Bananas

[chris]

the banana man strikes again:D

since i have been stripped of my opportunity to have any pekin robins or masked weavers for my 18th, i've gone a bit nutty on the other thing i do best... grow bananas!!! so last night i decided to write up a 'Birthday list' for my parents which nearly gave them a heart attack when they saw how long it was:lol: , fortunately the majority are various banana seeds that i wish to try out, and the daddy present is a large propagator 1.3m long, by 0.6m high by around 0.45 m (i think) with a heat mat and thermostat which is perfect to germinate the 130 banana seeds on my list:D

i will be trying out at least one of each of the banana plants in my aviary next year, some will be fairly large others small and will post the results later on next year. the plant in there at the moment is thriving despite my canaries best attempts at eating it. at one point it only had the one leaf however it's grown them all back since and has multiple suckers growing around the base wich i will be potting up tommorrow just incase the winter gets the 'big un'.

for your ammusement, here's the list that nearly sent my parents to an early grave:

1x Musa Itinerans Giant Yunnan (12m+ tall, half a meter trunk... my favourite lol) seeds
1x Musa Paradisiaca seeds
1x Musa Sp 'burmese blue' seeds
1x Musa Rubina seeds
1x Musa thomsonii (thomsons Banana) seeds
1x Musa sikkimensis seeds
1x Musa Velutina (Pink banana) seeds
1x Musa Zebrina (Blood banana) seeds
1x Musa coccinea (Red Banana) seeds
1x Musa itinerans (yunnan banana) seeds

1x Ensete ventrcosum (abyssinian banana) seeds
1x Ensete Glaucum (snow banana) seeds

1x Ensete Maurelli (this one comes as a plant not seed like the others)

Biogreen Jumbo Propagator
banana book
Frost Gurad 80 (heating cables)


quite a list lol, but doesn't come to that much when you add it up. hopefully this will put them off denying me a pair of pekins or masked weavers next year

Chris;)

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris

good luck, i have grown many in past years though sadly i have now either sold all the plants i grew or have lost them, they are really funny and easy to grow, the best ones i have grown, i obtained when i was in America, i'm not sure what varieties there were, but the seeds were huge!

matthew

[laurab]

Well done Chris! You may get the birds you wanted after all :razz: :razz:

Have you noticed that the adverts on here are nearly always relevant to the topic of conversation?

[chris]

Hi Laura,

i think i missed the advert:???:

Matthew,

i'm gonna pick your brains now matey:-) ,

1) did you get the banana plants to fruit, and what size and how old were they when they did this?

2)did you ever grow the Giant Yunnan Banana? as this one's on the list i have and i can't for the life of me think how to keep it in the shade with how big it's going to get!

3) when germinating the seeds, do they require a specific temperature and humidity etc.? i've got the idea they need to be kept in the regions of 30'C to germinate from somewhere and can't for the life of me think where

4) did you get much for them when selling them on and was it worth it? as i am thinking of growing a few varieties and selling on the majority of the plants i grow. those that throw suckers i will cut off and propogate so i don't need to keep buying seeds. others i will either buy seeds or try to grow a few to fruiting size and collect the seeds from the fuit (hopefully they will flower and cross pollinate)

Chris:wink:

[laurab]

Hi Chris


the adverts are just under John Wrenne/Savannah Designs banner at the top of this thread. ;-)

[chris]

Hi Laura,

i see em:grin: i think i'l have a browse at what's on offer then. more banana seeds hehehe:twisted:
does anyone know how much it will cost me for my own eden project cos at this rate i think i'll need one:lol:

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris.

i cannot tell you the variaties i have grown but the ones that did well, were i believe giant as the seeds were an inch in diameter.

as for fruit i hope you are patient as i'm not sure how long it takes but i have mine around 4 or 5 years and none, its only the mature plants that will fruit so my guess is about ten years probabily more, it all depends on the conditions they are grown in. if grown in optimum conditions, which varys somewhat for bananas, then obviously they may flower sooner.

