84 SEPTEMBER 2019 GARDENING AUSTRALIA
W
e harvested our first
home-grown bananas this
year. I don’t know why it took
me so long to plant some,
but I’m glad I finally did. They thrive in our
subtropical climate, with minimal effort.
We didn’t have to wait long for our first
crop. In less than 18 months, we were
harvesting more bananas than we knew
what to do with. Some went to friends- my neighbour laced them with lime juice
and chilli before dehydrating them and,
thankfully, bringing some back – and many
were frozen for smoothies. There’s more
fruit forming already. I don’t think we’ll
ever need to buy bananas again!
getting started
Bananas are large, fleshy, suckering
herbaceous plants, with multiple trunks,
or pseudostems, growing from a sizeable
corm underground. Mature pseudostems
produce a long flower stalk on which fruit
form. The bunches can be huge, carrying
up to 12 hands, each with 10–20 fingers.
The stems die after fruiting and should
be promptly cut out to keep the clump tidy
and healthy. Removing excess suckers
restricts crowding and optimises fruit size
and quality. Sword suckers, which are
the ones with narrow, sword-like leaves,
can be dug up and planted elsewhere in
the garden to increase your stock. Don’t
bother planting the broad-leafed suckers,
as they produce smaller bunches.
While anyone can grow bananas in their
backyard, the carefree days of starting
a crop from a sucker shared by a friend
are long gone. Bananas are susceptible to
diseases that are readily transferable. Let
loose, they could have devastating effects
on our banana industry. The plants you
grow should always be sourced from an
accredited banana nursery that produces
disease-free, tissue-cultured plants. For
years, backyard gardeners in commercial
production areas needed a permit to grow
bananas. Permits are no longer required
in Queensland, but are still mandatory in
parts of northern New South Wales. Don’t
let that put you off, though. It takes littlemany households,
and guess what? A lot of coastal gardeners have
the right conditions to grow them at home.
PHIL DUDMAN explains how
nas
cool