the tree's with straw and chicken wire. | About the Author JohnI Melton 13th February 2009 10:24am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jantina says... Email has gone out, we await reply. Goodness I thought I was keen but having to uproot plants and store them over winter or wrap them in straw and chickenwire? I have my hands full agonizing over the best site I have for things and then keeping them watered and protected from our occasional frosts! | About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 13th February 2009 10:32am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jason Portland 15th February 2009 12:37am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jantina says... Thankyou Jason, you've been off the airwaves for a while and our computer went haywire and I lost email addresses etc.Could you email me again with your ph.no. please and we can make arrangements to collect the banana. Also you probably didn't see the post where I said I've got 3 grafted lucumos coming and did you want one? | About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 15th February 2009 9:46am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 15th February 2009 11:54am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 15th February 2009 8:26pm #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 16th February 2009 9:33am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 24th February 2009 8:49am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Firefly says... John I, Blue Sky Backyard Bananas currently have some available. http://www.backyardbananas.com.au/index.html | About the Author Penrith NSW 24th February 2009 3:42pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 24th February 2009 7:42pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Eddie melbourne 28th February 2009 7:25pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Wollongong 1st March 2009 6:15am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Eddie melbourne 1st March 2009 3:00pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... This weeks Gardening Australia program (episode 9) had a segment on how too replant a sucker. If your interested go to http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2528894.htm and click on the "Watch the story" link to view the video. | About the Author JohnI Melton 30th March 2009 12:29pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Victoria 30th March 2009 2:24pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jantina says... Hi John I, how goes it ? Have you managed to find anyone with a fruited banana yet? I haven't heard from Jason again and I sent away for a dwarf ducasse from bluesky bananas. It was only a small plant but is putting out new leaves and growing well. I've got it in a north facing partially enclosed verandah along with my other subtropicals. | About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 30th March 2009 7:30pm #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Jantina. No I haven't found anyone in Melbourne yet, but if Jason has them fruiting in Portland I shouldn't have to many problems. I'm still worried about frost in the coming winter, and am thinking I will cover them overnight with aluminet. I don't have a good heat sink (such as a north facing wall) so I'm going to have to find a way to add some heat on the coldest nights. I ended up getting a standard Cool Bananas Ducasse. I planted it near an east facing fence so I thought it's probably better to have a lager plant than the dwarf (so it can catch the afternoon sun when it reaches fence hight). | About the Author JohnI Melton 31st March 2009 7:31pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 31st March 2009 7:48pm #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Aluminet is like shade cloth but metalic. It's supposed to reflect heat back towards the plant. Warm bricks and hot water are both good ideas, but I'm thinking of using some pond lights at the base of the plants. I already have some that aren't being used, and I have a timer that I could set to go on around 4:00am and turn off around 7:00am. | About the Author JohnI Melton 31st March 2009 8:08pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Jantina. Heres a picture of my bananas. The large one is a Lady Finger, which was planted mid Jan (when it was about a foot high). The small one at the back is a Ducasse which I planted on the weekend, and the small one at the front is a red Dacca that I had replanted into a large pot in late Jan, and replanted in its current location last night.
| About the Author JohnI Melton 1st April 2009 8:48am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 4th April 2009 2:22pm #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 8th April 2009 10:06am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author amanda19 geraldton WA 10th May 2009 11:55pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... Amanda , home grown will be far better as they are usually much superior cultivars than the commercial cavendish . Also Bunnings would be selling tissue cultured plants , no one would dig up the thousands they require for a min. order ! Small plants generated by T/C may look like a water shoot but grow much better . Even a water shoot will grow but take longer . | About the Author Trikus Tully 11th May 2009 8:26am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Amanda, There are several reasons why I bother... 1. Bananas are my favourite fruit. 2. The supermarkets only stock 2 varieties. 3. I've been told they they can be successfully grown in Melbourne (and would like to see for myself). 4. I've always wondered what a fresh home grown banana tastes like. 5. I've also learnt a lot about gardening in general, just by researching ways of successfully growing bananas. Bananas aren't the only fruit I grow. I also bother to grow apples, peaches, nectarines, fig, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi fruit, and a number of seasonal vegetables. I'm also trying dragon fruit, and have a babaco on order. Attempting to grow subtropical fruit doesn't exclude me from also growing other fruits more suited to my climate. It does however increase my interest in gardening, and my general understanding plant care. | About the Author John I1 Melbourne 11th May 2009 9:55am #UserID: 2315 Posts: 5 View All John I1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Kath says... Hi Amanda,I bought one banana plant years ago for $2 & have had kilos & kilos from it's offspring. They are no bother-I chucked it in the chookyard where the retic hits it & never fertilize it, & it's fantastic with nice big bunches. Since then I've bought some Cavendish from Bunnings & Tass 1 & Lady's fingers. I'm surprised more people don't grow them as they look great & watching the bananas form is pretty cool-I've had many people comment they'd never seen them forming close up -they are fascinating to watch over a few days as they change so quickly. Kids especially like picking a banana and it is so much nicer than getting it from a big airconditioned supermarket when you can bet they have been gassed to ripen.I am hour south of Perth so they can handle a bit of cooler weather.
| About the Author KathK Karnup W.A. 11th May 2009 12:44pm #UserID: 1744 Posts: 187 View All KathK's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... I am sad that I did not garden more in the many years I lived in Melbourne . But i remember vividly the headlines and pictures in the local suburban newspapers when someone got bananas to fruit . I also remember seeing hundreds of houses with bananas in the back yards , especially along the Frankston line while in the train . | About the Author Trikus Tully 11th May 2009 2:46pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... oops - sorry john didn't mean to offend. Gor for it! My plant definitely a water shoot according to a professional grower. I live in low rainfall area and don't recommend dripper irrigation for these - it's too confining for the suckers. I was reading Glowinskis report about apples and tend to agree - u have to weigh up the pros n cons i guess. Never-the-less my banana plant is getting the chop 2morrow to make way for something else (a capulin cherry) - and that's the fun of gardening - you can always change your mind!? | About the Author amanda19 geraldton WA 12th May 2009 9:40pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Amanda, No I wasn't offended. I'm sorry if my response sounded abrupt (it must be the German coming out of me). I'm expecting fruit from my bananas within the next two years (provided the frost doesn't get to them). If that fails then I'll have to do the same thing and replace them with something else. It won't be easy though because they are located near an easment, so I can't replace them with anything that has a large root system. | About the Author JohnI Melton 12th May 2009 10:00pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author adelaide 12th May 2009 11:47pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... The book is The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia by Louis Glowinski. It's mentioned alot in the forum so I guess it's just about our bible! It's an excellent reference book. There was a segment on Gardening Aust about a new banana (for cold climates) that they have popped in down in Tassie! - only recently - it may be in the next magazine issued. | About the Author amanda19 geraldton WA 14th May 2009 4:56pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... John I. says... Hi Amanda, I saw the Gardening Australia segment. The banana they planted is branded Cool Bananas www.humphrisnursery.com.au/coolbanana/info/coolbananas.html They are sold by bunnings and various other nurseries around Melbourne. I have three varieties of them. From what I have read they are considered cool climate bananas because they are a little bit more cold tolerant, and because the time it takes for fruit to ripen is shorter than other varieties. | About the Author Melbourne 14th May 2009 7:13pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author amanda19 geraldton WA 14th May 2009 8:31pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author stefan Heinze melbourne 6th June 2009 10:30pm #UserID: 2394 Posts: 11 View All stefan Heinze's Edible Fruit Trees |
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juanita says... I also have a 2yr old cool bananas ladyfinger & a 1 yr old cool bananas pisang ceylan variety...They're growing against high eastern fence & sheltered by tall lemon tree against hot NW winds in summer..Both are thriving beautifully but I find ladyfinger is more cold hardy than pisang ceylan. | About the Author juanita melbourne 7th June 2009 1:52am #UserID: 702 Posts: 122 View All juanita's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author stefan Heinze melbourne 7th June 2009 9:35am #UserID: 2394 Posts: 11 View All stefan Heinze's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 7th June 2009 6:30pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Stef and Juanita, My Red Dacca is already showing signs of frost damage from the light frosts we had recently ( it's in it's first year). I noticed that the temps we get out here in the west are general 3 to 4 degrees below the Melbourne forcast. Trikus, it's not recomended to feed and water bananas over winter down here in Melbourne. We don't get much growth due to the low temps, and the new growth is succeptable to frost. The blossum boosters a good idea though. | About the Author JohnI Melton 7th June 2009 6:55pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author stefan Heinze melbourne 7th June 2009 7:15pm #UserID: 2394 Posts: 11 View All stefan Heinze's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 7th June 2009 8:55pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 7th June 2009 9:07pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author stefan Heinze melbourne 7th June 2009 10:52pm #UserID: 2394 Posts: 11 View All stefan Heinze's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Michael Wakeley 11th June 2009 1:30pm #UserID: 1746 Posts: 178 View All Michael's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Micheal, I scoured the web a few month ago to find an answer to this. The experts all claimed that it was not possible. I did however come across a blog where the guy had a plant (dwarf variety) in a pot next to his desk at work. He watered and feed it daily and it did flower and begin to fruit. The blog kind of ended there so there was no mention of the fruit maturing. | About the Author JohnI Melton 11th June 2009 3:17pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Margssubtropical1 11th June 2009 5:25pm #UserID: 1892 Posts: 14 View All Margssubtropical1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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randey says... my first plantain was in an old copper and with vigorous feeding and watering it not only flowered but gave me about 3 hands that matured. just keep in mind that if you do pot grow them you are going to have use a BIG pot and be aware that you will have to repot every so often to accomodate the new suckers. | About the Author randey perth 11th June 2009 6:13pm #UserID: 2306 Posts: 104 View All randey's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author 11th June 2009 9:25pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Margssubtropical1 12th June 2009 7:42pm #UserID: 1892 Posts: 14 View All Margssubtropical1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Michael Wakeley 15th June 2009 10:33pm #UserID: 1746 Posts: 178 View All Michael's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author 16th June 2009 1:37am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author KathK Karnup W.A. 16th June 2009 10:07am #UserID: 1744 Posts: 187 View All KathK's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Kath - sorry 4 your losses!! thats every gardeners worst nightmare picture!? I have two mates that are ex-banana growers from Carnarvon and they have both looked at my plant n had a laugh! Interesting their thoughts tho' - in WA (outside of kimberley) we are growing in a more marginal climate. They plant very (very) thickly in C'von. This is to increase shade n humudity - but also for support (still get cyclonic winds there) I keep thinking of B'nanas growing in their home environ - supported by the rain forest and the concommitant humidity/rainfall. Your plants look great! Was that the recent storm we all copped? Every single one of my trees got thru' that with no damage at all - I was stoked - I have been practising deep infrequent watering and been "treating them mean to keep them keen" - not because I knew any better but it just made 'sense' to me somehow? Maybe a couple of 2.4m star pickets and some loops of rope could save them next time? | About the Author amanda19 geraldton.WA 17th June 2009 12:47am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Michael Wakeley 17th June 2009 12:39pm #UserID: 1746 Posts: 178 View All Michael's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt. Gambier S.A. 18th June 2009 12:14am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... Loks like what is called Monkey bananas around here .. very popular with certain Asian growers . Fruits are very small , like really the same size as a ladys little finger .. ie , much smaller than what is commonly called Lady Finger [ act. I think these are a type of sugar ] Very dificult to legally get different ones that are not mass propagated . I am trying to source some and getting all permits and inspections and will try to get it put into the local lab for TC. Michael I think they are really worth trying , smaller fruit should ripen quicker , and from what I hear the Mong [? sp.] may be hill tribes and these could have some cool tolerance . | About the Author Trikus Tully 19th June 2009 9:00am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Speedy says... Banana names are really frustrating. There are differnt names in different countries and cultures for bananas of the same variety and same names for different varieties. very confusing. :-? The little banana in the pic is known in some contries as 'Lady finger', but in Aust that name is used for other bananas. As trikus said, it's generally known in Aust as 'Monkey Banana'. I think it's official name is 'Sucrier' (genome formula AA). I managed to get a small plant in early 1990's but it didn't survive. :-( Malay friends know it as 'Pisang Mas' (lit. Golden banana) , and Thai friends call it 'Klue Khai' Trikus, if you do manage to secure some and get it to TC, I'd really love some. Please let me know if you do. :-) Here's a very handy reference for Banana cultivars. http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Musa.html#con.names Cheers | About the Author Speedy Swan Hill, Vic 19th June 2009 10:39am #UserID: 2305 Posts: 250 View All Speedy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Michael says... The banana i'm referring to is smaller then what is sold as Lady Fingers . Here's pictures of the banana I bought today comparing it to a match box ,50 cent coin and a sugar banana. There is even a smaller version of this banana which they don't have in season yet but it's 3/4 the length and width of the attach banana.