you must soak the seeds for 24 hours in luke warm water, to soften the testa, and allow the cotyledons to emerge.

i found the varieties that i grow were not that light sensetive, i germinated then in multi-purpose peat, on top of the cuboard in the utility room, where the boiler is. so this kept them i would guess at around 25 to 30 deg.C. i sealed the seed tray in a polythene bag which raised the humidity.
i cannot really remeber how long it took, but i think about 2 week. after germination i removed the polythene bag and but them on the windowsill.
after a week or so i potted them into individual containers, again in full sun.

when i sold them they had a 30-45cm trunk with huge leaves, i sold them at a car boot so they went for a few quid. i regret it now.

if you go to the jungle gardens website they sell them allot more.

the dreaded B&Q where selling some very mature musa near me for £9.99, very sheap there stem was a good 3 inches wide and had tonnes of offsets.

if you are looking for banana plants then go round the garden centre i picked mine up at one of the branches of my garden centre, for a very good price, and its has a thick trunk and offsets.
i has the chance to buy aroun 5 musa at £2.00 each at my garden centre but never bothered, i forget the variety, but it had very striking leaves.

Chris you have given me the bug again, i am going to get some seeds, what varieties have you got, and i will gett some growing and, maybe we could do a swop at stafford?

by the time yours have flowered and successfully set seed you will be down under, (in Australia, not dead, i am told there is a few differences)

matthew

[Waxbillman]

i forgot to mention

when you soak them in luke warm water the ones that float are dead the ones that sink are alive, this rule is for the larger seeds, though i think is applies for the smaller ones, but have not grown them before.

matthew

[Waxbillman]

i have just, viewed e-bay

those dwarf bananas were what we were selling.
thought they are dwarf 2 years to get fruit!!! i very much doubt that, 5 years maybe for summut of that size, would be worth a try though.
it'll cost around £5 inc. del. for one plant 10com tall!! thats costly, more rewarding if you frow your own.

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

the plant i have at the moment is Musa Acuminata, Cavendishi Dwarf. this was from B&Q and is a nice healthy plant. apparently they fruit at around 7 foot tall, which it could well reach by the end of next year if i can keep the main trunk alive over winter. it had 6 suckers growing around the base of the plant which i cut off and potted yeasterday, these are from 3 to 6 inches tall and i now have them overwintering in my bedroom.

apparently the pink banana will flower and even fruit in it's first year provided you can grow it big enough and they are germinated early in the year, so if i get my seeds now i might be in with a chance for next year.

the seeds i am getting are from Jungle Gardens (jungle seeds) as you mentioned, as is the propagator and everything else. i will also be getting a 3 litre Ensete Maurelli (sp?) which is a banana but not a fruiting one, thios should be around 4' tall when i get it, and should easily reach 8' by the end of next year. ultimately they can get a trunk upto 3' in diameter:neutral:

anyway, gota go the bell has just gone!

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

sounds great Chris.

good luck with them all, i got one or two suckers as well so i think i am going to do the same today.

matthew

[Waxbillman]

well i've cut off two off-sets from my banana plant today, one is huge, and one is small, i have put them under the heated propagater in the greenhouse and i have misted them to keep the humidity up, i hope they both take, though mu feeling is that the larger of the two won't make it as neither of them have any roots which offsets can often have.

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

in a way i'm glad that you've just said that neither have roots, as out of the 6 suckers i cut off yesterday only 2 had roots and they weren't very big either. i dipped the other plants in some hormone rooting powder and am keeping them warm and the soil damp, one has a polythene bag over it to keep up the humidity as the leaves were a bit on the soft side, the other 5 seem fine however. i reckon the 2 with roots should be fine, but time will tell with the other 4

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

they sure will,

i never use rooting hormones myself, though it is usefull stuff, well 5% anyway the other 95% is talkon powder.

i suspect, the they will root very easily due to the soft tissue, however this time of the year is not brilliant for it. at the moment its ok though.
i checked mine in the propagator and both are strong and not wilting, so fingers crossed.
i read it actually benefits the fruiting of the banana plant by removing all the off-sets, makes sense really its like pinching out the side-shoots on tomatoes to save the plant energy.

theres some good banana seeds on jungle seeds, that one with purple/red leaves look great.

