golden banana - pisang emas

We put our self into groups we call race,where as  for banana and other fauna we call variety. Pisang tanduk is a variety that produce the longest banana, sometimes reaching a foot long. Pisang emas is almost the opposite, small yet sweet.

I am yet to see how pisang emas will end up in our garden. Its Zila again, giving 5 pisang emas seedlings a few monts back.  I wonder if I will be able to see them fruiting, because by October this year, we will shift to our retirement home in Seri Iskandar.  Zila did mention about pisang emas requiring 9 months to mature.

pic 1: Banana has its own unique way of opening up new shoot

pic 2: Pisang emas

pic3: Pisang emas, young shoot with light  brown colour.
It will slowly turn green as days pass by

Pic 4: Pisang emas, light pinkish brown along stalks and stem

pic 5: This is pisang tanduk,  more greenish.

_________bangchik and kakdah_________

Pisang Tanduk, first harvest.

It started with five banana seedlings of pisang tanduk variety middle of last year, two died, and the other three survived to maturity. One plant with little banana fruits got blown down by strong wind  a month back . The other two manage to stay upright and finally bear lovely fruits. The bananas are big and long, eight altogether in a comb.  Kakdah gave a few to neighbour and friends.

BANANA:  Pisang tanduk variety.
 Four left, the rest are given away. 10th sep 2016

BANANA Pisang Tanduk variety

PISANG TANDUK 13 July 2016

PISANG TANDUK 13 July 2016

PISANG TANDUK 16 August 2016

PISANG TANDUK 30 August 2016

PISANG TANDUK 30 August 2016

PISANG TANDUK 10 September 2016, yellowish colour
is a sure sign of ripeness.

Pisang tanduk is best cooked as fried fritters
or locally known as goreng pisang.

bangchik and kakdah

Putrajaya backyard garden

Banana updates.

 a close-up of banana leaves

type: pisang ayam or chicken banana from Jertih.

banana 

at the front of the left veranda with the compound a lot greener than before.

 the two banana plants when we first planted them a month ago. 

they were then so tiny on a compound that was quite bare and red.

Banana plants (pisang ayam variety)  had been with us for about a month. They were tiny when we put them into the designated holes. The compound was red and bare then. Now things are changing, the turf  is closing up the gap and the banana plants are growing up, showing their true wide and big leaves. Generally banana takes a year to bear fruit, therefore we are looking forward to see the cool canopy soon created by banana plants and large fruits by the end of next year..

Earlier post on banana:.

• she said the name of this banana, pisang ayam.Thursday, November 18, 2010.

bangchik and kakdah
kebun di Tanah Merah Kelantan.

she said the name of this banana, pisang ayam.

I went over to Setiu, Terengganu for a program with the four wheel drive. The place was Agro Farm Resort. By 1.30pm we were already heading home.

I had been talking with Amin, the driver, about wanting to stop at any nursery  for papaya seedlings.There was a small but nice looking nursery close to Jertih,. It was a special nursery indeed because the nursery was right on the compound of the house. There was no papaya seedlings she said. Then I saw healthy looking banana plants behind her house. I just asked for a banana seedling, and she was more than happy to give three! She mentioned about the name of that banana, pisang ayam. Never heard before.

She said, those were for free. May God bless her business and soul.

the first two banana plants, in front of the balcony.

It is a bold move according to Kakdah to allow banana the vintage position

because most would grow banana somewhere at the back,

a well hidden part of the garden.

the third banana,

bangchik

tanah merah, kelantan

Banana big and tall

The two plants were little babies way back in February this year. Now they are making their presence felt, with leaves spreading far and higher than anything else in the garden. They seem to feed on the compost heap at the base.

a pair of banana plants, 9 month old pisang tanduk


I can see little seedlings appearing at the base of their trunk. I know, fruiting is coming soon.


bangchik

Hibernation of banana plants.

Hibernation.

Seeds do hibernate. Seeds must have encoded chemicals in them signaling not to germinate until the condition is favourable. The essentials for such condition includes water, sunlight, nutrients etc.. Some seeds found in the Arctic grew after an estimated 10,000 years. Some pine cones require extreme heat as in bush fire to crack open the hard seed coats. Only then seeds can germinate, otherwise they continue hibernating..

Seedlings too display such characteristic. Our extra banana seedlings are still behaving like babies and stay small whereas their friends in the open are enjoying the space and the sun, and never afraid of height.

 two big banana plants,

bitter gourds on the left are yellowing.

