permaculture

["Rene and Lorraine van Raders" <rvraders@tpgi.com.au>]

> could you spare time to write down all your plants on site?
> I will post up mine too.
> especially the different varieties of bananas, their unjique
characteristics
> and possible places of supply,
> I have a banana here that is about 8 inches long, cross section is 2-3
> inches and they have five 'ribs'
> sorry don't know banana jargon.
> all the best,
> April

Hi April
Yes I can, but this is a job I've been putting off for a long time... it
will have to be done in stages but I'm looking forward to finally doing it.
I'll start with the bananas... by the way it sounds like you have a Pacific
Plantain or Corne Plantain (diff names for the same banana).. check the
photo attached to confirm (not sent to the list).

We have cavendish types... Williams (main commercial variety), TU8 (a new
disease resistant type), dwarf cavendish, Grand Naine (medium size), Jeff
Daniel's Special (very tall)
also
Ducasse (commonly called a sugar banana in our region, a little like a lady
finder to taste, but not so angular looking, can be cooked as a green
banana too ),  Red Dacca (very tall growing tropical banana, red skin, pink
flesh, nice flavour, sport of the green dacca), Green Dacca, Blue Java
(cooking var., blue colour when not ripe, can be eaten raw if at correct
ripeness), Bluggoe (square banana, cooking), Horn Plantain (haven't tried
it yet), Corne Plantain (large fat plantain by Australian standards, good
cooked green or ripe, ok to eat ripe), Lady Finger (very tall growing),
Gold Finger (new disease resistant lady finger type), Sucrier (haven't
tried yet).

Ducasse is our main variety.   We can sell the non-cavendish types within
the Far Northern banana region, and outside banana growing areas in
Queensland..but not sure about quarantine for other states.  They all taste
a bit different, grow different and look different, but it takes some
experience to tell them all apart.   There are about 4 other "common"
banana varieties we haven't got yet, but of course many others.

Will post again soon.
Cheers Rene and Lorraine