banana fertilizer ?

Question

What is the best organic fertilizer to use on established bananas?
I have read that you should apply 21-0-0 on them every two months. I live in Vero Beach, FL

Answer 1

Bananas (Musa) are extremely heavy feeders. Whilst 21-0-0 (pure nitrogen) is great for vegetative growth, it is like feeding yourself only one kind of food and thus the potential for anemia exists. Like all plants, Bananas prefer a well-balanced food source. Synthetic or chemical fertilizers work quickly but also tire out the soil's health. Too much applied at one time can be disastrous. For best results, try and locate as much organic material as possible. This would include any kind of bird or bat manure or guano---I have found that chicken manure is unbeatable, but use only well decomposed as fresh will burn and disfigure leaves. Cow and horse manure are excellent also. Steer Manure contains quite a bit of Urea (ammonia, salts, and urine) but also works exceedingly well---sprinkle all amendments heavily around the plants (create a "basin" around the clump to capture more water) and water in deeply. Although bananas can survive on minimal water requirements they do best with more water than less. When planting young bananas mix copious amounts of the above with your local soil (bagged amendments are sterile and thus devoid of important bacteria required for the breakdown of organic material) and, as always, ensure good drainage. The number one, most important nutritional requirement for bananas is potassium, or potash. One excellent source is wood ash (no artificial logs or treated lumber!) and the other is Greensand---which, as its name implies, is sandlike and greenish in nature. Most garden centers now carry this although in the past it was much harder to come by. This is by far the most important fertilizer to give to bananas, but you can also add bloodmeal, sawdust, leaves (except those of Eucalyptus, Black Walnut, and Camphor as they contain poisons the trees utilize to discourage and kill competing plant life) grass clippings, bagged organic amendments, straw, eggshells, seashells (washed), any leftover vegetable matter from your meals, and especially coffee grounds. Starbucks will give you as much as you can carry away from any of their establishments and IT WORKS WONDERS! My banana plants here in Los Angeles came from parent plants that are half the height at maturity of the cuttings I planted and the coffee grounds made a HUGE difference! The grounds will also raise the pH levels, which bananas enjoy, and it also seems to enhance the decomposition process for the organic material. (Maybe it excites the bacteria!) By the way, you can never overfeed your bananas with organic material and the results will last for years! Best of luck and bananas away!

Answer 2

Nitrogen applications should be split into several dressings, ranging from intervals of 1-3 months in a relatively dry climate, to every 2-4 weeks in humid tropical areas. Urea is not recommended for dry land conditions. Potassium nitrate is very suitable for banana trees especially because it supplies both N and K in the ratio of 1:3, which perfectly corresponds to the amounts removed in the yield (see above). - See more at: http://www.haifa-group.com/knowledge_center/recommendations/fruit_trees/the_advantages_of_using_multi_k_fertilizer_for_growing_bananas.aspx#sthash.zk8UvWz0.dpuf




http://www.waterlessturf.com/

Answer 3

Banana trees love organic matter. So save all your vegetable scraps and throw them at the base of the trees, or if you have a clump of trees, toss the scraps in the midst of them. Any slow release organic product will help.

Answer 4

The bananas, apples, and so on. won't furnish incredibly foodstuff on your wood till they have decomposed (composted). Plus as already suggested, will charm to pests interior the interim. positioned them in a compost pile and save your self the fee of a blender.

Answer 5

Sorry I don't know but if you go to that nursery on US1,I can't remember what its called, between Vero and Sebastian, they could probably tell you (I'm in Melbourne)

Answer 6

I just want to make sure you know they spread like crazy!!

But great fun to grow your own.

Answer 7

try horse dung

Answer 8

ARE YOU NUTS?