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

would the one with the red leaves be Musa Zebrina by any chance?:grin:
or possibly Ensete Maurelii?

i agree about the rooting powder, i tend to use just bottles of water and site the cuttings in them which has worked suprisingly well in the past. if you take a look at Jungle Gardens, they now sell some new products for cuttings etc., seems really interesting stuff:

http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/HardwareOrders/enter.html

under growth technology propogation equipment

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

yeh, Musa zebrina, a grande looking plant something that i would grow and sell on, as they look very delicate. i might have a shout though.

they do sell some good products on there, but you would have to be very keen to get all that.

i only take softwood cuttings mainly pelargoniums and the like which root very well.

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

i have a tray of 30 passionflower cutting that i took a few weeks ago in a propagator, the worrying thing is just about all of em seem to be growing:shock: ah well, that's what i get when i can't bear to waste all of the vine i cut back. plenty of plants for my aviary next year eh:lol: .

one of the other bananas i'm looking forward to growing is the pink banana, not only are they fairly small (for a banana anyway) only reaching 5 foot or so, but they could possibly flower in the first year with great pink flowers on them, and then to top it off they get pink fluffy bananas!!!! not that i like pink and fluffy things.... but when it's a fruit it's kinda interesting

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

:lol: pink fluffy bananaman!! :lol: i saw that too, looks very interesting if a little girly, one for you to grown Laura!

i think i may order some of the musa zebrina,

passion flower does root easily which variety is it?

matthew

[chris]

god i knew i was setting myself up for that!:lol:

erm, passionflowers... it's the common hardy one you see at gardencentres. i did have a red flowering one last year but the frost got it. i would like totry out a few of the different passiflora that jungle seeds have to offer however i think 130 banana seeds is more than enough for now



Chris:wink:

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

are you suggesting that laura grows a pink fluffy bananaman?:neutral:

Chris:lol: :roll:

[Waxbillman]

:lol: you'll have to ask her that your self, you never know what these Devon folk get upto.

there is some nice varities my Grandma had the all purple one for a few year on the patio, it even fruited.

matthew

[nigel]

Hi all,
I have a convert to bird keeping at work and he is designing an aviary, he is planning to have the flight floor part grass part soil for planting, can anyone tell me if there are any problems with going down this route with regard to hygiene the flight will partially be protected from the rain.

Nigel

[Waxbillman]

hello Nigal

there is possible problems yes, but if he take precautions there shouldn't be too many problems.

i have always had aviaries with earth floors as have many other people.

one of the problems is it can allow mice and rats to tunnel under, they can spread disease, steal eggs and kill chicks, the rats anyway.
but dig a 30cm or deeper trench all around the structure, and fill in with concrte this should prevent many from tunneling in.
also plant the necessary plants first then mesh round them, and lay turf or more soil on tope that will be fine.

make sure the soild used/plants have not been messed up by wildbirds as they would spread disease and may be give them worms.
soil may also harbout worms, so at the end of the year/start of the year take precautions.

the great thing about earth floors is that they are often loaded with insects a free source of livefood that many birds will benefit from, especially finches.

finally good luck to him, and tell him about this site. what birds is he looking into getting?

matthew

[chris]

finally some good news on my part for once, i am 'allowed' the list i've posted earlier as a birthday present. although i'll have to alter some of the seeds as the giant banana is no longer sold.

matthew, i'll let you know what plants and seeds i decide to give a try

Chris:grin:

[Waxbillman]

cheers Chris

matthew

[jimmy]

Chris "i saw it first"
Matthew "Its mine"
Chris "I'll knock down yer mum & dads castle down"
Matthew "i'll tell yer mum & dad wot you've been saying about them on here"
Chris "share it wiv me mate :wink: "

http://www.feathered-friends.co.uk/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=162&stc=1

[nigel]

Thanks Matthew,
Will pass on the info, at the moment he has only got a couple of gouldan's but when he has the aviary built I think he is looking at canaries and other finches, will there be any problems with mixing the gouldan's with other birdsand during winter ?

