How to grow your own bananas

Jerry Coleby-Williams shows us how to grow bananas successfully and we visit his own garden to see several varieties first hand.

Bananas have been cultivated for over 9000 years and Australians eat more of them than any other kinds of fruits. Savoury or sweet, bananas even come with their own wrapping, which makes them versatile and portable. However growing bananas isn’t straight forward – to start with you need to make sure your plants are legal and have come from an approved grower of certified disease-free stock. Disease control & quarantine is an issue which will impact what varieties you can grow and where, so check with your relevant state government authority, and this is especially important if you’re in an area that grows bananas commercially.

Jerry grows several varieties including ‘Ladyfinger’, ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Blue Java’ and his favourite ‘Pisang Cylan’.
Growing Conditions
- Full day sun; all day is best
- Good ventilation so that they don’t succumb to fungal diseases
- Freely drained soil, raising the bed if necessary and added
compost
- Feed every month with poultry manure – one scoop per stem per
month is a good guide
- Apply dolomite (magnesium and calcium) which is vital for cell
structure in winter and water it in
- One month later apply iron sulphate to balance the pH and
bananas love the iron
- Water at least twice a week generously or your fruit will stop
growing This works out at about 60litres per plant per week
- Restrict their growth to three suckers per plant
- Prop up fruit with bamboo poles if necessary to support their
weight
- Remove the other suckers after fruiting, cutting them into
manageable pieces with a pruning saw and digging up the base
with a spade.

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