Musa "Namwa" Banana

@Orange120OD
See https://plantsthatproduce.com/docs/NonTropicalBananaCultivation.pdf

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Yes we have bananas today.

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WOW! That’s great! :yum:

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24 hours later.

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3 days after harvest.

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finé

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Incoming! Possible harvest by Mother’s Day.

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Do you have any information on the quality of your irrigation water please?

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It is municipal water, which I filter and chemically adjust to about pH 6.2 for the bananas and fruit trees.

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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.

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A second flower is emerging from the stalk to the right of the current bunch.

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@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.

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That’s one productive tree!

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It’s actually two plants :slightly_smiling_face:

Our “winter” delayed them for a few months, now I see growth is starting again.

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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.

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Air temperature.

Thanks , that is very good to know.

6/25. New flower bud. Possible ripe fruit in October.

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8/3. Nine months later, the first bunch is finally ripe!

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