| About the Author Michael Wakeley 20th June 2009 11:14pm #UserID: 1746 Posts: 178 View All Michael's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Speedy says... Did whoever you bought it from have a name for it? The 'monkey banana' or 'sucrier' is about that big and has quite a thin skin and a sort of gold tone to the flesh. The stem of the one in the pic looks a bit bigger in proportion to the fruit than I remember though. maybe this is something else and the not in season 3/4 size banana is 'monkey banana' | About the Author Speedy Swan Hill, Vic 21st June 2009 12:08am #UserID: 2305 Posts: 250 View All Speedy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Michael Wakeley 24th June 2009 11:02am #UserID: 1746 Posts: 178 View All Michael's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Michael, It looks like a super dwarf cavendish. I don't know where to get them but have a look at this link for some info... http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/Bananas/Musa_cavendishi_Super_Dwarf.php | About the Author JohnI Melbourne 24th June 2009 2:04pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Michael Wakeley 24th June 2009 4:52pm #UserID: 1746 Posts: 178 View All Michael's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Michael, there is a nursery near Melbourne that sells a super dwarf banana but when I asked what type it was and if it fruited I was told that they didn't know. Here is a link to their website... http://www.denisestropicalgardens.com.au/products.php?base=34 | About the Author JohnI Melbourne 24th June 2009 5:20pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 25th June 2009 8:51am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sally4 melbourne 25th June 2009 6:32pm #UserID: 2498 Posts: 1 View All Sally4's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 27th June 2009 5:52am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jess2 melbourne 27th June 2009 7:33pm #UserID: 2502 Posts: 1 View All Jess2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 29th June 2009 11:26am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melbourne 29th June 2009 1:52pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sally5 melbourne 29th June 2009 8:07pm #UserID: 2510 Posts: 3 View All Sally5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Sally, I can't find much information about the super dwarf from australian websites. According to some of the international websites they are often advertised as ornamental but do produce small sweet eadible fruit. The main varieties seem to be the super dwarf novak, and super dwarf cavandishi. Then there are a whole range of brand named versions in the US. I think it is worth a try anyway. How long have you had yours? | About the Author JohnI Melbourne 29th June 2009 8:32pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Sally says... Hi John i just bought it on the weekend i also had a look on websites and they all went back to super dwarf cavandish so i can only hope. If you dont mind answering this question might seem stupid but when they say ornamental does it mean it does not produce fruit at all just foliage and i think all bananas are edible have not come across any that are bad for you Sally | About the Author Sally5 melbourne 29th June 2009 8:55pm #UserID: 2510 Posts: 3 View All Sally5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Sally, I always thought that ornamental meant that it didn't fruit at all or that the fruit was of such a poor quality that it wasn't worth eating. From what I've read recently this does not appear to be true. There is a good chance that your super dwarf will produce small sweet fruit that could taste nice. | About the Author JohnI Melbourne 29th June 2009 9:31pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sally5 melbourne 29th June 2009 9:50pm #UserID: 2510 Posts: 3 View All Sally5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melbourne 29th June 2009 10:02pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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rus says... After reading the posts about bananas on here, particularly kath and the other WA growers i decided to give one a go. I rang up about lady fingers advertised in the quokka (free advert paper) for $10. Went to pick it up and they they had litterally hundreds with many in fruit. The sucker they gave me was easily 5 foot tall. Any fears i had about being able to grow them in suburban perth have been banished. | About the Author Russ Perth NOR 31st August 2009 12:45am #UserID: 1968 Posts: 56 View All Russ's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jimmy 31st August 2009 12:10pm #UserID: 2548 Posts: 511 View All Jimmy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Bonnie Helena Valley WA 14th December 2009 10:31am #UserID: 3114 Posts: 10 View All Bonnie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jimmy Perth 14th December 2009 11:03am #UserID: 2548 Posts: 511 View All Jimmy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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juanita says... Hi Stef & John1, Mine hasn't fruited yet...How will i get them to fruit is a BIG ?? for me when most of their foliage have gone brown or died in winter..However, i know somebody in our suburb who managed to get one of his banana trees fruited for him but he's not willing to share his secret/expertise w/ anyone but one thing i've noticed his banana trees are being shaded by next door huge tall gum tree & that could be the trick?? | About the Author melbourne 27th December 2009 1:14am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Eddie says... Hi Juanita as per my pictures i roughly framed the area then put the clear roofing on top and put shade cloth around the frame and also lined it with bubble wrap from the inside and did not die only opened the side during nice days otherwise just watered and feed them. i live in the south east suburbs and my friends neighbour didnt protect and was not looking the best. Hope this will help you and others.
| About the Author Eddie Melbourne 27th December 2009 6:56pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 3rd January 2010 12:47pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Charles cant spell says... My Cavandish (I think) has taken 3 years from a knee high sucker to flower. I was getting to much wind damage on the leaves and not enough love. Its suckers are doing much better as I improve the wind issue and microclimate. I was cosidering putting shadecloth over the top to keep all the wind out but might see how they go. ITs 40ish today and they dont show any sign of stress. How tall are you bananas Kath ? They look 3-4 meters or so. I wonder if mine will get larger with more protection.
| About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1 Innaloo, Perth 3rd January 2010 4:12pm #UserID: 2742 Posts: 411 View All Charlesstillcantspell1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Hi all, a very interesting forum. A friend purchased 2 banana plants for me from Denise's in Carrum downs in late Aug 09 which I thought I would plant as an experiment, I planted them in early September, I requested a Cavendish and a Lady Finger. Since then they have doubled in size. Is there any way to identify which type they are ? I think the larger one is the Cavendish. They are getting a new leaf approximately every 7 to 9 days. The larger one got it's first sucker last week and I was optimistically hoping that the fruiting stage may be imminent, I now know that this is quite unlikely to happen this summer season from the other posts and maybe not the next. The larger one is around 5ft tall so I am guessing it must be a dwarf since if has a sucker already. I am not intending to uproot them as I don't think Melbourne's winter should be a problem. Thinking of housing them in a minature plastic structure in their current position. Has anyone had any luck with fruiting bananas in Melbourne and how were they kept viable over Winter, many thanks Maurice | About the Author Mordialloc 15th January 2010 8:31pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says... Hi Maurice, I have had no problem with banana plants in Melbourne in winter. They cope very well, I have done nothing. I lost one (got burnt) during bush fire season last year but 2 suckers came up so it was ok. I have had the tall Cavendish plant fruited a couple of year ago twice, 3 years apart and very skinny hands. I abandoned that plant because of the drought, no water for them. I now have a water tank. Three years ago, I started to grow again (dwarf lady finger), the first year I grew in pot from a rhizome, transfer into the ground the second year and lost the main one and this year the plant is doing well. I read the QLD DPI website the other day and found for every plant, I must feed 800 grams of lime, 240 grams of nitrogen, 600 grams of potash and 60 gram of phosphate divided into 4 application from September to May (I did not do that for my first one, no wonder the fruits did not form properly). I have done my 1st application in combination of watering every day. I could see them getting stronger and bigger every day. My plant has blotchy pattern on the leaves when young. I hope this helps. Good luck. | About the Author JUJUBE FOR SALE Melbourne 15th January 2010 10:29pm #UserID: 2706 Posts: 715 View All JUJUBE FOR SALE's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Hi Jujube, thanks for your reply. It is very reassuring to learn that you have had some success in the past with your bananas. I will definitely persevere with them and see how they go. Haven't quite fertilizied in the manner suggested but have given them chook pallets and cow and horse manure usually mixed with water. May now consider trying some other tropical plants as well, cheers, Maurice | About the Author Mordialloc 17th January 2010 4:52pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jason says... Ive just picked up a Cavendish from Trees A Green in forrestfield yesterday. $15 Not sure how much success Ill have with it but for $15 its worth a shot. Just repotted it into a larger pot today and keeping it in semi shade during this 40 degree week we are having. Hows the weather up Geraldton way Amanda? | About the Author Jason1 Perth 17th January 2010 5:32pm #UserID: 2491 Posts: 111 View All Jason1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 17th January 2010 8:26pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Mish says... Hi everyone Jason: I just picked up a Cavendish the other day too. Very excited about the adventure... It says on the tag 'perfect for containers'... or 'grow indoors'... (strange), but what size I am wondering? 50L or 100L? What size pot have you put yours in? My main worry is protecting it from the wind... as I don't have any place in the garden where it isn't windy. | About the Author Mish Singleton 24th January 2010 11:28am #UserID: 3045 Posts: 42 View All Mish's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jason1 Perth 25th January 2010 9:09pm #UserID: 2491 Posts: 111 View All Jason1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melbourne 26th January 2010 9:50pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Megan5 Melbourne 28th January 2010 6:58pm #UserID: 3306 Posts: 2 View All Megan5's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Phil@Tyalgum says... John I received a Blue Java, Dwarf Ducasse and a Goldfinger from Blue Sky in Queensland in December as in vitro specimens, they are now doing well and about 8" tall. Blue Java sounds like the pick of eating bananas, can't wait for them to get moving.
