Real World Gardener Growing Bananas part 2 in The Kitchen Garden

Growing Bananas part 2 Harvesting your bananas <p>Now it's time to get down to the pointy end of growing bananas. It is really easy to grow those banan plants so don't be discouraged.</p> <ul><li>You may remember that the banana plant is actually the world’s largest herb and the stem is known as false stem or pseudo stem because it consists of compact cluster of overlapping and spirally arranged leaf sheaths.</li> <li>No bark, or cambium layer at all.</li> </ul> So what else is there to banana growing? How much fertiliser? To get your bananas ready for harvest, fertilise your banana plants well. Fertilise well with a bucket of organic fertiliser around the base every month in the warmer months. Or the permaculture way is to dig a pit right next to the trunk and put in fresh food scraps. Cover well so your chickens or rats and mice can't dig the scraps up.It does take quite a while, up to 6 months for the bananas to ripen after the fruits appear. You can take down the whole bunch, but for the home gardener, that is too many bananas that will ripen at once. <ul><li>Instead, take off a single hand at a time, and bring them into the kitchen to ripen.</li> </ul> <a href='https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eHjJX91G_pU/YNV_2sgx_lI/AAAAAAAAktY/qm4Bom7DXIUgPnyol7M4iU38GYAqFr9nQCLcBGAsYHQ/s615/growing-bananas.jpg'></a> <ul><li>Looking at the photo on the right, you can see that there are layers  or groups of bananas that make up the whole bunch.</li> <li>Each layer can consist of up to 10 or more individual bananas or 'fingers' that are connected at the same point. This layer is called a 'hand.'</li> <li>Several hands make up a banana bunch.</li> </ul> Fertilise well with a bucket of organic fertiliser around the base every month. Or the permaculture way is to dig a pit right next to the trunk and put in fresh food scraps. Cover well so your chickens or rats and mice can't dig the scraps up.   The big tip is to be patient because it can take up to 6 months before your bananas become ripe. The other tip is