How to Grow Bananas

Learn tips and tricks on how to grow bananas and get abundant harvests. Banana (Musa) are fantastic permaculture plants because they have so many uses both in the garden and the kitchen. Bananas are in fact a perennial herb, not a tree. The bananas grow from a stalk that emerges from the centre of the banana palm.

Bananas come in both full-size and dwarf varieties, allowing you to grow them in both large and small space gardens. Plus, you just can’t beat the flavour of homegrown bananas!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Quick Tips on How to Grow Bananas

PLANT

Spring and Summer.

SOIL

Rich fertile compost and well-drained soil. Mound soil up.

LOCATION

Full sun. Protection from harsh winds.

CARE

Water and feed regularly.

FERTILISE

Feed with compost and with liquid seaweed fertiliser.

PESTS

Rodents may attack the fruit. Root rot in wet soils.

HARVEST

9 months +

REPRODUCE

Small “pups” form at the base of the main trunk.

Why Grow Bananas?

Bananas are quick-growing and have many beneficial relationships within the garden. Once you know what conditions bananas thrive in, they are easy to grow.

Here are some of the many reasons to grow Bananas:

Easy to grow
Provide shade
Reduce soil erosion
Leaves used for platters and plates
Fibres for weaving
Bananas are high in potassium
Vitamins A,B and C
Great for baking
Green matter for composting and mulching gardens
Feed and bedding for animals
Banana skin fertiliser

Popular Banana Varieties

‘Ladyfinger‘– Popular backyard banana. Small sweeter fruit. Don’t turn brown once cut. Plant size 2-5m tall.

‘Gold Finger‘ – Cross between ladyfinger and Cavendish. High wind resistance. Quickest to fruit. Plant size 2-5m tall.

‘Cavendish – Williams’ – Medium-sized bananas. Popular variety. Thin peel and creamy texture. Plant size 2-5m tall.

‘Blue Java‘ – Cold tolerant variety. Known as the ice cream bananas due to the creamy texture. Plant size 2-5m tall.

‘Red Dacca‘ – Dwarf sized plant. Deep maroon-red peel when ripe. Plant size 2.5m tall.

‘Dwarf Cavendish’ – Smaller version of the Cavendish. Ideal for pots or urban gardens. Plant size 1m tall.

‘Dwarf Ducasse‘ – Dwarf sized plant. Known as the sugar banana due to sweetness. Plant size 1-2m tall.

‘DPM 25‘ – Variety of Cavendish developed to resist Panama disease. Plant size 2-5m tall.

How to Grow Bananas?

Bananas like warm, sunny, sheltered areas. Choose a full sun location with at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. Bananas can be damaged by extreme heat, so in some places like Perth, semi-shade may also work well. Bananas are grown from small plants or “pups” so check out which varieties you want to grow and visit your local nurseries. Due to the spread of diseases, there are restrictions in Australia around swapping and trading bananas. Bananas are heavy feeders, so make sure you add lots of compost and composted animal manure into your soil. Make a mound around the base so that the water drains off and the banana has plenty of food.

In permaculture design, bananas are often grown in a banana circle. This way you can add piles of compost, mulch and plant matter to break down and feed all the plants around the circle.

Papaya and root crops such as turmeric and ginger are often planted alongside the bananas to utilise the space. They are also heavy feeders, so make sure there is plenty of compost and plant matter around them. Bananas grow quickly and can be great for preventing soil erosion on sloped blocks.

When to Plant Bananas?

Plant Bananas during the warmer months of spring and summer.

Care/ Maintenance for Bananas

Banana plants are made up of a high percentage of water so they do need adequate moisture to grow. They just don’t like having soggy roots. Well-draining, fertile soil with plenty of mulch or cover crops will help retain moisture.

Bananas want all THE FOOD so regularly feeding of compost, natural fertilisers and mulch can help your bananas thrive.

The leaves will get damaged by winds and turn brown. You can cut these off and lay them at the base of the plants to return nutrients back into the soil.

Pollination/ Fruiting

Bananas send up a flower through the centre of the plant on a spike called the inflorescence. The flowers will have both male and female so you do not need multiple plants for pollination to occur. Once the bananas form, you may need to add support to the bunch to stop the weight from pulling the whole tree down. This will depend on the size and strength of the plan,t and also if you have strong winds or storms.

The small bananas will start to form facing downwards. Once they turn upwards over a few days, it may be beneficial to cover the bunch with a bag. This protects the bananas from birds, bats and other insects.

You can harvest each “hand” of bananas as they start to ripen, or you can remove the whole bunch and hang it somewhere warm and protected to ripen off the tree. I think it’s always best to let the fruit ripen on the tree, but if there are storms coming or birds have found your bunch, then it may be best to remove them.

Bananas only fruit once from each single plant. Once your bananas are ready, you can chop the entire plant down. Cut this up and add to your banana patch as mulch to break down and add nutrients back into the soil.

Pests / Disease

Bananas can be prone to diseases, and due to our high commercial crops here in Australia, there are regulations to help stop the spread of diseases. This includes only purchasing plants from trusted nurseries and not swapping and trading plants around the community.

Bananas are popular among many pests such as birds, bats, rats and fruit flies. Covering the bunch with a banana bag or a recycled plastic bag can help reduce the risk of losing your delicious crop.

How/ When to Harvest Bananas

Bananas will be ready to harvest when they:

Are light green to yellow
Have no harsh angles but are rounded and smooth
The flower remnant at the ends of each banana comes off easily
Cut the stalk with at least 20cm at the top to hold and hang
Cut the whole tree down as it will die anyway, and use for mulch
Remove the ripe bananas and hang the main bunch up somewhere cool and dark to continue ripening.
The purple blossom end is also edible. Remove the hard outer leaves to reveal the soft pale centre.

Note:

Remove the bag for hanging and ripening purposes, or they will ripen too quickly.
Ensure they are hung somewhere that pests cannot get to them.
Bananas can be picked when they are still green to use as a savoury “potato” substitute.

Reproducing Bananas

Bananas have been cultivated to have no seeds for optimum eating. The best way to reproduce bananas is to dig up the small suckers or “pups” that start growing from the base of the main stem. Look for suckers that are at least 30cm tall and have narrow sword-like leaves. The broadleaf suckers will still grow but have smaller root systems as they rely on the main plant for water. Use a sharp blade or spade to detach and dig up the side sucker.

Cooking and Using Bananas

Bananas are super versatile and can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes. The banana leaves can also be used as a substitute for baking paper to steam and infuse flavours into meals. This technique is often used for steaming fish or rice. Banana leaves also make great natural platters, plates and serving dishes. Simply compost them after!

Banana pairs well with: Citrus, Strawberry, Coconut, Papaya, Coffee, Caramel, Peanuts, Lemon, Blueberry, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Bacon, Honey, Mango, Pineapple, Guava, Vanilla, Walnut

Banana ideas:

Frozen for smoothies
Fresh in fruit salads
Banana bread
Muffins and cakes
Banana tart
Banana pancakes
Hot sauce base
Custard

Preserving the Harvest

Bananas produce in huge abundance and can ripen quicker than you can eat them. Freezing and dehydrating bananas is a quick and easy way to get the most out of your harvest. Below are a few ways to utilise your ripe bananas: