My dwarf ducasse banana has just got its first fruit on it. I would like to put a banana bag over the fruit to stop the birds, bats etc - but don't have an easy source of supply. Can I use something else - say a chook feed bag. I know I can get the banana bags through mail order - but does anyone in South East Queensland know a nursery or other retailer that sells the bags.
VB, You shouldn't need a bag for it to keep animals off un less you get it to ripen too far on the plant... Larag plantations do that to keep the sun off their bananas so that they can be harvested very young ans dhipped llong distances. If you really need bags because you have a pest problem I haven't seen before (quite possible!), using polypropylene feed bags as they are cheap and recycled would do a great job. We have bats and birds that eat the ripe fruit as it hangs in our kitchen, so we use polypor bags to protect the fruit, but we only need it after harvesting... C
So Christopher, you have to harvest your bananas green then? And then fight off the wildlife after you bring them in and let them ripen in the kitchen? :lol: ANother reason we are so blessed here in Hawaii is that you can let the bananas ripen on the plant, in the sun, no worries that anything but your (human) neighbours will steal the fruit. Well, the rats will eat a few once the bunch turns yellow and you leave it for a few days. Veggie Boy, I would think that the feed sack idea should work pretty good.
Richard, We harvest them when they are full and turning yellow, not green, so that we can cut them down without leavin half of the bananas on the ground (which the chooks would love!). We have to do this because most of the cultivars we grow are 4-7 meters tall (tall end of spectrum includes the Gros Michel and the Jamaica Red, with enormous tall pseudostems), so you need to get them down to eat them. Usually, we only get hooded warblers and various other pretty birds who come into the kitchen and nibble, which we like, but we have a lot of bats right now, so are covering the bunches up as they get ripe-ish. If wer miss a bunch, the birds love it, and we occasionally leave some just for the birds to eat. Even with our bat infestation (cats left us 10 pairs of wings downstairs, speed composting the rest of the bodies), we have too muchg banana for us to eat, so the chooks and muscovies are getting their bellies full! C
If you go to the North Pine Country Markets - Petrie Town, their is Banana seller who sells lady fingers down the back, ask him if he will sell you some bags which he uses for his organic bananas, he will bring them along to the market the following week. He is also a good source of infomation regarding growing of bananas too.
VB, try the local rural supply store, where I get my bags, they are very cheap, not worth looking for substitutes. Unfortunately the possums still get into them.