| About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 3rd February 2010 5:09pm #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melbourne 3rd February 2010 9:26pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author kicker bonny hills 7th February 2010 11:23am #UserID: 3352 Posts: 1 View All kicker's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author jerry melton 17th February 2010 10:40pm #UserID: 3397 Posts: 1 View All jerry's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 16th March 2010 1:47pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 16th March 2010 3:24pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 16th March 2010 5:07pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... Give yourself about 1m from the fence line so you can get in there to cut off suckers . The stands can get very big , this is my best grower and I should have thinned it out a bit more than I have . I have 2 bunches hanging on it now , about 1 month apart . Both are propped up on bamboo supports and they are stringed together with baling twine . These are SUPERB TASTING FRUITS . | About the Author Trikus Tully 16th March 2010 5:27pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Marg says... JOY OH JOY A BANANA FLOWER just emerging from a lady finger 16 months old..in a sunny spot in Camberwell Melbourne.. we have 5 other varieties (inc red dacca) planted now 10 months so we are expecting great things from them in the next year.. does anyone know how long they take from this stage in Melbourne..I gather we need to get a banana bag..and when would that need to be put on? cheers
| About the Author Margssubtropical1 Camberwell 3rd April 2010 12:11pm #UserID: 1892 Posts: 14 View All Margssubtropical1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 3rd April 2010 2:59pm #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author John I2 Melbourne 3rd April 2010 7:04pm #UserID: 3012 Posts: 8 View All John I2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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HappyEarth says... Hey Marg ... they wont ripen up until next spring/summer. Put a bag on it when you cut the bell of the stalk - which you do when you start getting lots of little bananas emerging. You'll need to support the plant as well otherwise you risk it blowing over from strong winds. Rich www.happyearth.com.au | About the Author HappyEarth Wollongong 3rd April 2010 9:19pm #UserID: 2553 Posts: 181 View All HappyEarth's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... Props for the bunch are a great idea , nothing worse than a massive bunch only a few weeks from ripening getting blown over . They would turn yellow but never taste the same as a tree ripened bunch . I have made up some props from long lengths of bamboo tied together so as to support the bunch just where it bends . Commercial growers also use baling twine to support 2 opposing plants .I have 2 bunches on my Java Blue prctically opposite each other , and they are tied together. It can take 6 months for a bunch to mature , especially if its cold . Dont forget to check and take a few fruits from the top of the bunch when they start rounding out . These should ripen in about 5 days . This is a great way to spread out a massive bunch . | About the Author Trikus Tully 5th April 2010 8:39am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author gus2 Innaloo 5th April 2010 4:29pm #UserID: 3405 Posts: 37 View All gus2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Marg says... Hi everyone and thanks for all the hints much appreciated Hi Phil all your plants are doing really well the black sapote is about 2 m now I will start supporting it soon as it has gotten much bigger now in 1 week there are 5 hands of 10 bananas showing. the stem is about 2.5-3m. I have only been doing the foliar feeding i bang on about but I'm thinking of adding a wee bit of potash to the soil and compost I put around it...gosh it's so great to get these. | About the Author Margssubtropical1 Camberwell 8th April 2010 12:56pm #UserID: 1892 Posts: 14 View All Margssubtropical1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 8th April 2010 1:40pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Margssubtropical1 Camberwell 8th April 2010 1:59pm #UserID: 1892 Posts: 14 View All Margssubtropical1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 8th April 2010 6:13pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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BJ says... I did the drive from Cairns to Cooktown today. So many Bananas! Many just growing in the creeks in the rainforest. I saw a plantation of what I would presume are Dwarf Ducasse. So fantastic to see so many little trees full of fruit. I am so envious of these types of places that can just purchase plants form their local nurseries! On the other hand, I found it very hard to find any good, 'exotic' fruits besides Persimmon and Custard Apple. Despite seeing fantastic trees, many bearing ripe fruit, all along the drive... | About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 21st April 2010 4:40pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says... Hi BJ, You could get some tropical fruits on the way from Cooktown back to Cairns. - Amazone farm in Mossman on the main street, just 5 minutes out of town. - Port Doughlas Sunday market - Rusty market in Sheridan Street Cairns city, open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6 AM but normally, tropical fruits may be gone by 9 AM. Enjoy your time in Cairns. | About the Author JUJUBE FOR SALE 21st April 2010 4:49pm #UserID: 2706 Posts: 715 View All JUJUBE FOR SALE's Edible Fruit Trees |
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BJ says... Thanks, I'll ask about the road to Mossman and the northern beaches. I stuck to the inland road on the way up because it is pretty safe. I've got a few hours on Saturday before I have to get the plane back from Cairns to Brisbane, so I'll try the drive through Mossman and then head for Rustys. Not forgetting the fruit wineries, of course... I just hated the fact that I had to come on a Wednesday and couldnt find any any good food to bring with me to Cooktown, as theres no hope of finding much here. They only keep the rubbish ladyfinger bananas even! | About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 21st April 2010 4:57pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says... Hi BJ, Yes, I agree with you that inland road via Mareeba is much better and safer than the coastal way (Pord Doughlas, Mossman, Bloomfield etc..). If you only have a few hours on Saturday then the best place to go is Rusty market about 2 Kms from the airport. That all you need to go. Mangosteen and rambutans and lots of tropical fruits in season right now. Hopefully you could get some even you arrive at lunch time. I would not try Amazone in Mossman even though it is about 70 kms from Cairn and 10 kms from Port Doughlas but getting there using winding Captain Cook HW (after northern beaches) it will take you more than one hours not counting the time to get back to Cairns. Last time when I was there, they had green sapotes and mamey sapotes from the working farm. I was told that there are a number of tropical fruit farms in Cooktown. I would pop in a farm and ask if I could buy some fruits from them if I was you. Safe driving and good luck. | About the Author JUJUBE FOR SALE 21st April 2010 6:41pm #UserID: 2706 Posts: 715 View All JUJUBE FOR SALE's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 25th April 2010 12:07am #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JUJUBE FOR SALE Melbourne 25th April 2010 7:20am #UserID: 2706 Posts: 715 View All JUJUBE FOR SALE's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Rev north qld 11th June 2010 8:43pm #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 11th June 2010 9:43pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... Bluggoe seems to be only plantain type legally available at the moment. A few other types are being grown locally around South Johnstone area by approved DPI growers. And Ron Berry had the Pacific plantain growing around the Mossman area at Highfalls Fruit Farm .
| About the Author Trikus Tully 12th June 2010 7:52am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Steven says... Hey everyone I just wanted to ask? do bananas need to be cross pollinated in order to fruit? i bought a banana a couple of years ago which has now turned into about 5 banana plants. once the greenhouse is finished im going to plant them in the ground and am obviously hoping for fruit. but seeing that all the plants are suckers from one banana plant will this cause a problem in fruiting? Thanks Steven | About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 18th June 2010 6:40pm #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says... Hi Steven, I don't think banana need cross pollination. I had one variety in my garden for years and it does fruit. Banana is a heavy feeder and very thirsty so you need: 800 grams of lime, 240 grams of Nitrogen, 600 grams of Potash and 30 gram of phophate divided into 4 times from September to May to speed up the fruiting process. Another thing is only 1 sucker next to the mother shoule be there, remove the rest of the suckers otherwise all fertilizer will be divided to many plants and the mother plant will slow down in term of fruiting. I hope this helps. Good luck. | About the Author JUJUBE FOR SALE Melbourne 18th June 2010 7:48pm #UserID: 2706 Posts: 715 View All JUJUBE FOR SALE's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Rev north qld 21st June 2010 11:21pm #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 28th June 2010 5:14pm #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Rev says... lime/gypsum/dolomite is like? $14 max per 20-25kg sack worth every cent if you pee on your bananas religiously theyll get all the Nitrogen, phosphorus and potash they need! as a northerner ill honestly say that cavendish the is WORST banana of the 5 or 6 i can legally grow/buy ill only buy it if i have to it ships well thats about it the banana equivalent of a cardboard tomato you have so much ahead of you when you get back to real bananas! | About the Author Rev north qld 30th June 2010 3:12am #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 12th July 2010 4:55pm #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Rev North Qld 14th July 2010 12:55am #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Rev North Qld 14th July 2010 12:57am #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 14th July 2010 10:48am #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I says... Hi Steven, You may also wan't to try Backyard bananas if you can't find a cool bananas variety you like. I got my blue java through backyard bananas, they are a bit more expensive (given delivery costs) but they were good to deal with. With lady finger (and ducasse) they really need to be fully or even over ripe for best taste otherwise they can be a bit starchy. John I. | About the Author JohnI Melbourne 14th July 2010 12:45pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Rev says... Most bananas are eaten under ripe IMO Cool bananas = Backyard bananas same diff i dont know if they are related businesses but the sell the same cultivars, except CB has red dacca which only commercial growers are allowed to have up here whatever banana you have - microclimate for extra heat and summer humidity and irrigation would help id think Good thing is that bananas thrive on greywater | About the Author Rev North Qld 14th July 2010 8:19pm #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Rev says... when i say "all bananas eaten under ripe' i mean i dont think this is a good thing... be prepared to taste and smell banana that is sweet and soft, and doesnt pull apart like a bread roll Ive said before ive never seen fruit fly in bananas unfortunately now i have but im sure it wasnt their first preference, some lazy bugger probably had an infested guava nearby | About the Author Rev North Qld 14th July 2010 8:27pm #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I says... Hi Rev, Yeah your right cool bananas are pretty much the same as backyard bananas except for one or two cultivars (red dacca, blue java, bluggoe). The difference is that humphris is a wholesale nursery while backyard sells to both retail nurseries and direct to public (via mail order). Not all nurseries stock all the cool bananas varieties (I couldn't find a red dacca anywhere in the western melbourne suburbs earlier this year). Also the labels on the pots can often get lost or mixed up. The red dacca that I thought I bought a couple years back turned out to be a cavendish (I suspect... it hasn't fruited yet). At least with direct from wholesaler you'd expect to get what you payed for. http://www.humphrisnursery.com.au/coolbanana/info/coolbananas.html http://www.backyardbananas.com.au/order.html | About the Author JohnI Melbourne 15th July 2010 9:44am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Rev says... maybe people need to pool resources, use an existing ABN and buy a wholesale order? a couple of trays usually does it Thanks for the updates! I recently heard a rumour that a large number of banana cultivars have been imported officially and from these about 15 show promise as new cultivars for the Aussie market. I assume its all commercially driven though, so we'll only get the scraps or what 'leaks' but at least for the tastebuds its good news! | About the Author Rev North Qld 15th July 2010 10:02am #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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speedy says... New introductions ... sounds good, I'd be interested to see what they are. Of the Backyard bananas, I want to get Dwarf Ducasse (Kluay Nam-Wa). It seems to be the most popular dessert banana in Thailand. Most recipe I've seen with banana call for Kluay Nam-Wa ...Khao Tom Mat , Kluay buat chee | About the Author Nthy Vic. 16th July 2010 9:44am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Rev North Qld 16th July 2010 9:35pm #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Rev North Qld 16th July 2010 9:47pm #UserID: 1806 Posts: 359 View All Rev 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... Just saw many different types of bananas at a large farm south of Ingham . Many of the latest hybrids and some old classics . 2 different tiny fruited types . Pisang Mas or Sucrier is short plant with small bunches of tiny fruits . Another is much larger with bigger bunches but still tiny fruits , it is Pisang Kering , fruit is a bit more tangy tasting . | About the Author Trikus Tully 18th July 2010 6:02pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Kat says... I want to grow Bananas in Melbourne and I'd love to some advice - especially from John (I'm also in the West). We are going to renovate next year and we're drawing our plans with growing bananas in mind. We will have a north facing masonry wall in a fairly sheltered area (2m x 6m) against which we plan to grow our bananas. Do you think this will be enough to get them fruiting? We are toying with the idea of building an attached greenhouse, but not sure if it is necessary and worried about the cost. Also interested to hear which varieties are best; how many we could fit in that space and where to purchase from cheers, | About the Author Kat1 Melbourne 8th November 2010 11:06pm #UserID: 4523 Posts: 2 View All Kat1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Kat, This will be the third summer that my Bananas will be in the ground, and no sign of fruit yet. The 4 main issues I have had are sunburn, clay soil, frost and wind damage. Sunburnt leaves are only an issue when temps reach high 30's. Frost is one of my main issues because I don't have a sheltered spot, or a masonry wall to plant against. Even covering the plant with frost cloth didn't help (as you can see from the picture above my profile). Shredded leaves (from wind damage) also tend to increase the damage from frost. With all the leaves effectively burnt from frost and wind in Aug/Sep, the plants tend to get off to a slow start in late spring. I've tried to prompt a little early growth by watering once a week with warm water in October. This year I removed my Ducasse banana as it was not doing well. I didn't prepare the soil properly before planting and I think this was the main problem (with my other plants I had added organic garden mix and lots of manure). Over winter I dug in a lot of sheep and horse manure (from the farms in our area) and also added chicken manure before planting my Blue Java banana plant. ... | About the Author JohnI 9th November 2010 9:32am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... ... The area that you have described for planting your bananas sounds ideal (as opposed to where mine are planted). You may still get some frost damage but I think covering with cloth will help as the wall will provide some heat. Don't plant the bananas to close together as they will develop pups and start to fill the area. I think a minimum of about 1 to 1.5 meters would be about right. According to Jason the Ducasse banana is the most cold tolerant that he has had. As I said I removed mine but this was due to poor soil preparation. I did some research on US websites that indicated that Blue Java would do well in a cool climate so I planted one in October. The Cool Bananas range of plants are usually available from Dec in Bunnings, Mitre 10, and other nurseries. You can also order banana plants online from Backyard Bananas. Have a look at the links I posted mid July for what's available. Hope this helps. Good luck. | About the Author JohnI 9th November 2010 9:53am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Eddie says... Hi pic 1 is the Banana tree i had before winter i did cover it well to protect it from the cold and frost. Pic 3 is what it looks like 2day after winter did like John did and watered it with luke warm water hoping to flower this year. The bananas i have are dwarf cavendish and have been doing good i live in the south east suburbs of melbourne. Pic 2 is the super dwarf cavendish i have been over a year i have had and is producing pups but not sure weather it will fruit or not. Eddie
| About the Author Eddie Melbourne 9th November 2010 8:46pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jason says... I tried Dwarf Cavandish once but I could never get it to grow enough to flower, Dwarf Ducasse is infinitely faster growing for cool climates. But the full size Ducasse continues to be more hardy than the Dwarf over winter (it gets damaged much less by temps near 0c than the Dwarf). Still the Dwarf is my pick for fastest growing and earliest fruiting, I expect mine to throw a flower sometime over Summer hopefully after it has a few new healthy leaves. When you get a wide and short leaf that's the one the flower follows up, it's very obvious and easy to tell the flower is on the way once you see that leaf. The stem bulges as the flower comes up too. Currently the Dwarf is opening it's second new leaf for the Spring, it will speed up quite a bit from now on. It's about 5-6 feet tall and just starting it's third Year (I started from a tiny 10cm tall spindly tissue culture). I've had Lady Finger fruit before but not very well so I concentrate mostly on the Ducasse's now | About the Author Jason Portland 10th November 2010 12:56am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 10th November 2010 1:01am | |||||||
Kat says... Thanks heaps John, Eddie and Jason. Our reno won't be finished for another year, so have some time up my sleeve for research, but wanted to know now whether we should continue with the greenhouse idea as we have to get plans into Council. I think we'll start without, but plan with the possibility of adding a greenhouse further down the track. Cheers, Kat | About the Author Kat1 Melbourne 14th November 2010 7:38pm #UserID: 4523 Posts: 2 View All Kat1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Jason, silly question but does the banana plant continue to produce leaves after the flower has emerged? It seems to me that if it flowers in summer and the fruit doesn't ripen for several months, then with winter leaf damage my plants wont have any good leaves to help produce large edible fruit? | About the Author JohnI 16th November 2010 9:52am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 16th November 2010 8:11pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI 17th November 2010 1:46pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Eddie Melbourne 17th November 2010 10:46pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Eddie Melbourne 18th November 2010 2:40pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI 18th November 2010 5:18pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... My 2 little banana patches . one in the distance with trees and gingers is close to the house , and I am standing close to the other one while taking the pic . just had several stems fall down with all the rain and lack of props , most should ripen , but was to be expected as I have left to many sucker on . Have been controlling them better now .