Nigel

[chris]

Hi Jimmy,

dare i ask which skull is me and which is matthew. i get a feeling i'll end up as the baboon if that's what it is:lol: :roll:

Chris

[Waxbillman]

:lol: Jimmy, how long did it take you to find that?
Chris don't worry the monkeys skull is probabily going to be mine

Nigel

Gauldians are not the best birds to house in an outdoor flight during the winter as they are quite delicate birds.

they should really be indoors in a warm draught free place. other birds such as the canaries are perfectly hardy, depends what finches he wants, the commer one such as zebra's and bengalese are also hardy but still best to provide a shelter for them indoors.

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

the list is as follows:

Musa Paradisca
Musa Sp 'burmese blue'
Musa Rubinea
Musa Thomsonii
Musa Sikkimensis
Musa Velutina
Musa Zebrina
Musa Coccinea
Musa Itinerans
Musa Balbisiana X
Ensete Ventricosum
Musella Lasiocarpa
Musa Cheesmani
Ensete Glaucum
Musa Ornata
Musa Mannii
Ensete Superbum

these are the seeds, comes to 180 seeds in total so that will keep me busy for the bulk of the year! infact it's every possible banana available as seed through the jungle seeds catalouge!

then my 2nd favouite (they no longer sell the giant one)

Ensete Maurelii, this comes as a plant and i think it's around 4 foot tall when delivered:

http://www.junglegardens.co.uk/PlantOrders/contents/media/l_Maurellii5LI.jpg

not that it stays that small:grin:

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

:) great, what a list you have there!


matthew

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris

you have set me a challenge now,

i am going to find any other banana varieties and grow them.

i have ordered 5 seeds of the giant banana you were talking about, i found them on this site http://exotic-gardening.co.uk/Shop/Musa/musa_a_p.htm

matthew

[jimmy]

Hi Matthew,

This is one i grew earlier :razz:

http://www.feathered-friends.co.uk/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=164&stc=1

[jimmy]

Forget to mention.

This will last your birds ages :wink:

[Waxbillman]

:lol: thats a big bugger

[laurab]

Mmmm........!!!:razz:

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

good luck with the seeds mate, when i was in touch with jungle seeds via e-mail they told me that they no longer do those seeds as they were far too difficult to germinate. that's quite a contrast to what is said on the link provided:? . anyway, you'll find out soon enough!

what do you reckon about crossing Musa Paradisiaca with Musa sikkimensis? this is something i'll give a go if i ever get any to grow and flower, as musa paradisiaca has been used to produce many of the infertile edible bananas of today by hybridising. hopefully the same thing can be achieved by a cross with Musa Sikkimensis, but the advantage would be that the later is frost hardy to minus 10'C, so might even produce a hardy edible banana

anyway, enough of my crazy ideas that will take years to find out if they work lol

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

:lol: good luck chris, what will you do with all the young banana plants?


don't worry chris by the time some of them have flowered you'll probabily be in australia.
it would be interesting to see the hardy-ness of the successful crossing, however i think with many tender plants its more the cold and damp that kills them.

matthew

[chris]

i don't have a clue, i'm still trying to work out how i'm going to get 180 seedlings in one propagator:grin: maybe those little round discs you can buy that swell up with water will work to save space at first?

Chris

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

When you have worked out how to house and grow your Bananas, please don't forget there's a bloke in Dorset who would be more than happy to buy a few from you at the Spring Stafford Sale.:grin:

Paul.:wink:

[Waxbillman]

thats a good idea Chris, they call them jiffy 7's i think, you'd have to get the larger sizes for some of the seeds.

