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[Bevanron <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Hey Rob,


> I have 35 acres, 12 or so open, the rest wooded. I like it, it's 
> going to be my life work to get this place in shape though :>)

Of course it is!  You've been there and done that and you know how long
it takes...it will never be "in shape". :)

> You want to get a cultivar that will grow and produce in the least 
> amount of time. Bananas pretty much shut down once the temp reaches 
> 40s. They don't die at that temp, just stop growing. The less time it
>  takes for them to grow the stalk and spit out the blossum, the 
> better. I found that some of the shorter varieties were good at that.
>  It just takes less time to grow a 7 foot stalk than a 20 foot one. A
>  lot of times the bananas were better and bigger on the smaller 
> stalked bananas.
>
> Try
>
> http://www.going-bananas.com/

Great site...I think that's the one I was looking for a while back.
They seem to have quite a selection. But now I am confused over which
way to go....
It seems that quite a few places propagate using tissue culture (can't
ever say that without thinking of Tvo), but the site I had been looking
at before I found you again propagates in the field.
http://tytyga.com/bananas/index.html
Ty Ty went to great lengths to show how superior field grown bananas are
to tissue culture grown plants, but I don't know if I believe that since
it appears that banana cultivars are propagated worldwide by TC.
Also, the Ty Ty Nursery doesn't have the variety that Going Bananas has.
But, with TTN, I can get a larger plant to begin with, which might be
better considering that time is of the essence when attempting to grow
bananas outside of the tropics.  So now I am confused.
Take a look at the Golden Rhino horn and Texas Star varieties on the Ty
Ty site and tell me what you think....

http://tytyga.com/bananas/pg20.htm   Musa Texas Star
http://tytyga.com/bananas/pg8.htm    Musa Golden Rhino Horn

Should I pay a bit more for a "mother bulb" or go with the TC corms from
Going Bananas?  Do you think TTN gets their cultivars from someplace
like Going Bananas?


> and check out the FHIA-03 I found this plant to be really productive 
> and even though it is bred for Central America, it seemed to handle 
> any cold snaps we had pretty well. It grew a nice fat stalk that held
>  up to wind and made a huge mess of bananas. They are good to eat 
> fresh or cook.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time reading about FHIA-03, and it seems like
a good choice for this area, although I never found a site that listed
USDA zones for this cultivar.  I realize that it is being grown and
shipped around the world now, so you would think it might work here, but
I just couldn't find anything definitive.  Also, it seems to be grown
more for a cooking banana than an eating banana, but I'll take your word
for it that it is sweet enough to eat. I do like fried
bananas/plantains, so it is really not that big of an issue anyway.  I
do like the fact that this variety seems to make a large bunch.

Rob, I do have some questions...I know you can answer them....LOL
Assuming I buy corms from GB, how long will it take to actually harvest
bananas?  I read something about the plant producing blossoms after the
25th leaf.  Will this take several years for the plant to mature enough
to produce fruit?
Also, can I harvest green and allow them to ripen if the season runs
short, or do I need to let them ripen on the tree-assuming FHIA-03 here.
What did you think of my plan to use the pallets for "mulch containers"
and windbreaks?  Am I wasting my time? Is this necessary?
Your 'professional' opinion is highly valued here. :)


Shame that
> we did not connect last year, cause I left that at my house in the 
> city. I could have sent you some corms. I smuggled aome out to El 
> Salvador and have it growing on my place there, but no good way to 
> smuggle it back in :>)

Dang it!  I knew I should have looked harder for you!  That would have
been nice.  Thanks for the thought, anyway.

Bev


--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W