| About the Author Trikus Tully 19th November 2010 7:35am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 19th November 2010 8:33am #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... I have Blue Java , Bluggoe , Ducasse , Mona Lisa , and Pisang Ceylon . Mona Lisa and Pisang Ceylon are very different looking but very similar tasting . Mona Lisa is a FHAI cross and is similar to Goldfinger ,fruits are large and not browning when cut and a bit of a tang . P ceylon are more ladyfinger shape , enormous bunches and way to cramped , I had a hell of a time cutting hands off , and ended up snapping them off . Would be best to cut off every second hand when just forming .It has massive hands and lots of them . | About the Author Trikus Tully 19th November 2010 5:31pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Eddie Melbourne 19th November 2010 9:42pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI 7th December 2010 12:09pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MiLK_MaN says... Hi, I'm growing some bananas in the north suburbs of Melbourne. I'm trying them in pots, and given the heat and humidity we've had in the last few weeks they are starting to grow pretty quickly. I've got a Blue Java and Dwarf Ducasse. First time I've ever grown bananas, so will see how I go. I water them daily at the moment, the excess water just drains out of the pot so I'm not real concerned about over watering. I feed with compost tea every couple of weeks, and with bokashi juice when it's available. My house faces about 10 degree north, and I have a masonry wall I will put the bananas right next to when they are big enough, so I should be ok with overwintering these.
| About the Author MiLK_MaN South Morang, VIC 7th December 2010 9:36pm #UserID: 4085 Posts: 40 View All MiLK_MaN's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Marg says... Hi John indeed we do have banana and they survived even without a bag over the crazy winter and spring we have had here. there are about 50 individual banans will a bag help them size up and ripen? they get lots of water even without the rain and we are feeding them up.. :-) m
| About the Author Margssubtropical1 Camberwell 30th December 2010 11:42am #UserID: 1892 Posts: 14 View All Margssubtropical1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Marg, They look good. I guess all the cold weather has slowed them down a bit but it looks like you should have plenty of ripe bananas before the end of summer (if not sooner). I'm glad to hear they survived winter. I'm not sure if bagging them will help with ripening (I thought bags were used to protect the bananas from birds, fruit bats and sunburn). Couldn't hurt to try though. I'm very exited at the moment because my first hand of 9 bananas on my lady finger has just appeared this afternoon.
| About the Author JohnI 30th December 2010 4:42pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brad says... Good thread this. Thanks for all the info. Questions questions. I'm considering bananas by our small pool. They'll like the humidity, but need wind and summer sun protection. There's currently a 6m ficus (with thousands of tiny fruit driving me crazy), some small palms and understory non fruiting plants in the bed. The main part is roughly 5m long (N-S) and 1.8m deep with extra narrower bits on each end. I'm not sure this is big/sheltered enough to succeed. How many bananas would you fit? How would you plant them out? The garden bed has a fence protecting it from the beasterly Behind that is our much lower driveway then a row of high eucalypts. So it's the best summer wind sheltered spot I've got. The west side is the pool then house so there is afternoon sun exposure. The bed has reticulation. The bananas I've already got are currently growing up happily in pots on the other western side of the pool which gets morning sun; before shade from the house. the biggest plant is still only 1m. They were dad in law plants - I presume cavendish. I'm happy to try other or mix varieties. What do you reckon? | About the Author Brad2 G hill,Perth 9th January 2011 2:24pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Mrs V Melbourne 29th January 2011 4:29pm #UserID: 4827 Posts: 2 View All Mrs V's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Mrs V. Yes the little plants that are appearing are suckers. If you are growing the banana plants in the hope of getting bananas from them then you should remove the suckers leaving just one (two in the sub tropics) to replace the mother plant when it has finished producing fruit. If you are only growing the plant as an ornamental then you can leave the suckers if you want. To remove the suckers cut them down to ground level, and put a little bit of kerosine on it (5ml). Careful not to put too much or you can damage the mother plant. Do you know what variety of banana you have? 90cm for a 17 month old plant sounds a little small. | About the Author JohnI Melton 30th January 2011 11:19am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author MargieM 17th February 2011 7:49pm #UserID: 4957 Posts: 2 View All MargieM's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Grali says... Hi all, I just put in my first bananas, a dwarf caverdish and a red dacca. I'm in bayside Melb so relatively frost free (10min walk from the beach) so I hope all will go smoothly. They're in the backyard with is paved so hopefully it will act a bit like a heat sink and keep them going. Reading this has now inspired me to go out and see if my local Bunnings has a dwarf ducasse to add to the collection. Keep up the good work ppl. | About the Author Grali Melbourne 23rd February 2011 8:26pm #UserID: 4980 Posts: 4 View All Grali's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author VioletCactus1 Melbourne 25th February 2011 12:33am #UserID: 516 Posts: 349 View All VioletCactus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Shell says... Great thread! Check out Bunnings now for the Red Dacca, I recently added one to my collection. I have had a Cavendish growing in a pot for a couple of years - took it out for some tlc and to remove a sucker on the weekend. Have learnt a lot since reading this thread and going to give it a whole lot more lovin'! I really just want mine to flower since visiting the Whitsundays and watching one flower outside my hotel room. Fruit would be a bonus | About the Author Shell3 Feeshwater Creek 1st March 2011 6:42pm #UserID: 5002 Posts: 1 View All Shell3's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 1st March 2011 6:43pm | |||||||
About the Author Jason Portland 1st March 2011 7:18pm #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smack in the middle) 2nd March 2011 2:15pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jason says... Well If I had more shelter the leaves would be in better condition, I've recently planted 2 dwarf ducasse's in front of the house. It feels like I'm cheating though because they are growing much faster and without any tears in the leaves. Certainly gives you an idea how easy it would be to grow bananas in a sheltered backyard in the city | About the Author Jason Portland 2nd March 2011 2:28pm #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smack in the middle) 2nd March 2011 5:20pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melbourne 4th March 2011 12:44pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Gordo says... Hi fellow fruit-lovers, check out www.backyardbananas.com.au/ for all advice, supply, recipes, etc for bananas. They have been hit by cyclone, but are back up and running. Always great service. Lovely to deal with. I was so happy to find PLATANOS or plantains (cooking bananas). | About the Author Gordo Samford 10th March 2011 2:15pm #UserID: 800 Posts: 8 View All Gordo's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Grali says... Violet Cactus - I just got them from Bunnings. They still have a few left when I went on the weekend... although a lot of the left over bananas are missing variety tags. The red dacca has reddish/burgandy patches down the centre of the leaves so it's pretty recognisable. It might be a bit late though to get them established before it gets cold... Bunnings have reduced them from 30$ to 20$ about a month ago. | About the Author Grali Melbourne 16th March 2011 6:55am #UserID: 4980 Posts: 4 View All Grali's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Grali Melbourne 16th March 2011 7:01am #UserID: 4980 Posts: 4 View All Grali's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus battered Tully 16th March 2011 2:32pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Eddie says... Hey Grali iam in Melbourne too and as said need alot of water but if you mean wilting as in the leaves flap back but still erect in a way thats just the plant not needing any more sun so it closes back its (photosynthesis) the plant controls how much sun it needs hope thats helps and iam 99% sure iam right with that but happy if i get corrected. Maybe a pic will help us help u when it occurs | About the Author Eddie Melbourne 16th March 2011 3:50pm #UserID: 948 Posts: 71 View All Eddie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 16th March 2011 3:52pm | |||||||
Peter says... I have Ducasse and Red Dacca from cool bananas Humphres and My Ducasse have prodused 3 bunches now only put 1 plant in 2 years ago. Ducasse is a small fruit variety. They say to pick when ridges on fruit go and the flower ends on the fruit blacken and crumble. At this stage the fruit will still be green, pick it any how they will ripen off the tree. you can take a hand at a time if wanted. Pics taken today 19/03/11
| About the Author Peter37 Adelaide 19th March 2011 11:41pm #UserID: 5072 Posts: 2 View All Peter37's Edible Fruit Trees |
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snottiegobble says... Ok now I am serious about growing bananas ( seen their price lately?) My kavendish now has 2 pups, but I know it will soon run out of the pig manure, b&b,& potting mix that I incorporated into the hole before planting into my WA soily sand. What I would like to know is how quick do the roots spread out? I wish to dig holes round the plant & bury more manure, compost etc. The tree has now been in the ground 5 weeks+. | About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso(smack in the middle) 20th March 2011 2:24am #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 20th March 2011 10:00am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Phil@Tyalgum says... Don't forget to choose your pups carefully to use for propagating more plants. Watershoots are pretty much useless so you need to wait for your banana tree to produce a spear shaped sucker which will go on to bear fruit. http://www.hardytropicals.org/index.php/blog/entry/splitting_banana_pups
| About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 20th March 2011 10:32am #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble 20th March 2011 5:44pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... Blue Java banana - any one know where I might be able to buy one? The only source I can find is Backyard Bananas in Nth Qld. The only problem with them is that they will only send 50mm culture tubes @$10ea. That's fine, I'm about to place an order for 4 plants with postage of $10. I thought I'd do a little ask around before I went ahead with my order. It's going to be tricky nursing 2 month old tissue culture plants over winter. It's a good thing they send detailed instructions on how to raise them. | About the Author JohnMc1 21st March 2011 4:29pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt Gambier 21st March 2011 10:27pm #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 22nd March 2011 12:06am #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus battered Tully 22nd March 2011 8:38am #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt Gambier 22nd March 2011 10:51am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brad2 G Hill,Perth 22nd March 2011 2:15pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Lachlann says... Brad even a very small patch of a few square metres is enjoyable. They cope with a little bit of crowding and shade as long as you pre-emptively thin the suckers very well as time goes by so that you don't have a lot of crowded big stems.. Circles can also be made from a start with just one plant; suckers spreading outwards like a mushroom circle, only slower, and removing any growth in the centre as well as thinning out the peripheral suckers. | About the Author Lachlann Sth Coast NSW 23rd March 2011 9:30pm #UserID: 873 Posts: 33 View All Lachlann's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Gordo says... Hi, I've just received my Blugoe banana from post-cyclone flooded Blue Sky nursery www.backyardbananas.com.au. Will try and get a photo to post on forum. It might be tissue cultured but it is a good 500mm in size. Will let you know how I get on. | About the Author Gordo Samford 25th March 2011 1:40pm #UserID: 800 Posts: 8 View All Gordo's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 29th March 2011 12:43pm | |||||||
About the Author Grali Melbourne 25th March 2011 5:32pm #UserID: 4980 Posts: 4 View All Grali's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Mish says... How did I guess that the Banana forum would be popular given the current prices? ;) Anyway, moving on to my question! I purchased a 'Cool Bananas' dwarf Cavendish Banana plant from Bunnings a few months ago. It has been sitting in a pot on my patio until a few days ago, when I transplanted it to a sunny and wind-sheltered spot in the garden, surrounded by a whole heap of excellent quality compost and topped with some dry leaves as a mulch of sorts. Given that they are thirsty little critters it has been well watered in with top-ups each day, to the point where the soil is moist but no water is pooling, yet the poor 'nana seems to have suffered some transplant shock! The leaves have all drooped, they're green and the top (central) leaf is slowly unfurling still (it was tightly curled up when I planted it)... should I be concerned? Attached is a pic of the tree from today. Any ideas, tips, general advice? I may be a garden novice but I'd really, really like to keep this plant alive!
