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+--- Thread: Growing Bananas (/showthread.php?tid=9964)
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Growing Bananas - MarkP - 04-02-2012
My bananas have worms. I mean the stalks have earthworms crawling up them, shinnying up between the frond and the stalk. During the day they hide out in the pockets between the fronds and the stalks along with some slugs. I would like to get rid of the slugs but not the earthworms. What might they be doing there anyway? Earthworms eat dead stuff but the trees appear alive and healthy. There was one side shoot that started off from the main trunk that stopped growing. I found it rotted off at the base, and full of earthworms eating the rotted part. Could it be analogous to maggots living in an open wound, gross but actually somewhat beneficial in that they eat away the dead stuff?
I have mounded almost a year's worth of composted mulch and manure around the base of the bananas. I think I planted them last spring so they have seen a spring and summer before but not such that they had any kind of root system in place. This year stand back if you don't want to get punched in the nose by a growing banana. They are really taking off. Meanwhile for my neighbor just up the road, his bananas are barely alive. I think the difference is the fertilizer.
RE: Growing Bananas - Carey - 04-02-2012
Are these true earthworms, or the much skinnier worms... kinda like red wigglers? (& kinda have an iridescent sheen?) if so these are common on banans & the composting ladies state to look on bananas for the worm to use for your worm composting bins in their class....those worms do not actually eat dirt, but the slimy stuff (fungus?) that grows on plant things (esp decomposing plant things..)
RE: Growing Bananas - MarkP - 04-02-2012
Aha! So there is a difference? I had been seeing those little red worms in the manure and wondering whether they were a different breed. I do also occasionally come across a much larger and more muscular earthworm in the compost.
These small red worms also seem to really dig into cut sections of banana stalk such as when I cull extra keikis.
RE: Growing Bananas - MarkP - 04-02-2012
Sounds like I am seeing either Eisenia fetida or Lumbricus rubellus. I can't tell which yet.
I can't say that the slugs are doing the bananas any harm. I don't see any damage that I would attribute to slugs. Nevertheless they must be eating something and they are on the trees so they are probably eating the trees somehow. Mostly I just don't like them because they are slugs. Sorry, slugs.
RE: Growing Bananas - MarkP - 05-02-2012
Apparently I have Black Leaf Streak Disease. Parts of the leaves, and eventually whole leaves, turn black and get rotten. Anyone else seeing this? My internet research leads me to believe that it is quite widespread.
RE: Growing Bananas - robguz - 05-03-2012
If you are interested in bananas, make sure to register on bananas.org They have many forums and a handful of members in Hawaii. Most of my bananas get black sigatoka, but it shows up when each leaf is on its way out and due to be cut anyway. It is recommended not to mulch such leaves, and get them away ASAP. Also, don't much leaves from varieties that are more sensitive to it. Fortunately, Hawaiian Apple (Dwarf and non-dwarf Brazillian) do not seem to be too affected by it.
On the other hand, banana corm weevils are a big problem for me, especially with certain types of bananas, such as Ice Cream. Even though I catch many around my Apples they don't seem to do much damage to them.
RE: Growing Bananas - hawaiideborah - 05-16-2012
I need advice on transplanting bananas.
I have a beautiful variegated banana plant.
I tried to dig up several of the keikis and used rooting hormone and put them in pots with cinder soil and banana fertilizer. All of the keikis were about 12" to 24" tall with roots attached. They all died.
What am I doing wrong?
I really want to create another area of banana planting with this beautiful plant.
help please[
]
RE: Growing Bananas - fishnchamp1 - 05-16-2012
deborah - maybe this is helpful? http://youtu.be/hUCeWiCQt2E
William DeBoe
Palm Beach, FL
Moe'uhane Oihana mahi ai
RE: Growing Bananas - allensylves - 05-16-2012
Possibly the fertilizer was the problem. While they are getting established they do not need fertilizer and the 'salts' in the fertilizer could have damaged the roots while they were trying to recover.
Allen
Finally in HPP
RE: Growing Bananas - rbrgs - 05-16-2012
Dig them gently; easier said than done it you're digging them out of rack.
Leave them in a dry, shady spot for a day so the cut parts can dry.
Replant in the ground with real soil (add peat moss if you have to): cinder doesn't hold any water.
Put chemical fertilizer on top and don't let it touch the roots. Far better is to use compost and manure; bananas are really heavy feeders (and major users of water); getting them to grow without lots of organic matter is really hard.
Get this book:
http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-8749-9780983726609.aspx