So there, I finally harvested my first bunch of bananas. They have kept me waiting patiently for 15 months. See the miraculous reproduction process and how they looked as babies here. I had seen lots of them growing in the kampung I grew up but this is my first experience growing a banana tree by myself. It's usually watered by rain but most days, we use the rice water that we would otherwise have thrown away. So this is a 100% certified organic banana tree.
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| My total harvest came to more than 10kg! |
They may look green on the outside but they are soft, ripe and sweet on the inside. I was wondering when to harvest them the past month as they seemed fattened enough. Read some blogs on it but still couldn't make out. It was a clear sign when the squirrel came and started sniffing them and tried to eat them. God is a miracle-working God!
I love the idea that I can be so close to my food source. I should have been a farmer's wife.
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| So perfectly formed, and I only had to water them. |
Luan, I'm very impressed. Those are healthy bunches of bananas. You have acomplished something here, organic bananas grown in the city. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThanks! They are yummy and for the first time, I can eat bananas knowing there is no "artificial insemination", know what I mean??
DeleteOh, I had a compare-and-contrast thingy by looking at the baby banana photos and those above. Congrats! This is so exciting. I wish I can grow my own garden of herbs and veggies someday, too.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I really love reading about your life, coming from a corporate world to a home kitchen, pursuing your passion. Hats off to you. =)
Hi Pei-Lin, thanks very much for your kind comments. You may be interested to read an article I posted on Facebook yesterday called "Unscripted". Check it out here www.facebook.com/extravirginchef
DeleteI just looked at your Chocolate cookies - they made me drool!
So envious that you have the space at home to grow a banana tree! how many combs did yours produce? I was told by an old Baba, a traditional technique of growing bananas, that the entire stem has to be bent when the first seven combs of bananas are being formed. This ensures that all the nutrients are channelled to these 7 combs, or something like that...
ReplyDeleteI'd also seen folks chopping off the main tree after 1-2 suckers (banana saplings) begin to grow from the side. Again, more room for the young saplings to grow...
Hi Alan, I had about 5 full combs and 1 or 2 small ones. Love the Baba tip! Yes, our stem bent very low and we got worried and thought we had to prop it up!
DeleteAfter the first harvest, we are supposed to chop off the main tree as 2 babies have now grown around it. Such a miraculous process, no less wondrous than the foetal growth.
And did I say the bananas are yummy?
Hmmm.. how are u going to eat all 5 combs of bananas?
ReplyDeleteThere are more monkeys in this household than you would believe, Wendy. Yes, we went bananas!
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