| About the Author Mish1 Gippsland 29th March 2011 3:05pm #UserID: 5117 Posts: 2 View All Mish1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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snottiegobble says... I dont know much about bananas yet, but I do know that a little Seasol in water helps plants through the trauma of being moved. it is best though to soak the pot first using seasol before transplanting, & then water the plant in with it also. My kavendish has never looked back using this method yet its been damned hot here ever since! | About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso ( smack in the middle) 29th March 2011 5:39pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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M Nash says... My Cavendish have sprouted and are a foot high, In only a few months from planting the corms. A question; when do you cut the main tree and allow the dominant pup to become the next main tree? Or in other words, how many flowers can I expect on the main tree before its had its day? Can the main tree keep going year after year if the pups are removed? | About the Author MNash1 Terranora Northern NSW 30th March 2011 11:32am #UserID: 2892 Posts: 292 View All MNash1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Steven says... From my understanding nash. what you need to do is allow one pup to grow to a reasonable size as the main plant. then only allow one other pup to develop as the daughter plant. Genetically they are identical as they come from the same plant so they all should grow as well as long as one isnt sick in some way. One plant will only produce one bunch of bananas then die back. once this is done cut the main plant down and chop it up as mulch for the daughter plant to now become the main plant. And obviously repeat the process as long as you can. Regards Steven | About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 30th March 2011 11:51am #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Mish1 Gippsland 30th March 2011 12:09pm #UserID: 5117 Posts: 2 View All Mish1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Animal Lover says... I am growing my 1st 3 banana believe all my are dwarf cavadish. I found that they will often leaves appear to die, however my thery is the plant is trying to conserve energy to produce another leave and each time they drooped there lower leaves a new leaf has emerged. Good to know that other melbournians have had some success with fruiting! I'm in narre warren area.
| About the Author Animal Lover1 South East 5th April 2011 12:46pm #UserID: 5148 Posts: 2 View All Animal Lover1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso ( smack in the middle) 5th April 2011 1:14pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Nick T Altona, VIC 5th April 2011 4:21pm #UserID: 2663 Posts: 727 View All Nick T's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Ken says... Hi Can anyone identify the variety of banana shown in the attached photo? This banana is grown in Balwyn, Melbourne and in early March my banana started flowering. Also I note it may take up to six months to ripen dependent upon variety - will the banana ripen over the Melbourne winter? Ken
| About the Author number81 16th April 2011 10:23pm #UserID: 5197 Posts: 18 View All number81's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jason Portland 17th April 2011 12:19am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Animal Lover1 says... Dwarf Cavadish 2.5metres Dwarf Red Dacca 2metres Duccasse 3-4metres! Goldfinger 3-4metres Lady finger 3metres 'Pisang Ceylan' 2-3metres This is only a guess-but I think your could be the Duccasse plant because it look like it pretty tall already, I have 3 of the dwarf Cavadish at the moment, in pots doing extremely well! | About the Author Animal Lover1 Melbourne 20th April 2011 4:30pm #UserID: 5148 Posts: 2 View All Animal Lover1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Gary says... Hi Have first flower on Goldfinger. Plant been in just over 2 years growing at Heathmere, Portland Vic. In photo on right side of Goldfinger is a Dwarf red Dacca same age. Just wondering if it's necessary to remove the stems? If u have the room to leave them on, I'v left mine on, would u get more bunches? And if the flower get through winter do i need to put bag over it? And is it true bananas don't need pollinating to get fruit? Thanks Gary.
| About the Author Gary16 Drumborg 8th May 2011 10:44pm #UserID: 5269 Posts: 1 View All Gary16's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author dradyz Bathurst 8th May 2011 10:49pm #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 9th May 2011 7:19am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Drady1990 says... Hey i have 5 x dwarf cavendish bananas they have been on verandah and under cover from frost but last night we had -3 degree's and leaves have turned black i have no put them in my shed with a 400w hps grow light can anyone give any ideas or solutions as the look like they will die and i cant let them thankyou for your help | About the Author dradyz Bathurst 11th May 2011 3:33pm #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 11th May 2011 3:47pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Nick T Altona, VIC 11th May 2011 4:13pm #UserID: 2663 Posts: 727 View All Nick T's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author dradyz Bathurst 11th May 2011 5:20pm #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author dradyz Bathurst 12th May 2011 1:43am #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author dradyz Bathurst 12th May 2011 1:43am #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jason Portland 12th May 2011 3:31am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Lissa says... Hi all. Does anyone think they can help me to identify my banana variety from the pics? Taken at various times from the beginning of the flower head, to fruit just forming to almost current. It's a dwarf but a friend growing the Dwarf Ducasse (which I have a small plant of from Blue Sky)says it's not this. Nor is it blue enough to be a Blue Java. The person who gave me the plant obtained it from someone else and doesn't know the variety. Thanks.
| About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 12th May 2011 6:17am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 12th May 2011 6:58am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author dradyz Bathurst 12th May 2011 9:58am #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author dradyz Bathurst 12th May 2011 9:59am #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jason says... Drady, those bananas are fine, just a mild frost damage. once spring comes around they will grow again. You have to get a banana really cold and frozen under the ground to kill it, especially a large one. If you don't want to have them regrow from down low each year move them into the shed before Winter next time and leave them there until spring. People in New York dig them up and wrap them in newspaper without soil and leave them in the shed like that over Winter, then plant them again in Spring. But for you leaving them in the pot probably without any watering or very little over Winter will be fine | About the Author Jason Portland 12th May 2011 9:51pm #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author dradyz Bathurst 12th May 2011 11:59pm #UserID: 4762 Posts: 36 View All dradyz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Drady1990, Here's a picture of my dwarf red dacca after its first winter in the ground, and about a year later. As long as the corm is healthy (the part of the plant that is under ground), then it will start pushing new leaves out in spring. You can remove the leaves now if you like or as I didi I left it until the first spring growth and then removed all the damaged leaves.
| About the Author JohnI Melton 13th May 2011 6:40am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 28th May 2011 6:08am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Johan says... Here is a photo of one of my banana plants I think it is “Sugar”. The leafs are around 2 m long and the plant stands 4 meters tall. I use CK88 as fertiliser it’s from Incitec Pivot 15.1 N, 4.4 P,11.5K and 13.6 S. I also add aglime and wood ash when the bunch is forming I also mulch well so far the plants are at great health. Love to get some red bananas looks like it is not easy. Johan
| About the Author Johan Kempsey NSW 3rd June 2011 10:46pm #UserID: 5382 Posts: 1 View All Johan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Kempsey NSW 4th June 2011 8:15pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Johan, Your bananas have a lovely yellow color. I hope they taste as good as they look. I have a Lady Finger banana here in Melbourne and I have been slowing picking them, although they are still quite small. I've been ripenning them in a plastic bag with an apple and the skin color of mine is mor of a brownish yellow. | About the Author JohnI Melton 10th June 2011 10:26am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author melbourne 10th September 2011 11:47pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Hi Juanita, The bananas that I picked early were nice. They weren't as sweet as QLD bananas, but they had good texture and a pleasant tang (I'd rate them a 6 out of 10). The final hand ripened on the plant at the start of August, and they weren't so good. I don't know if it was because of frost damage but the top of the banana was edible but the bottom half was woody. | About the Author JohnI Disney Land 13th September 2011 2:33pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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snottiegobble says... I have protected my young cavendish all winter with good results as it is producing good strong leaves now, but so are the 2 pups which are now about 60cms tall & are situated north & south of the mother. The question I have is : which one should I transplant, & when, with the other being left to eventually take over?? | About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 16th September 2011 10:35pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 20th September 2011 4:13pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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grub says... gidday snottie now spring is the best time to plant .after planting out dont water for 3 weeks unless the soil is dry.i was told that when the main plant is three quaters grown then select one of the suckers as a replacement plant for after harvest ..i dont know about down here i have 3 bannas in they are about a 1200 high and about 15 mths old athey survived this winter with out any protection .i did protect my paw paw though | About the Author 20th September 2011 4:47pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 20th September 2011 5:51pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Lissa says... I attended a garden workshop on banana growing a year or so back. It was terrific - informative and great presenter - and I went home and removed young plantlets (suckers? pups?) as advised. But....each time I removed them the plant replaced them. Seems it really wanted two suckers on the go, so I eventually let it have what it wanted. The main plant is now in fruit and the two ladies in waiting just sitting there nicely ready to do their thing when needed. | About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 23rd September 2011 5:17am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 23rd September 2011 7:31pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MiLK_MaN says... I have three banana plants at home, two I left outside in winter to fend by themselves, the third I put under a grow light in my garage. All 3 are back into their growing phase with the warmer weather in Melbourne. They are all in pots, will be interesting to see them fruiting and the reaction from neighbours when they walk past! Can anyone advise when is the best time to bag the bunch? Do you wait until they are full sized but yet to ripen, or do you bag them as soon as you see them? | About the Author MiLK_MaN South Morang, VIC 25th September 2011 7:23am #UserID: 4085 Posts: 40 View All MiLK_MaN's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author melbourne 27th September 2011 10:52pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... I'm going to try a little experiment when I get my Blue Java tissue culture plants. Two are going in the ground and one is going into a recycling hydroponic pot system, something in the order of 35 to 45 litres. Bananas are very hungry and thirsty plants and I can't think of a better way to supply both as much nutrients and water as and when the plant needs it. I tried a crude hydro pot last year on some dwarf banana plants and they grew extremely well even though I had to manually water them, which wasn't enough in the end because of their growth rate. When they get to a certain size they have to be watered several times a day to keep the vigour up and I just wasn't home enough to give them what they wanted. Next time the watering system will be recirculating and automatic. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 29th September 2011 10:24am #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 5th October 2011 9:56pm #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Cate1 melbourne 8th October 2011 9:50pm #UserID: 5940 Posts: 1 View All Cate1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 12th October 2011 6:17pm #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 20th October 2011 4:11pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Disney Land 26th October 2011 9:26am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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coastie says... Good morning, I have been reading and watching this forum for some time and now I think I can be of some help in some subjects. I have been growing the dwarf cav.banana, red and gold for some time now.This is a photo of last years crop of red, they were absolutely yummmie,we cover the fruit as soon as the fruit loose the square look, and we cut off the flower before it opens. We have shade cloth bags which we made and it is to protect them from bats. We bought the plants[1 gold 1 red]in pots, from KMart in Melbourne about 4yrs ago and we have had fruit almost every year since, red and gold. We have decided this year we would not cut the whole bunch down when we think they are nearly ripe,we will on pick them in manageable hands and when we have eaten those which might be 15mins or 15days, we will pick another hand. This will be better than having the whole 300 banans ripening at the same time.
| About the Author coastie Northern N.S.W 26th October 2011 11:21am #UserID: 6800 Posts: 59 View All coastie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Disney Land 26th October 2011 12:03pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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coastie says... Hi John, they all grow green colour and when they start to change colour that is when they have stopped growing, that is when you think about picking them. There is no special time to pick them,just when you think it is time,remember the shop ones are all picked green and they never fail to ripen.
| About the Author coastie 26th October 2011 12:30pm #UserID: 6800 Posts: 59 View All coastie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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coastie says... Hi John, they all grow green colour and when they start to change colour that is when they have stopped growing, that is when you think about picking them. There is no special time to pick them,just when you think it is time,remember the shop ones are all picked green and they never fail to ripen.
| About the Author coastie 26th October 2011 12:30pm #UserID: 6800 Posts: 59 View All coastie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Disney Land 26th October 2011 3:08pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 12th November 2011 6:38am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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HappyEarth says... You can in Wollongong, NSW. You can buy them at Bunnings. Rich www.happyearth.com.au | About the Author HappyEarth1 Wollongong 12th November 2011 6:54am #UserID: 215 Posts: 94 View All HappyEarth1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MiLK_MaN says... I am dead set sure that one of my bananas has just put out a flag leaf. As each new leaf arrives, it generally pokes out quite far and then unrolls, but this last leaf has is real small and has unrolled very early. The labels I had on the bananas rubbed off, so I'm not sure if this is the Blue Java or the Dwarf Ducasse. This is my first time growing bananas, so no idea what to expect.