Small banana plants, remain as seedlings and look healthy. 
They are of the same age as those two in the first photo.
These are extra seedlings, kept just in case their friends in the open fail.

bangchik 

Banana pairing and growing

a pair of banana

variety: pisang tanduk
(notice bitter gourds on the left)

It was almost four months since I last did a post on banana [28 february 2010 Banana seedlings, another attempt.] The pair was then tiny little seedlings without leaves. Now they are happy with leaves and stems of strong plants. Banana plants love wet soil and heavy with humus. So I conveniently place dead leaves as composting material close to these plants. The compost heaps serve two purposes, first as constant supply of humus and the other as a cooling agent. I am quite sure the roots are happy with composting heap on top of them.

When they grow this big, I stop putting fertilizer . I suppose it is okey, because their long and steady roots should be able to search for their own nutrient and water.

If everything goes well, 

there should be long and 

big banana hanging by the end of the year.

That should be a lovely sight 

and definitely a tropical delight!

bangchik

Banana seedlings, another attempt.

pisang tanduk 

little baby on previous vegetable bed

 

pisang tanduk 

little baby on the ground

  

pisang tanduk

I hope it will grow and bear fruits like these.

We brought home 12 little banana seedlings recently. Ros and Din are staying in one of the residential area in Sitiawan , Perak. Rose is Kakdah's younger sister. They have three clumps of pisang tanduk, laden with fruits. Pisang tanduk is a popular banana, which is a delicacy when fried. The locals love pisang goreng as snack.

I choose two locations for them to grow in Putrajaya... the other 10 seedlings are left under the shade of papaya as reserves just in case the two fail to make it. Its going to be a year long adventure with this banana. What strike me most about this banana is that, it produces little babies only when it is fruiting, unlike our wild banana in the garden which keep on producing babies around them, forming a dense cluster.

I begin to understand their likes and dislikes after more than 2 years keeping the wild banana. They love;  fertile and wet soil,  with lots of organic matter and mulch,  steady moisture and a little bit of shade. But they hate: strong gust of wind, extreme variation of temperature and if  left alone with no other plants nearby.

Pisang tanduk is one plant at a time, whereas wild banana stays in a dense cluster, just like rhinoceros which love staying solo and  elephants in a herd.

~bangchik

The fate of the tangled third banana.

tangled up banana releasing itself.

 

crumpled and dried up portion of the leaf

 

the flower and the little fruits

I was sharing here about the third banana got tangled up with the leaf sometime ago [The third banana get entangled.] They break free now, and I don't investigate further why they got tangled up in the first place..... Yea, when a solution is arrived at, there is no point to probe further why the problem appear in the first place.....  as the  Beatles has been singing away "Let it be... let it be.... let it be..."

But I did notice the crumpled and dried up portion of the leaf that has been holding up banana flowers and fruits for a week or so. Possibly the leaf tried to have a feel what being pregnant is all about?.... huh!

~bangchik

Putrajaya, Malaysia

The third banana get entangled.

entangled [earlier]

 

entangled [later]

leaves broken...

 new baby banana plants,

the biggest is the mother.

That is going to be our third banana. This particular flower is in a very awkward situation for getting entangled inside the roll of new shoot. Earlier, the flower is maintaining its verticality. It then gets heavier, and the shoot hasn't  open up, the flower droop but still within the roll of young leaf.

I also observe, that every time a flower is appearing, the leaves will start breaking up... a general weakening up of the mother plant, ready to die, sacrificing herself for the birth of a flower and soon fruits... And the mother plant will always make sure, enough babies are created around her to continue its legacy. That's a little story about our wild banana....

~bangchik

Putrajaya, Malaysia

Wild banana second flower.

banana

second flower this year

just appear

quite hidden

with fruits

My earlier post on banana:-

1. When Bananas are blushing
2. Chopping down banana plant!
3. Our banana is flowering
4. Banana leaf wrapping the fish
5. WILD BANANA, Pisang Hutan.

When Bananas are blushing

The stems are becoming a little bit pinky lately. The outer layer, after the recent hot spell, dry up and peel off exposing the new skin, smooth and pink in color. So I was talking to Kakdah about our bananas blushing .....

The wild banana .... How three baby bananas grow and survive within a new environment since early last year... Now they are producing third generation babies ....

shining pinkish skin

the little bananas
the babies

the leaves

Earlier post on banana
1 Chopping down banana plant! ~ March 17, 2009
2 Our banana is flowering ~ April 5, 2009
3 Banana leaf wrapping the fish ~ April 26, 2009
4 WILD BANANA, Pisang Hutan. ~ May 14, 2009

Chopping down banana plant!

The banana plants (pisang) grown in our plot are wild type. Fruits are not normally eaten. We plant them because they are hardy, and the leaves and flowers can be used. We took the flowers few weeks ago, then we chopped the plant down. The leaves, the stem and the fruits were laid down for composting....

One down,
the rest still growing