How To Grow Your Own Bananas In Florida

Bananas love to grow in the South Florida environment, with hot sun, rain, and all that humidity. But one word of advice, before you decide to grow your own bananas you need to know that these trees will wreck part of your yard. This is not some pretty little setup for your front yard. I grow mine in the back yard, behind the pool, and have successfully for 14 years.

There are several different kinds of trees, but after some research, and a lot of tasty success, I'm recommending the ones known as "ice cream". They're small, full of flavor, and have a creamy vanilla flavor. And because I live near Fort Myers I can tell you they grow very well down here. Here's a link to check on the prices - BUT ONLY BUY ONE! Unless you somehow kill it off, that's all you need. Banana trees 'pup', that is, an offshoot will grow from the base of the tree into a whole new tree. Look at the picture above and you'll how they do it.

As for what to do with that, we'll get to that in a bit.

I knew absolutely nothing about growing bananas when I planted that first tree 14 years ago, so I'll share what I've learned so you can get a head start. The first step to grow your own bananas in Florida is to get a tree. Either buy one, or if you live near Estero Florida, I can give you one. I mentioned earlier that bananas 'pup', they grow a new tree from the base of an existing tree. I quickly realized they pup quite often and produce more trees than I wanted. So I share.

First up, don't buy fertilizer or buy any special products. Dig a hole, put some topsoil in there (or don't), and plant it where it'll get a lot of sun and a lot of water. I have a perfect section in the back of my house where the trees get lots of sun + during winter both my sprinklers and the neighbor's sprinklers hit the trees.

That's about how big the trees are when you get started. I gave those two to our friends who now have a full blown banana plantation. You can also take the pups and move them away from the parent tree and replant them so they have more room. When you grow your own bananas you'll want multiple trees for a reason I'll get to shortly.

Anyways, plant the tree where it's going to get sun and water and then basically do nothing for the next 18 months. If you want, you can trim away dead leaves to keep them nicer looking. Also, don't be afraid to chop off the occasional banana leaf for cooking. Get some fresh fish, wrap it in a leaf and then cook it on the grill away from the direct heat. It steams in the flavor. Probably the best grouper I've ever had. Here's what you'll be looking for next:

It'll look like another leaf when it first emerges, but it's more red. Then you'll notice a pod forming. That's the beginning of your bananas. Make a note, you are now 90 days until harvest. At this point, don't do any pruning or taking any leaves for cooking. You'll want all of the tree's energy to go towards this pod. If, for some reason, you forgot to note the date, see the image at the top with Sheila. I took that picture right before harvest. Here it is on the ground.

Get your machete, here's where the work comes in. The stem will seep some ugly brown sap, so I always place it on some cardboard so I don't stain my deck. Secondly, the red part on the end - you can cook with that. My next door neighbors are Vietnamese so I give it to them because Grandma knows what to do. You should always share with your neighbors.

And third is the sweaty part. These trees only produce once, so you'll want to chop them down after the harvest. That's right, after you get the bananas, it's time to chop down the tree.

Use a machete, the fibers in the trunk will clog a chainsaw. For the stump, I chop it up and leave pieces in the soil to help feed the rest of the trees. This is a bit messy, so wear some old clothes.

Use a knife to separate the bananas into bunches. It'll take a week or so before they start to ripen but when they do - they all get ripe all at once. Remember, these things aren't covered in preservatives like the ones in the stores so they go from ripe to black in a couple of days. It's always more than I can deal with so I give bunches to neighbors and friends.

Fun, huh? Yes it's a little bit of work, but these things are so good - nothing like the ones you get in the store. And one thing to remember here in Florida - fruit is a tradeable commodity. I've tried freezing these bananas and it doesn't really work, so I trade bananas for future considerations on mangoes. Or avocados. Although I won't have fresh bananas until September, I've still got bags full of mangoes all prepared and ready in the freezer. Have you ever made a mango margarita with mangoes from Cape Coral? Amazing.

For a truly enjoyable experience, try freezing one of these little bananas and giving it to your dog.

Bugs. Spiders sometimes like to grow webs attached to them, but there is one bug you'll see for sure. Because of the high water content, as you chop down the tree you'll notice that it will be full of big ants. Just step back for a minute and let them run off. Now, here's a list of the things you really want to avoid.

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