| About the Author MiLK_MaN South Morang, VIC 14th November 2011 7:33pm #UserID: 4085 Posts: 40 View All MiLK_MaN's Edible Fruit Trees |
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trikus says... You will soon find out what you have as Blue Java are very distinctivly coloured .. you will easily ripen them before winter so sit back and wait . My bunch is getting fat , but the stand looks disgusting as it is infested with stem borers , Blue Java is very prone to them .. got the toxic chemical I need to spread to kill them , must do it asap. | About the Author trikus tattered tropics 15th November 2011 11:52am #UserID: 5279 Posts: 121 View All trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 15th November 2011 12:32pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author MiLK_MaN South Morang, VIC 15th November 2011 3:12pm #UserID: 4085 Posts: 40 View All MiLK_MaN's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 15th November 2011 3:38pm | |||||||
nswbananas says... Hi everyone that is discussing growing bananas I have started a web site deticated to growing bananas with its own forum the web site is http://forums.nswbananas.com.au/ Please all feel free to come and join the site. also I would be interested to know of anywhere to obtain Blue Java Plants other than tissue cultures Thank You. | About the Author NSW Bananas1 South Coast NSW 5th December 2011 3:39pm #UserID: 6214 Posts: 56 View All NSW Bananas1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... Good luck with it mate, there's not a lot of content there atm, but I'm sure it will grow as the content grows. At your location you will only find Blue Java if someone else has them privately. There's nothing wrong with tc. My blue Javas are from tc and are powering on fantastically. The only problem with tc, that I've found, is it takes quite a while from placing the order to actually receiving your tc plants in the mail. If you want them bad enough, at least it is an option sometimes the only option of aquiring them. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 5th December 2011 5:04pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author NSW Bananas1 South Coast NSW 5th December 2011 9:01pm #UserID: 6214 Posts: 56 View All NSW Bananas1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 5th December 2011 10:09pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author NSW Bananas1 South Coast NSW 6th December 2011 12:32am #UserID: 6214 Posts: 56 View All NSW Bananas1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... No, I haven't tasted Blue Java fruit yet. But with words describing it like Ice Cream banana, I don't think we'll be too disappointed. Mine are powering along well in the poly house, I'm super charging them to as big a size I can before planting them out. Can't wait to build my large poly tunnel so I can grow stuff like this in it to maturity. Apparently the Blue Java plant is quite tall. My future poly tunnel height will only be 3.5m in the centre. I might have to revise that ceiling height. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 29th December 2011 8:28am #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 29th December 2011 8:43am #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jantina Mt Gambier 29th December 2011 9:03am #UserID: 1351 Posts: 1272 View All Jantina's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Mike says... Bananas seem to be having loads of bunches here at the moment.I had a bunch of ducasses and give most away as they all ripened together.John while you're out there are you intersted in the better purple and yellow fleshed sweet potatoes,yellow tumeric,ultra dwarf hog plum seeds,a maprang,various snake beans,jaboticaba or yellow gramichama seeds?I will chase some of the really good white sapotes for Peter in Adelaide tomorrow but hey are almost seedless so it is hard to get lots of seeds. | About the Author Cairns 29th December 2011 9:10am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 29th December 2011 9:45am #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author trikus tattered tropics 29th December 2011 10:08am #UserID: 5279 Posts: 121 View All trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Finally after 3 years I have a flower on my ?Cavendish banana plant. It emerged a week ago then turned towards the ground and changed color ro wine red. Just today it started to unfold slightly revealing some very tiny bananas. I gave it some potash today and watered it in. Should I bag it soon, I know I may need to prop it up if it gets heavy. Does anyone have experience with how long it could take for bananas in this climate. Hoping it hasnt emerged too late in the season. I have a pic but the iPhone won't let me upload, re | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 21st January 2012 7:10pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Maurice, Short answer 5 to 6 months from the first hand being revealed (here in Melbourne). I have a similar problem to you, although my lady finger an blue java produced their first hand of fruit just over a month ago, my red dacca has just produced its first hand this week. I will probably pick the ladyfinger and blue java early (late april/may) but I am trying to think about how I can protect my red dacca bunch from frost.
| About the Author JohnI Disney Land 22nd January 2012 12:52pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author trikus tattered tropics 22nd January 2012 2:18pm #UserID: 5279 Posts: 121 View All trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... I posted when I was on holiday last year. Not sure why it remembered my location at the time. By the way trikus, we don't get 3 months of continuos warm weather down here, and our over night temps don't stay above late teens for long, hence it takes about twice as long for bananas to ripen. But that is also dependant on the state of the plant. My banana plants get a lot wind damage. Couple that with a few very hot days and the leaves burn. | About the Author JohnI Melton 22nd January 2012 2:55pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Thanks John and Trikus for your comments. I agree protecting from frost is going to be the problem especially if its going to 5-6 months. Maybe 3 months could be the best case scenario especially it we have a late summer. Its a shame it takes so long but I guess it does also have a lot to do with night temperature. The temperature drop over night would definately slow things down. In Melbourne where I am I also get heaps of wind damage. It seems there is rarely 3 or 4 days of calm before its extremely windy again and any new leaves get completely shredded. At what stage is the flower cut and should I use a bag to protect the bananas later on when they emerge properly? I want to maximize my chances of getting some fruit but I am realistic and realise it may not happen. Regardless it's been very interesting and educational experience. | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 22nd January 2012 8:38pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John I. says... Maurice, Cut the bell off at about 20-25cm below the last hand of fruit. You can bag the fruit anytime but wait until the flowers on the ends of the banana's dry up first otherwise the bag will get very sticky from the flower nectar. Also its a good idea to write down the date the first hand of bananas appeared, and the date that the first hand starts to turn yellow. This will give you a good indication of how long it will take for your fruit to ripen each year. I write the date with a permanent marker on each of my plants. | About the Author JohnI Melton 23rd January 2012 8:43am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 23rd January 2012 8:52am #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Maurice Melbourne 23rd January 2012 10:06am #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 23rd January 2012 8:46pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Hi John and Trikus, The banana plant has been enjoying the recent warm weather and 8 hands have now emerged since the first one only a week ago. Most things seem to happen overnight - on one particularly warm night 3 hands came out. I have been feeding it compost from the worm farm, some sheep manure and Potash. Today I found a product at Big W today called bloom booster, its a soluble powder. The NPK is 6.2/14.6/16.8 as well as some other elements. I will start using this from now on, Regards Maurice | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 27th January 2012 9:16pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Maurice Melbourne 27th January 2012 9:43pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 28th January 2012 5:54pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Hi Snootie, Thanks for your comments. You are probably right in that it's not good to abandon the organic fertilisers completely at this stage. The plant still has a good base of previously applied fertilser and the synthetic fertiliser will just ensure that I can concentrate on the relative proportions of the various elements minimising the nitrogen and maximising the Phosphorus and Potassium. I am really just learning as I go and always open to advice and comments. I planted it in August 2009. Cheers Maurice | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 29th January 2012 1:49pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 29th January 2012 2:09pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Maurice Melbourne 29th January 2012 8:21pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 30th January 2012 3:25pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... I have a pup next to the flowering plant that is virtually as tall and has a very similar if not larger diameter at its base even though it is probably about 9 months behind. I did remove a few suckers last year but have left all recent pups, they are fairly small and shouldn't take away too much energy at this stage. Last year, early spring, I removed 6 and replanted them, and 4 survived and are thriving. Maurice | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 30th January 2012 5:48pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 30th January 2012 6:54pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Hi all just giving an update on the banana tree. After producing approximately 10 hands, the last 4 hands seem very stunted and flat and they have not gone a healthy green but have stayed yellow. The little fellas on the last hand seem are very limp and are half brown instead of being yellow. I am not sure if it's because the weather has cooled a little or if I have overfed or over watered or if in fact the plant after producing 10 hands is concentrating its energy on the initial hands. Any ideas, thanks John. | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 2nd February 2012 6:53pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 2nd February 2012 9:39pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Maurice Melbourne 3rd February 2012 1:08pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 3rd February 2012 2:14pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnI Melton 3rd February 2012 9:53pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 4th February 2012 12:30am #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Yeah SG, the bunch will push the leaves aside. Had 113mm rain in the last 3 days, and a gust of wind yesterday blew over one of my banana trees :-( Would've been a nice bunch too! Could always eat the 'bell' I suppose, and fry the immature bananas :-)
| About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 4th February 2012 7:29am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 4th February 2012 8:02am | |||||||
Maurice says... Hi Brendan, that's such a shame that the storm felled your banana tree. I was a bit worried a similar thing would happen last night to my tree as it is already leaning at about 30 degree from vertical and was moving in the wind. I even thought I heard some slight cracking sounds at one stage so I ended up making up a couple of supporting string ties which I hope will do the trick. Thanks John for your recent photo, mine looks fairly similar, Cheers Maurice | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 6th February 2012 6:52pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 7th February 2012 9:53pm | |||||||
snottiegobble says... Bugger, thats no good Brendan & it shows how fragile they are when in fruit doesnt it? Maybe what I used as a frame for a plastic tent would help to prevent these things happening? It consists of 5 of the tallest steel star posts you can buy pushed to equal depth around the young tree then black poly pipe to 1 & a half inch diam tied with wire onto top of each post to form a circle & cut off at that point! The bell & weight of fruiting stem should rest on that loop eventually & stop the tree from falling or am I talking BS?? | About the Author snottiegobble Bunbury/Busso (smackin the middle) 6th February 2012 8:33pm #UserID: 3468 Posts: 1458 View All snottiegobble's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Mike says... When my bananas fall I prop them up with a heavy forked stick if they need more development time.This works as ling as there a a few roots in the ground and they are not baking in full sun.On Saturday the north side of town has near cyclonic weather bowling over paw paws and bananas andfor once I missed out and there was hardly a zephyr at my place. | About the Author Cairns 6th February 2012 9:01pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 7th February 2012 8:02am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 8th February 2012 10:48am | |||||||
About the Author JohnI Melton 7th February 2012 2:24pm #UserID: 1975 Posts: 248 View All JohnI's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Cairns 7th February 2012 5:52pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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epiphany says... Just popping my head into the thread & wanted to comment on a question posted earlier on...I grow my bananas in large pots (here in Melbourne) & they seem to be doing fine. Still too soon to know if they'll fruit but given how much they've grown & thrived, I'm hoping they'll flower this year. The reason they're in pots is so I can move them around in winter to avoid the frost. It seems to be working so far... | About the Author epiphany3 8th February 2012 1:07am #UserID: 6506 Posts: 18 View All epiphany3's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sandi Tablelands 8th February 2012 10:43am #UserID: 6514 Posts: 26 View All Sandi's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sandi Tablelands 8th February 2012 10:45am #UserID: 6514 Posts: 26 View All Sandi's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... I may be able to help you there, when I was looking, the only place I could find was Blue Sky Backyard Bananas: http://www.backyardbananas.com.au/index.html I just visited the site and I see the regular Blue Javas are temporarily unavailable. Saying that, if you are outside Qld, they may take your order and send you tissue culture plants when ready in approx 6 to 8 weeks. I suggest ordering at least 3 plants ($10 each plus del)to ensure success. I have two very healthy Blue Java's in the ground now around 600mm tall. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 8th February 2012 1:38pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 8th February 2012 1:47pm #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... Do you have a pic of it Phil? I have a steel blade approx 50mm wide and about 600mm long, I'd like it to be longer but beggars can't be choosers. I can get it underneath the mother plant with only a 50mm disturbance of roots. A spade is 150-200mm wide. If you get the angle right you'll end up with a complete corm. