Yum!

And FWIW, I wait for those ridges to smooth out more before I cut a banana stalk. They may seem smaller to you because they still had more expanding to do.

Jofus, the size of the banana is about right but they weren't ready to pick and mine in the past came in hands with a lot more bananas. Hopefully they will get more consistent with the maturity of the plant. All of mine in the past were grown in clumps. The one I got now is one I bought not a descendant of the ones I have grown since the late 80s and it is struggling I'm hoping it settles down soon. I found a local who has gros Michael and will be adding that soon. I like the taste of apple banana a lot more than Cavendish. And they are my favorite to make banana bread from. At one point I had 50+ growing at the edge of a pond. The bananas look like they are going to be tasty

Thanks Glenn, we'll be more careful chopping the next bunch off. Looking forward to tasting them just the same. Also hope to see a larger stalk and some hands on the next batch. May also copy/paste a banana bread recipe,...have never tried that but it sounds delicious !

I send you my recipe this week end

Apple bananas are my favorite. Sadly, I can't grow them here.

So nice to hear they are your favorite banana Deb. We are anxiously waiting to taste our first batch. Am lucky, the climate here is actually ideal for growing them.

I started this plantation right after moving in, - in early 2009. Have now 5 varieties growing,...Goldfingers, Ice Creams, Apples, Jamaica Reds ( no stalks yet ) and Gros Michels ( no stalks yet ). So, as you can see, we are still " getting our act together ". However, that is all the varieties there will be ! NO MAS, as we say in Costa Rica ! LOL

These guys take time and a decent amount of TLC,.. as you know,..but the joy of seeing a new, fat flag leaf popping out,..and last but not least, tasting a new variety, make the wait and TLC all worthwhile !

Yes, bananas take a lot more care than people think. They love water and fertilizer. I used to toss a handful of lawn fertilizer on mine every spring at my old house, just to get them going. Sadly, I never got any bananas, because a cold snap killed most of them and then I moved. I did manage to sell or give away the remaining plants, so hopefully, someone has gotten some Praying Hands and Million Fingers somewhere. My ex-roommate got my dwarf cavendish, so she's probably getting fruit from those by now.

I'm done with bananas. Once these Orinocos are gone, I'm going to concentrate on other kinds of fruit. If they hadn't been here when I moved in, I never would have planted them.

Hi jofus p m me