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

thanks for that, whatever i do choose i need 180 of em:shock:

Paul,

i'll keep a pink fluffy banana with your name on it matey:lol: :grin:

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

That wasn't my intention, but I guess beggars can't be choosers?:lol:

Paul.:grin:

[chris]

Hi Paul,

no worries mate, i'll let you know what i have available if any grow. they won't be particularly big for spring stafford so will need growing on for a few months before going into the aviary (if that's what you intend)

the one i bought at 1' tall was only 6 months old so they do grow very fast, reaching upto 4' or more by the end of the year.

by the way, i have a large elephant grass with your name on it, it's done quite a bit of growing since i potted it up. and a few (60:grin: ) dwarf bamboo plants which are on a go slow for the growing at the moment. also 30 passion flower cuttings if you want a plant or 10 as they all seem to be growing!

i'll be opening a gardencentre at this rate:lol:

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Nice one mate, my cheeky request paid off,:lol: and thanks for hanging onto the Elephant Grass for me too.:wink:
Your a Diamond Geezer!:grin:

Since we are always on the name finding trail, how about Banana Mans Nurseries, for your newly opening Garden Centre?

Paul.:wink:

[chris]

what about,

Gingerboy's Nurseries, buy a plant or tree.....:lol: :roll:

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I think your errm, your err, your sexual leanings may come into question?:shock: Not that I have a problem of course, but your Girlfriend may worry about any future you two may, or may not have?:lol:

Paul.:grin:

[laurab]

I have several small (6" high) bamboos' in pots in the garden, should I protect them over the winter months?

[chris]

Hi Paul,

??:? :neutral:

Chris

[Waxbillman]

hello Laura

most bambo are hardy, so you should be fine, especially you living in the south

if they have been out all year they should have hardened off.

matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Gingerboys? Ginger Beer Que..?

Paul.:wink:

[chris]

Hi Paul,

i didn't realise my name has so many meanings:lol: definately nothing to worry about, i'm straighter than a ruler:wink:

Chris:lol:

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris

i decided to take and look at my 2 banana cuttings in the greenhouse, the largest one has started rooting already!!

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

your doing better than me then, mine are dying!!! hopefully it's just a temporary set back and they'll re-grow from the roots.

Chris:wink:

[Pyxel]

I am very sorry to hear that Chris, you and your Banana's will be in my thoughts and prayers. :(

RIP Banana plants. :wink:

[Waxbillman]

if they seem to be dying, take a leaf or two off to stop them losing moisture,

i put mine in a heated propagater, in a insulated greenhouse, and i have misted them every morning to prevent them losing moisture, the smallest one hasn't root though - yet i thought that would be the first to root.

matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

if they had many/any leaves left i'd gladly cut a few off:lol: . i think the problem is is that i forgot to place a polythene bag over all of the plants to keep the humidity up, which is what your propagator will be doing for your plants, ah well when my giant propagator arrives next monday/tuesday i'll be sorted:wink:

Pyxel,

our banana, who art in banana heaven, hallowed be thy leaf.
thy propagator come, thy seed be sown, on earth as it is in banana heaven.
Give us this day our daily banana.
Forgive us our pruning, as we forgive those that trim against us.
And seed us not into compost, but deliver us from weevil

abananamen

Chris:sad:

[Waxbillman]

:lol: A men to that! Chris


Matthew

[Pyxel]

LMAO! Amen Chris... :grin: :wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I love it mate, yet again you have proven to be a grade A nutter.:grin:

Man that has got to be one of the top ten posts I have ever read, pure Banana Man genius!!!:lol:

When I read your post I laughed my fat man boobies off.:lol:

Paul.:lol:

[chris]

Hi Paul,

i did think of a few ways it could have been better this morning, but too late now:grin: i think part of it involved:
'in Perth, as it is in Devon' instead of 'on earth as it is in heaven':lol:

i'm not going to be topping that post any time soon anyway:wink:

