@Orange120OD
See https://plantsthatproduce.com/docs/NonTropicalBananaCultivation.pdf
WOW! That’s great!
Do you have any information on the quality of your irrigation water please?
It is municipal water, which I filter and chemically adjust to about pH 6.2 for the bananas and fruit trees.
Could you tell me more about the filtering and the acidifying process please? Or is it something I could find in a different post?
@ammoun
I maintain a plant repository on the grounds of our 1/4 acre home in Vista. There are many trees, vines, shrubs, and planter beds here. I have an automated irrigation system, but the municipal water pressure is relatively low (50 psi). I have found that 1 irrigation valve on a 1" supply line can only adequately disburse water to 4-5 in-ground trees. So I must compensate with many irrigation controllers and valves.
I included fertigation tanks and injectors when I built our irrigation system. I determined there are 3 basic acidity+fertilizer needs and so I have 3 separate sets of pipes in the yard each serving a different formula. I use Dosatron model D45RE15 water-pressure driven pumps to inject the formula concentrates into the pipes - which are matched to my water pressure. The water input is filtered with Rainbird irrigation basket filter QKCHK-100 to protect the system from coarse materials. Immediately upstream of each filter is a 1" master control valve so the system is not under pressure when downstream valves are not in use.
About once per year I recalibrate our fertigation dosages. The pH of our municipal water has been creeping up lately, now at 8 - a poor situation for our local soils. To adjust the municipal water pH, I add 1/4 ml of N-pHuric per gallon of water to achieve pH 6.3 for many of the plants, and 1/2 ml per gallon to produce pH 5.3 for the acid-loving varieties.
@Richard, what a nice thread. I really enjoyed everyone’s glamour banana shots. I am just glad to keep my humble blue Java banana still kicking into its third winter with me. I can only dream of fruits.
That’s one productive tree!
It’s actually two plants
Our “winter” delayed them for a few months, now I see growth is starting again.
Those two bunches look great Richard! So it was the soil temp…not the air temp that kept them at a stand still for a bit?
I had my apple dormant in ground, I chopped it back a bit and I see a new leaf coming up! I’m very excited. I’m going to try to get my hands on a D. Namwa this year.
Air temperature.
Thanks , that is very good to know.