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 8th February 2012 3:24pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Sandi says... Thanks John, I'm actally inland of Innisfail, so not too far from Bluesky backyard bananas. I have tasted Blue java a long time ago, and recall that they were good to eat. I have quite a few varieties of bananas, including sugars (lots), Red Dacca (they are really tall trees), Mons Marie (the original cavendish, and tall too), dwarf Cavendish (the commercial one), plantain, ladyfingers, Ducasse, a couple of pisang (rajah, ceylan), and I would love Blue Java. All that and more on 1/4 acre -whew! (no lawn of course). | About the Author Sandi Tablelands 8th February 2012 3:44pm #UserID: 6514 Posts: 26 View All Sandi's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 8th February 2012 4:15pm #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... Phil, It's not too dissimillar to the one I have, only mine is flat on the business end. I don't know what it was originally made for but it makes an excellent banana sucker remover. Sandi, might be able to do a swap in the not too distant future. Is there any difference between the Commecial Dwarf Cav you have and the so called "ordinary dwarf cav" I have? | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 8th February 2012 9:34pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sandi Tablelands 9th February 2012 12:56am #UserID: 6514 Posts: 26 View All Sandi's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author trikus tattered tropics 9th February 2012 5:36pm #UserID: 5279 Posts: 121 View All trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 9th February 2012 6:32pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author adelaide 9th February 2012 11:25pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Hi peter, I separate mine when they're about 500 to 600mm high. Some peolple cut the leaves off when planting (for some reason), I don't. A good de-suckering tool: The Neverbend Draining Spade. http://www.greenharvest.com.au/tools/hand_tools_prod.html Bit expensive tho. | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 10th February 2012 12:27pm #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Maurice says... Hi John I, why is it recommended to cut the bell 25-30 cm after the last hand, in fact why cut the bell off at all? Also is it necessary to cover the bananas with a bag during ripening particularly in Melbourne. I presume it would be to protect them from animals such as bats and possums. Is there a recommended type of bag or something not specifically for this purpose but readily available that could be used ? Maurice | About the Author Maurice Melbourne 10th February 2012 1:07pm #UserID: 6436 Posts: 12 View All Maurice's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sandi Tablelands 10th February 2012 5:37pm #UserID: 6514 Posts: 26 View All Sandi's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Sandi Tablelands 10th February 2012 5:38pm #UserID: 6514 Posts: 26 View All Sandi's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author trikus tattered tropics 14th February 2012 12:15pm #UserID: 5279 Posts: 121 View All trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Nick says... I should get around to separating my banana suckers soon but I have a few questions first- Whats the best tools to use (I saw a few videos on youtube where the guy uses a sharp knife), maybe a grafting knife or a sharp spade? Should I separate them when its cloudy and cooler weather? And should I remove the leaves after the suckers are separated and leave the wounds to dry? :) | About the Author Nick T Altona, VIC 25th February 2012 2:04pm #UserID: 2663 Posts: 727 View All Nick T's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... A long strong narrow blade on a long handle for one, if not the narrowest spade you have. The idea is to disturb the mothers roots as little as possible. The best suckers usually come from way under the bulb so you have to go in at an angle so you are cutting the sucker off at an angle, like you're reaching under the mother corm. Some recommend to clean the sucker up completely, all roots and pseudostem are cut off. Others say you can plant the sucker as it comes off the mother plant, I've done both, the latter is set back a touch but soon picks up. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 25th February 2012 5:10pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 23rd April 2012 8:35am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MaryT says... Brendan here's an oldie (temperature and time needs to be lowered for fan forced oven) BANANA LOAF 2C Self Raising Flour ½ C castor sugar ½ t salt ⅔ C chopped mixed peel ¼ t mixed spice ½ C walnuts, chopped 125g butter 2 x 60g eggs, beaten 500g ripe bananas C = 250 ml cup t = teaspoon Grease and flour (or line with baking paper) a 750g loaf tin. Sift the four, salt and spice into a mixing bowl. Rub in butter (or whizz in food processor) until fine breadcrumb stage. Peel and mash/slice bananas and add to flour with the remaining ingredients. Beat (or pulse in food processor) until combined. Turn into prepared tin and bake at 180 deg. C until loaf is well risen and pale golden (approx. 40 minutes). Leave in tin for 5 minutes then turn out and cool on wire rack. If you use oil (say 1 C Macadamia Nut oil) instead of butter then just put everything in a bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon, adding eggs and oil last. | About the Author MaryT Sydney 23rd April 2012 9:23am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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VF says... Sounds good MaryT - I love Banana Loaves/Bread. I've acquired this recipe recently, and its very easy and tasty too! 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed 3/4 C castor sugar 1 C WHOLE EGG mayonaise zest of a lemon (optional) 2 C SR flour Preheat oven to 180C(165C F/F). In mixing bowl add banana,sugar, mayo. and lemon zest. Mix well. Lightly mix in sifted flour until combined. Poor into a loaf tin lined with baking paper. Cook for 50-60 mins. or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in tin for about 10-15 mins. and cool further on wire rack. (*gluten free SR flour works reasonably well too) A handful of dried sultanas added is nice too. | About the Author VF Wongawallan 23rd April 2012 2:33pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 24th April 2012 8:14am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 28th April 2012 7:24am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author MaryT Sydney 28th April 2012 5:05pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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ken1 says... Hi everyone An update on my post 15 months back - my banana did not grow over winter and in March this ripened to only finger size. In mean time another banana flowered and by March grown to size of the attached photo. Any idea the type of banana? I have a couple of suckers (or more) to swap with other fruit tree or give away. cheers Ken
| About the Author number81 Balwyn, Melbourne 8th June 2012 7:17pm #UserID: 5197 Posts: 18 View All number81's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 9th June 2012 8:48am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author number81 Balwyn, Melbourne 11th June 2012 9:04pm #UserID: 5197 Posts: 18 View All number81's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 18th July 2012 8:46am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author VF Wongawallan 18th July 2012 9:48am #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... No VF, they were picked after our frost / -1ºC (two weeks ago), last weekend. The frost burnt some of the banana leaves, but apart from that, no other problems. All the cold weather does is slow down the ripening process. They are sheltered a bit by the bush nearby tho. I try to give them a feed every month as well. (Super Growth organic fertilizer - 4 handfuls per tree, cow manure 2 or 3 bags per tree, and a ship-load of mulch :-) | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 19th July 2012 6:05am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author VF Wongawallan 19th July 2012 10:11am #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Hi VF, super growth is better than rooster booster imho. I think bunnings now sell blood & bone fert that has sulphate of potash added, that would be very good (for everything). Check this: http://www.katekfertilizers.com.au/Organic-Super-Growth.html Bananas like extra 'P' & 'K' fertilizer, and organic is usually better. | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 21st July 2012 8:45am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author VF Wongawallan 22nd July 2012 7:51am #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 22nd July 2012 7:55am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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GardeningAustraliaWannabee says... Brendan, you need to double check your info, before posting info that is clearly incorrect. Terrafoska TE is not an organic fertiliser. Might be based on chicken manure pellets, but it's loaded with the following: Sulphate of Ammonia, Muriate of Potash, Diammonium Phosphate, Sulphate of Potash, Boric Acid http://www.tff.com.au/downloads/MSDS_terrafoska_complete_te.pdf An N value of 10 is usually a dead give away that it's not organic. Muriate of Potash is also an inferior source of potassium too. No good for spuds, citrus or stone fruit. The chloride is no good for soil microbes either. Given bananas like extra P too, I would have thought a value of 4 is on the low side, even with the DAP added. | About the Author GardeningAustraliaWannabee 22nd July 2012 10:13pm #UserID: 6794 Posts: 12 View All GardeningAustraliaWannabee's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... Whichever way you look at it, store bought bags of fert's are all very expensive, which always keeps me on the lookout for cheaper alternatives. The flavour of the month with me is looking further into the effectiveness of encouraging more worms around the roots of my trees. Castings have five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus and 11 times more potassium compared to ordinary soil, not to mention other nutes like calcium.. Add that to a weak homemade hydroponic based foliar feed once a month with a couple of ml of seasol/litre, makes a very cheap alternative over the commercial bags of ferts. I still (rarely)buy the odd bag of B&B, but in the main it's all about encouraging as many worms as possible with mulch and manures, IMHO. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 23rd July 2012 9:08am #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Ok GAW, so it's a mixture of organic and inorganic fertilizer, you're right. But, it IS suitable for 'spuds, citrus and stone fruit' (and bananas) :-) http://www.tff.com.au/downloads/brochure_terrafosk_complete_te.pdf | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 24th July 2012 8:06am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Lissa says... I just feed my banana plants bucket loads of kitchen fruit/veg scraps. Keep the bucket under the sink for adding scraps then toss it around the base of a different fruit tree each week with a light cover of mulch. Worms make it disappear in no time. I also give everything some Organic Xtra everyone now and then. | About the Author Lissa 26th July 2012 5:03am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author VF Wongawallan 29th July 2012 11:38pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author VF Wongawallan 1st September 2012 10:52pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Glad to hear it's working VF, I've done as you have, then topped it up with about 12 bags of cow manure, it is a tad 'fresh', but the banana trees don't seem to care! :-) This 'little' bunch was picked about 1 month ago. It never ceases to amaze me how much better than shop bought bananas mine taste! Must be the extra P & K :-)
| About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 2nd September 2012 7:34am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Cin says... I have just moved onto a new property and we have a number of fruit trees that I would love some assistance with. There are quite a few banana trees but I think they need some tlc. Should I be pruning these right back? Some have bananas forming however most of them do not. I've got access to huge amounts of horse manure if they like that?
| About the Author Cin Central Coast, NSW 3rd September 2012 10:08am #UserID: 322 Posts: 20 View All Cin's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 3rd September 2012 8:22pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 3rd September 2012 8:51pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Cin says... Trikus any tips on how I divide it or can I just go in and start chopping away. The plan for this weekend was to start clearing off all the dead leaves so we can see what is in there. My partner is 6'5" so he can reach the high spots LOL John I think we live in the same suburb :) We seem to have a lot of the same trees also. On this property we have apples, plums, lemon, orange, mulberries, grapes, passionfruit, brazilian cherry, bananas and guava There is also a very sick looking Bay tree I'm on a learning curve with all our trees but very happy to have them here | About the Author Cin Central Coast, NSW 4th September 2012 9:28am #UserID: 322 Posts: 20 View All Cin's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 4th September 2012 4:21pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Ian G Wangan QLD 9th September 2012 5:48pm #UserID: 7233 Posts: 2 View All Ian G's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 10th September 2012 3:46pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Ian G says... Hi trikus yes Wangan is just up the road .I should try closer to home. I found a lady in Townsville markets with some. She is actually from Tully but alas she wouldn't sell me a sucker. I never thought of the Hmong's at the local markets it's amazing what they have. Cheers and Thank you very much for your advise | About the Author Ian G Wangan QLD 11th September 2012 3:51pm #UserID: 7233 Posts: 2 View All Ian G's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 4th October 2012 9:47am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Diana Brisbane 5th October 2012 8:49am #UserID: 3004 Posts: 284 View All Diana's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 6th October 2012 6:21am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Aleksa says... Hi all, new to this, but keen to replace my thriving philodendron with a banana here in my Melbourne backyard (bad luck, no space for both). I wonder if someone with good experience on growing banana tree in Melbourne could recommend a sort and where to get the baby tree? Cheers! Alex | About the Author Aleksa Melbourne 12th October 2012 10:28am #UserID: 7324 Posts: 2 View All Aleksa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Linton says... Bananas in Melbourne You can buy the so-called Cool Bananas from Pots Galore in Springvale and Bunnings have them during the summer months. However they don't like wind and need a lot of water to produce somewhat dubious fruit if you're lucky. Frankly I don't think they're worth it here when there's so many other things which will grow better. | About the Author Linton Springvale, Vic 12th October 2012 6:18pm #UserID: 2286 Posts: 994 View All Linton's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 13th October 2012 8:36am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author VF Wongawallan 13th October 2012 3:09pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Hi VF, after looking at this: http://www.backyardbananas.com.au/order.html I'm confused. It's not a Dwarf Ducasse, but could be a Pisang Ceylan or Lady Finger? It was given to me as a Sugar banana. Maybe Mike or trikus from up north would know? | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 14th October 2012 8:23am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Trikus Tully 14th October 2012 4:40pm #UserID: 930 Posts: 749 View All Trikus's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Thanks trikus, so it appears to be a Ducasse, not a Dwarf Ducasse. This bunch of mine would be 3.5 to 4m off the ground. When they're ripe, they are super sweet (aka sugar bananas?). Mate of mine reckons they're the best bananas he's ever tasted! http://www.australiantropicalfruits.org.au/ducasse/ | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 15th October 2012 7:48am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Cairns 15th October 2012 8:58am #UserID: 5418 Posts: 1438 View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Vanessa says... I know a lot of people say to cut the bell off the bunch but I now leave them on. Four reasons - the honeyeaters love them, they tell me when its time to cut the bananas (when the bell gets very small), they give me something to hold onto when I am dangling from a ladder trying to cut a bunch off and its once less time I will be covered in banana sap! It makes no difference to the pace the bunch ripens. Looks pretty cool too. | About the Author Vanessa6 Brisbane 18th November 2012 7:22am #UserID: 7434 Posts: 1 View All Vanessa6's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author allybanana 22nd November 2012 8:36pm #UserID: 4544 Posts: 372 View All allybanana's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MiLK_MaN says... What makes you think you can't get decent bananas in Melbourne? I believe these are Blue Java. The flower opened mid October I think, perfect timing in my opinion to get some fruit here in Melbourne. I had a Dwarf Ducasse that had a flower in Autumn, was a disaster with the fruit turning black and shriveling up, so I cut the bunch off and chopped the plant down hoping some of the pups might delay their flowers until Spring this year.
