Harvesting Bananas

[Hester]

We have a bunch of bananas on our plant. The ones at the top are quite fat, but lower down the bunch they are smaller. Would it work if we cut some of the top ones to ripen inside and left the lower ones to grow a bit more or do you have to cut the whole bunch at once?

[Debbi Lyons]

You are lucky to have any bananas! We have none and we've had our tree for more than a year now. How long was it before yours bore fruit and do you feed it?

[Hester]

Hi Debbie. We do feed the banana. lots of good mulch, old banana leaves and anything the other plants are getting like blood and bone, manure etc. I think it was about two and a half years before it flowered . It had about 6 offshoots first. It is in a fairly sheltered spot so the stalk doesn't get any frost really. Had a bit on the tips of some leaves this winter tho'. I think bananas flower when the stalk has produced a certain amount of leaves, regardless of season. in warm climates this happens faster. From what I've read,I believe that if the stem gets frosted, then it will not fruit. We have another banana plant in a less sheltered spot that got cut right back by frost in the winter. It's a bit younger . I'm not sure if it will fruit, being in a cooler place. Maybe, if we get a couple of mild winters.They are both Ladyfinger varieties.

[Virgil Evetts]

Cut one of the larger fruit and put it in a paper bag with an apple. If it ripens in a couple of days and is sweet, you can start to use the others from the top down. It’s actually a funny time of year to be harvesting bananas- they usually ripen in late winter/early spring- but it’s been a weird season.
If you want the entire bunch to ripen at once you can secure a clear plastic bag or sleeve over them (on the tree). However, only do this if you can use 20 or so kilos of bananas very quickly!

[Hester]

Thanks Virgil That's really helpful. We are borderline climate here for bananas but this bunch formed in early spring-how long does a bunch normally take to ripen?

[Hester]

I mean how long does it take for a bunch of bananas to get to ripening stage , on the plant.

[Denise]

We have bananas (ladyfinger and cavendish) ripening almost all year round here in Auckland (except the depths of winter). Those that get frosted still produce a bunch, although it can be smaller than those that dont get frosted as badly, and it seems to take about 2-3 seasons for a palm to produce a bunch. bunches that get frosted blacken on the skin but dont seem to suffer in terms of taste (cooler season ripening usually produced smaller bananas though). We get bigger bunches and individual bananas if we cut out some of the palm pups so we have about 3-4 palms ripening bunches at any one time, with about the same number half grown and the same number again coming through as pups. We have fabulous free draining soil but they still get plenty of mulch (banana leaves and what ever else is on offer). I tend to cut the whole bunch and ripen it inside and they take about a week from slightly yellow to 'eat me now'! Three kids can eat a lot of little bananas though so we are usually ok at eating them up in a short time, especially as they taste so good (much much better than the supermarket variety)!! I freeze them for cake, bread and puddings and feed the rest to the chooks but I think you could very well cut a bunch at a time and probably get larger bananas all round that way. I'm not really sure how long they take to ripen on the tree, I can tell when the birds are hanging around that mine are ready. Also their skins will sometimes split as they ripen, but maybe that is related to our humidity levels more than anything :). You can eat the flower as well, in a Thai or Indian style - google for recipes and we often use wet banana leaves to wrap individual portions up before we bake or steam them - good way for kids to create their own meal - just as long as the cooking time is similar for all! I hope yours taste fabulous - I am going to check for ripening bananas tomorrow :)

[Hester]

Thanks .Denise-that's really helpful.

[TK]

Hello I am after some NZ GROWN & SPRAY FREE bananas for our 6 year old & we'd love to buy some of yours? Plz.
If any of yous have any to spare & would like to sell us some? Plz send me a message re cost & how many kilos you can sell us. Thanks very much.