Special thanks to Gypsy-Sprite photography for taking pics of my banana clusters.
I had the opportunity to revisit a job site where I had dumped a lot of pond weeds into a clump of banana trees. The owner reported that they had the largest harvest with the largest bananas they had seen out of their patch. I enjoy growing banana trees. I think there is something comforting about being around plants that are obviously filled with water. It's a sign to our primal side that one of the major survival needs is near at hand even if it's harder to actually get to. Being filled with water they make a great firebreak. Counties with a lot of wild fires would do well to plant permanent fire breaks using water filled plants They have to clear a lot of ditches and water ways anyway so the natural fertilizer is already there. Then the county could have a profit off of their land instead of it simply being a liability with increased risk of fire damage. It would also greatly reduce the number of bananas imported thus boosting local economy and reducing pollution. This of course will only really work in the proper zones. Banana trees don't do well with cold partly because of the large water content.
So here's what others have tried that works great. Dig a 3 ft deep 6 ft across circle. Fill the hole with logs and other compost. Plant banana trees around the outside of the hole and then just chop and drop all the leafs in the middle and keep adding compost when you have it. That should give you a large harvest. Use the flowers for eating, just remove the hard thing and the balloon looking thing and soak in lime water first (or lemon). Use the big purple petals or whatever they are as you would a paper bowl or plate. Really cuts down having to do dishes and they compost nicely. Use green bananas in your soups and just about any way you would use a potato while accounting for the varied flavor. Use banana peels on some insect bites, I hear rumor that it can help with the brown recluse bite. If anyone knows from experience or hearing about an actual experience then please let me know. Bananas are great to freeze. The trunks of the banana trees make great punching bags after you have cut the trees down. (it's common to cut a tree down after it fruits.) The fibers are strong, I've witnessed them holding about 200 pounds. Of course that was a good strip of it. If you chop them in half in one swing with the machete then look on your blade you will often see white fibers that when blended together are roughly as strong as wool. If you see someone throwing out banana tree stumps grab em up! They are heavy but if you plant the stump again and wait it will normally kick out a few banana pups thus allowing you to start a banana farm of your own. Trim lower leafs that are blocking light to lower plants or aren't getting much light due to the new leafs. Also trimming leafs on the fruiting side can help balance the trees weight and make it less likely to fall down with the weight of the fruit. Correcting a lean early can really go a long way in preventing a tree from falling right before you get the fruit.
Word of wisdom
Listen to the sounds of nature, even if your in the city.
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