| About the Author MiLK_MaN South Morang, VIC 7th January 2013 5:55pm #UserID: 4085 Posts: 40 View All MiLK_MaN's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Nice work MilkMan! That gives me hope for my new spot here :) I have heaps of room around our swimming pool which has brick paving and has a brick wall around half of it - and dappled light morning and afternoon (in summer) from the big peppermint trees around the place...and lots of water to give them... I reckon they would love a warm, humid and sheltered spot like that do u think? | About the Author amanda19 Leschenault (160kms south of Perth) 10th January 2013 12:16pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Islander Raymond Island 18th February 2013 4:45pm #UserID: 7738 Posts: 2 View All Islander's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jason portland 18th February 2013 4:53pm #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brendan says... Hi Jason, all I can suggest is give it extra P & K fertilizer, dolomite and cow manure. Because I get it cheap, I've given mine about 6 bags of cow manure, to each tree! They also get a good organic fertilizer called Super Growth, it has trace elements as well. http://www.katekfertilizers.com.au/Organic-Super-Growth.html It's hard to over-feed bananas :-) | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 19th February 2013 8:46am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jason says... Yeah I know they can take some juice but I've given it the same as normal bananas and its just still got a severe deficiency of something. To the point of having deformed leaves. I don't get those kind of problems with normal bananas but palm trees also throw deformed leaves in my garden and will not grow. Its obviously a huuuge deficiency if I ever figure out what it is all my trees would be better I reckon | About the Author Jason portland 19th February 2013 10:39am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author bnswillis deer park 2nd May 2013 4:41pm #UserID: 7969 Posts: 1 View All bnswillis's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Phil@Tyalgum says... If that's Deer Park in Melbourne, there is a big banana plant in a private house near the corner of Milleara Rd and Keilor Park Dve, you can see it from the street, near a corner if I remember rightly. You might be able to dig up a few unwanted suckers. Otherwise, Blue Sky do great mail orders of tissue cultured plants, and sometimes they come up for sale at Garden World in Braeside. | About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 2nd May 2013 6:59pm #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author number81 2nd May 2013 9:07pm #UserID: 5197 Posts: 18 View All number81's Edible Fruit Trees |
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giggles says... i cant believe that someone else is asking the same question i love the way my banana tree looks next to my above ground pool but a neighbor told me that banana trees roots go to where the water is and will grow up through the bottom of my pool i water my plants alot and i just dont want to eleive it maybe its not true or im just in denial would like to know the facts | About the Author giggles 12th July 2013 11:28am #UserID: 8098 Posts: 1 View All giggles's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Jason Portland 12th July 2013 11:44am #UserID: 637 Posts: 1217 View All Jason's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 12th July 2013 8:54pm #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author The Dragon Newport 21st July 2013 3:43pm #UserID: 6285 Posts: 2 View All The Dragon's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Nick T Altona, VIC 21st July 2013 4:23pm #UserID: 2663 Posts: 727 View All Nick T's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Aleksa Melbourne 13th August 2013 1:33pm #UserID: 7324 Posts: 2 View All Aleksa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Salsta Gippsland 27th February 2014 6:44pm #UserID: 6529 Posts: 33 View All Salsta's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Mike Tr Cairns 27th February 2014 7:01pm #UserID: 8322 Posts: 614 View All Mike Tr's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Salsta Gippsland 23rd March 2014 10:33am #UserID: 6529 Posts: 33 View All Salsta's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Juergen NSW 5th May 2014 11:40pm #UserID: 9910 Posts: 3 View All Juergen's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Juergen NSW 12th May 2014 12:32am #UserID: 9910 Posts: 3 View All Juergen's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Cass7v Wollongong 17th August 2014 11:07am #UserID: 10345 Posts: 1 View All Cass7v's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 17th August 2014 9:11pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author bertybeetle HILLSIDE,2157,NSW 6th December 2014 1:23pm #UserID: 4873 Posts: 5 View All bertybeetle's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author bertybeetle HILLSIDE,2157,NSW 6th December 2014 1:23pm #UserID: 4873 Posts: 5 View All bertybeetle's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Al says... H all, Does anybody know if there the are so-called super dwarfs here? I have found a dwarf that looks like cavendish and the top of the highest leaves are about 4 foot tall. No idea of fruit quality but they have the typical cav. leaves. I also recently spied a new bell and fruit on a red dacca and they look amazing. Mine is supposedly a dwarf but no sign of fruit at 5 foot or so and over 1 year in the ground. | About the Author Al South Golden Beach 10th January 2015 12:32pm #UserID: 1301 Posts: 51 View All Al's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 10th January 2015 1:39pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Al South Golden Beach 10th January 2015 2:29pm #UserID: 1301 Posts: 51 View All Al's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 10th January 2015 3:14pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author sternus1 Australia 10th January 2015 3:23pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 10th January 2015 4:20pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author sternus1 Australia 10th January 2015 4:36pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 10th January 2015 5:26pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author sternus1 Australia 10th January 2015 5:57pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Salsta Gippsland 24th January 2015 8:15pm #UserID: 6529 Posts: 33 View All Salsta's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author sternus1 Australia 24th January 2015 9:29pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Salsta says... It one plantain better than another for this, Sternus? As I said, I haven't been interested in them before, and thus I dont' have one yet, so I can choose which variety within reason. I do now have six thriving in the backyard now. They survived last winter, including two freezes without being set back, they all just went into hibernation for a while. | About the Author Salsta Gippsland 4th March 2015 4:16pm #UserID: 6529 Posts: 33 View All Salsta's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Keperra 5th March 2015 10:22pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author sternus1 Australia 5th March 2015 10:32pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Salsta Gippsland 10th March 2015 5:42am #UserID: 6529 Posts: 33 View All Salsta's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author mikejohn Grandchester 23rd October 2015 8:35am #UserID: 12569 Posts: 1 View All mikejohn's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Juergen NSW 24th October 2015 12:12am #UserID: 9910 Posts: 3 View All Juergen's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 26th October 2015 10:05am | |||||||
Salsta says... Here are most of my lot now, they're growing in West Gippsland, Victoria. From left they're Pisang Ceylan, Red Dacca, Goldfinger and Blue Java. There's a Santa Caterina Prata going well to the right of the photo. I have a few more babies growing presently, so hopefully they'll settle in as well as this lot. I haven't given them any protection for the last two winters to see how they go, as usually we're frost free. Last year wea the coldest winter in 20 years and we had two freezes in a row. They weren't affected. This winter was the coldest in 25 years and we had three freezes in a row. They survived the first two without problems but got frost damage to their leaves after the third and then started to absorb the rest of their leaves for the remainder of winter. They're coming back well now but I reckon I might cover them or otherwise protect them next winter just in case. At least I now know they can survive what's probably the worst we can throw at them though. Hopefully they grow like crazy this summer again.
| About the Author Salsta Gippsland 26th October 2015 10:41am #UserID: 6529 Posts: 33 View All Salsta's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 26th October 2015 10:40am | |||||||
Dougie says... Here is a photo of my Banana from a couple of weeks ago, I picked up the original plant form a couple in Rye who have been growing bananas for decades in Melbourne. I wasn't sure they would ever fruit but just before Christmas I spotted the flower. The plants were knocked around pretty hard over this winter with a lot of frost damage to their leaves but they've come back strong and hopefully in a couple of months we will be enjoying the fruit.
| About the Author Dougie Brighton East 19th January 2016 9:10am #UserID: 13099 Posts: 2 View All Dougie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Markmelb says... I neglected to protect my red Dacca - lost the main large stem of 2 years but suckers are coming back - my tip I read that people pushing limits in englands sth coast is wrap stem in rockwool and newspaper then gaffir tape for insulation of growing internals - should work a treat for us here and give plant that needed early start in spring? | About the Author Markmelb MOUNT WAVERLEY,3149,VIC 19th January 2016 8:41pm #UserID: 7785 Posts: 1192 View All Markmelb's Edible Fruit Trees |
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randey says... Hey Dougie, looking good. Just remember to keep the manure and the water up to them. Bananas are voracious feeders and will always respond well. In the past i had my crop being watered from the shower using phosphate free soap.Added to that copious amounts of poo and received bunches with 9-12 hands. | About the Author randey east cannington,6107,WA 19th January 2016 9:41pm #UserID: 2306 Posts: 104 View All randey's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Dougie Brighton East 20th January 2016 11:33am #UserID: 13099 Posts: 2 View All Dougie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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RichardCl1 says... Banana suckers wanted: Willing to pay $10 per sucker for proven fruiters plus postage max 2 each varierty. Red Dacca, Goldfinger and Blue Java, Santa Caterina,Pisang Ceylan anything else of interest. Location Central Coast NSW. Please make sure you are South of Taree. info @ Timecon .com. au Chasing John Mc1 contact and Trikus contact details if anyone has or knows them. Richard | About the Author RichardCl1 GLENNING VALLEY,2261,NSW 27th January 2016 9:09pm #UserID: 8611 Posts: 4 View All RichardCl1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author rustynutz EIDSVOLD,4627,QLD 30th January 2016 7:42am #UserID: 845 Posts: 64 View All rustynutz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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rustynutz says... Bananas love ash from winter fires and cow shit. Do not drop the poop directly at the base of the "palms" spread in out around the edge of the clump. The best suckers are the one with sharp pointy leaves when young and the suckers with the more rounded type leaves should be removed. When cutting off the remainder of the flower and male flowers make sure you have at least 6 inches of staclk hanging out. The little bananas are the male part of the flower and will never grow into anything edible. The cut off stump of the fruit stalk should be treated for anthrax nose infection as you can get a black die back which will travel up the bunch of bananas and destroy the whole bunch before it has time to ripen :( Also I use a long forked stick to prop up the plant to prevent wind and heavy fruit crop pulling the whole kit and caboodale over! | About the Author rustynutz EIDSVOLD,4627,QLD 30th January 2016 7:55am #UserID: 845 Posts: 64 View All rustynutz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author RichardCl1 GLENNING VALLEY,2261,NSW 30th January 2016 10:25pm #UserID: 8611 Posts: 4 View All RichardCl1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author rustynutz EIDSVOLD,4627,QLD 31st January 2016 5:35pm #UserID: 845 Posts: 64 View All rustynutz's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Kenzie1955 South Nanango 8th February 2016 10:01pm #UserID: 13277 Posts: 1 View All Kenzie1955's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author RichardCl1 GLENNING VALLEY,2261,NSW 9th February 2016 8:02am #UserID: 8611 Posts: 4 View All RichardCl1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Theposterformerlyknownas says... If in SEQ You need to apply for a permit from the DPI (or whatever its called now - no doubt it has 'Innovation' in its name) and then buy from a registered seller. Blue Sky Backyard Bananas has the info on their site and has always been good to me. I would recommend the Dwarf Ducasse. Fruits lower than head height, very dense and filling banana, good taste and requires almost no care, unlike others that just wont fruit under the same conditions. | About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Keperra 9th February 2016 2:30pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 10th February 2016 6:23am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Gordo says... Another vote for Blue sky backyard bananas. http://www.backyardbananas.com.au/ Very helpful, healthy plants. Permits are easy to get and free. Blue sky will tell you how to get one. | About the Author Gordo Samford 10th February 2016 9:37am #UserID: 800 Posts: 8 View All Gordo's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author RichardCl1 GLENNING VALLEY,2261,NSW 1st March 2016 2:42pm #UserID: 8611 Posts: 4 View All RichardCl1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 3rd March 2016 6:58am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Lissa Strathpine Qld 3rd March 2016 7:01am #UserID: 3797 Posts: 189 View All Lissa's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Gordo Samford 3rd March 2016 10:11am #UserID: 800 Posts: 8 View All Gordo's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author cooltropics Queanbeyan,NSW 8th November 2016 10:25am #UserID: 14908 Posts: 2 View All cooltropics's Edible Fruit Trees |
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cooltropics says... Hi everyone, love this forum.. just like to add that we grow a rather generous clump of fruiting bananas down in Batemans Bay..think they are lady finger.. sweet & tender flesh. harvested a big bunch last year (beat the fruit bats & possums to it..which they haven't attacked so far..the bats go for the massive fig tree..we never fertilise or water the bananas.. had them for years now..new pups appear regularly, planted on southern side of hs.. | About the Author cooltropics Queanbeyan,NSW 8th November 2016 10:43am #UserID: 14908 Posts: 2 View All cooltropics's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author superbrudd Woolloongabba 19th May 2018 10:38am #UserID: 18468 Posts: 1 View All superbrudd's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Fruitylicious1 TAMWORTH,2340,NSW 19th May 2018 8:17pm #UserID: 16885 Posts: 709 View All Fruitylicious1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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