Gardening Australia – September 2019

86 SEPTEMBER 2019 GARDENINGAUSTRALIA

IN THE PATCH

A banana circle is an easy way to grow

bananas using less water and nutrients.

PHIL DUDMAN explains what it is and

how to create one.

The concept of a banana circle comes from

the permaculture (permanent agriculture)

movement.It’sasimpledesignideathat

serves multiple functions: food production,

water conservation and a place to compost

organic waste materials that will, in turn,

feed the surrounding plants.

The basis of the design is a circular

swale or mound. The soil used to build

the mound is excavated from the centre

ofthecircle,whichcreatesalargepit.

The mounded soil provides a deep layer

of well-drained topsoil in which bananas

and other plants thrive, while the pit

becomes a place to toss in and contain

grass clippings, prunings and other garden

waste. The central pit is also the main

spot to water the plants, and there’s no

run-off. The water soaks deep into the

soil, supplying moisture to plant roots via

capillary action. Every time you apply

water, you moisten the compost materials

while fl ushing through a nutrient-rich

and microbe-rich solution for all the

surrounding plants to enjoy.

1. MARK out a circle about 2m wide.
   Dig the hole in a concave (dish) shape
   about ½–1m deep. As you go, mound the
   excavated soil around the edge of the hole.


2. COVER the mounded soil with wet
   cardboard or overlapping newspaper
   (eight sheets thick). This will smother any
   grass and weeds in the soil and stop them
   shooting. Top this with a 5cm layer of
   compost and 5cm layer of organic mulch.


3. FILL the pit with compostable material

• grass clippings, dried leaves, woody
  prunings, straw – in layers, sprinkling
  some manure and organic fertiliser, and
  watering the layers as you go, as you
  would when making a compost heap.

4. PLANT three banana plants evenly
   spaced around the mound, cutting a hole
   in the cardboard layer to access the soil
   below. You could plant a pawpaw in the
   gap between the bananas, and underplant
   with ginger, turmeric and lemongrass,
   as well as sweet potato, to provide both
   additional food and groundcover.

How to make a

BANANA CIRCLE

pawpaw banana

sw 

poao

ginger,

ume
ic &

emongra

mounded soi

pi

( 2 m wide x

½-1m deep)