GROWING FOOD AT P2

MARY’S BANANAS AND PAPAYAS

Florida’s climate can be harsh on some plants, we’ve not had a lot of success growing food so far, until now. Mary has figured out how to grow bananas and papayas. 

We have two flowering banana plants that we received mail order, they were produced by a tissue culture lab which is located north of us. This duplication process produces perfect genetic copies and they have many types of banana plants to choose from. It took about a year and a half to grow them up from little whisps of green to mature fruiting plants. 

Lisa bananas

Lisa bananas

Ice Cream bananas

Mary grew all her papayas from seeds which she acquired out of papayas she bought at the grocery store (she picked fruits that were particularly yummy and planted their seeds). Before she sprouted any seeds she read that Papaya are difficult to grow and they don't like to be transplanted. In OUR experience they are easy to sprout and tolerant of a lot of physical abuse such as not watering them. Mary has abused a lot of papaya plants, putting dozens in the same pot and letting them duke it out or growing a couple hundred starts in a single pot and letting them die off and get very flappy. But she's also been kind to many, saved them from certain death in the trash. 

THE STORY OF PIP AND POP

We have one magical pair of papaya plants growing at the rear of our property. They were not there prior to this past spring. After some of Mary’s potted papaya plants started to grow we could recognize what the plant looks like. She spotted a wild pair of baby papaya plants coming up near the drain canal out back. They survived the draught and continued to grow. The female now has papayas growing on her and her male counter part stands proud next to her. Mary named them Pip and Pop. We have no idea how the seeds got planted there, animal droppings? And it’s even more amazing we have a perfect male and female couple there together. 

Pip (on left) Pop (on right)

Pip papayas

The first banana plant to deliver fruit is a variety called “Ice Cream”. When a banana plant is ready to flower it sends out a flag leaf which proclaims to the world, “I’m done, my last life duty is to produce bananas”, then the plant dies, replaced by a pup that is now growing at the base of the mother. 

Ice Cream banana plant

The second banana plant to fruit is a variety called “Mona Lisa”. We were surprised to see Lisa shoot out a flag leaf when she did (she’s still a little young), then the big strange violet colored flower appeared and from under the petals of the flower hands of bananas appear. Unless you watch how a banana plant makes bananas it seems like an unlikely or very strange process.

Lisa

We are watching the bananas carefully as they ripen, at some point we’ll cut off the flower and wrap the fruit in a plastic trash bag to protect from hungry bats and birds. 

We’re also watching the papayas carefully, their fruits also need to be covered up and protected from birds who love these yummy fruits. 

Hermes (self pollinating papaya)

Hermes making strangely shaped papayas

Our property came with a small grove of orange trees but the asian killer bugs infected all the trees, the disease is impossible to eradicate so we had the orange trees removed. Mary replaced all those positions with bananas, papayas and a couple of Coco palms (which are underperformers). 

Full view of the old (new) orchard, bananas are much more fun than finicky citrus

By far the bananas and papayas have been our most successful food plants. 

Our bamboo grove continues to grow and flourish. We have lots of small canes in the baby area but we also have over 50 large canes coming up in our newest 10 clumps. We’re learning how to cultivate these plants and make more. The bamboo is draught tolerant and grows well in sandy soil so it’s a good one for us and our property. 

Bamboo grove, babies on left

I found a couple of date palm trees underneath an overgrown oak tree and covered with tons of brush in a far corner of our property. There was one long frond sticking out from the date palm as if he was waving for “H E L P”. I paid the tree people to remove the oak and all the brush, now the date palm is spreading it’s wings and starting to fly. Many plants don’t do well in full Florida sun but “Date” (we give everything names) seems to thrive on the full son. You go boy!

DATE!

New papaya and banana growing area

BANANA CIRCLE UPDATE

Here it is, July 21, 2017. Overall the banana circle is a fantastic success. Our artesian well provides water to the circle of plants. In the center is a hole six feet deep and six feet in diameter. We filled the hole with scrap cardboard, cutting waste from plants, weeds, and any 'ole organic matter (including Zoidbergs wedding album). The organic waste breaks down and feeds the banana plant roots that reach down into it. 

Mary is putt'n Permaculture on da map here in Melbin
This banana circle was born in December of 2016 when Mary dug the 6x6 crater by hand

In our nine years together we've experimented with growing a lot of plants. For us bananas are some of the most rewarding plants we've grown. Of course it all depends on the climate zone but here in the Southwest corner of Melbourne Florida they flourish with minimal care and water (which is all any of our plants get :-).