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Chris,

I don't think anyone will be topping that post in a very long time, pure art mate!!:lol:

Paul.:wink:

[chris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Chris:grin:

[chris]

Hi all,

i should be getting my delivery of 180 banana seeds, 1 plant, a propagator, heating cables, and a book:shock: tommorrow. my next purchase will be a dome 10 times bigger than the eden project and a small chunk of rainforest:shock: :lol: :lol:

Chris

[Waxbillman]

:lol: great, i bet you can't wait.

what type of propagater is it?

where are all these plants going?

Matthew

[chris]

Hi all,

the delivery came this morning and everything is there. it's a biogreen jumbo propagator measuring 130cm long, 60cm wide and 5cm tall, with a thermostat from 0-40'C. all i need to get now is a full spectrum light from the local aquatics shop and i'm away!

i'm not exactly sure where all these plants are going to go, i reckon i'll sell half, then split the rest between my aviary and the rest of the garden

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

thats a big bugger!

you seem to be going into it seriously, even i, a qualified horticulterist don't have lighting for my plants.

the propagater sounds fantastic for generimating anything,

have you thought where you will over winter all these plants?

also you will need a couple of monkey in a few years to eat all those bananas.

put them on ebay and sell them for a few quid each depending on the size of them, and you could make a killing!!

are you still going to use jiffy-7's to germinate them in?

good luck anyway let us know when the germinate and that.

have you thought of how you will harden them off, my propagater is about 20cm high so it allows plant not only to germinate but to, grow there for a few months.

Matthew

[chris]

Hi matthew,

hardening em off will be the easy bit, just gradually reduce the temperature setting on the propagator over about 6 weeks to be safe, while opening up the propagator to reduce humidity toward the end of the 6 week period. as for overwintering, we have a greenhouse i can use, the propagator itself will hold a few smaller ones, i can bring a few indoors, and i think my dad is planning on a very large greenhouse sometime next year.. so i will be making full use of that also:grin:

i will still be using jiffy 7's and hope to get some in the week, but if i can't find any i reckon the propagator is big enough to handle a few hundred small 3inch pots:-)

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

sounds great Chris,

if i ever get a larger greenhouse i have though about meshing it all, and having a collection of very exotic birds in it.

Matthew

[chris]

Hi matthew,

i think my dad has the same idea, the only difference being we intend to keep tropical butterflies and moths. i know the Owl butterfly larvae feed exclusively on banana plants, and are lovely large butterflies when they emerge so i might give that a go in the future

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris

i remember you saying a while back about that, sounds great.

i would love to have some of those moths, i have forgotten the name but the biggest one in the world, i have seen them on the TV, they are amazing they don't look real.

Matthew

[chris]

would that be the Giant Atlas moth? or possibly the madagascan moon moth?

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris

yeh they both sound familiar, i think the first one was the one i was thinking of.

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Never mind the Atlas Moths mate, I have some of the slightly smaller Species Street Map Moths:roll:.
How much are these Banana Plants going to cost me next year?:grin:
It sounds to me that you are going to be looking at getting some money back from this expert set up you have just had delivered.:wink:

Paul.

[chris]

Hi matthew, one madagascan moon moth:

http://www.wwb.co.uk/images/catalogue2/11f.jpg

don't be fooled, those tails can be 12 inches long:shock:

and one giant atlas moth:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40428000/jpg/_40428099_moth220x300ap.jpg

[chris]

Hi paul,

i wouldn't have thought more than a couple of quid each, it really depends how big they grow, and how much they cost me in fertilizer and compost.

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

wow, there big buggers!!

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I agree with Matthew, they are rather large!

OK I give in, I am now a converted Moth breeder, all I have to ask is this, do you AR members have a Moth Flu you can take advantage of in killing yet another hobby?

Paul.

[chris]

Hi Paul,

there probably is, i know of a few moth and butterfly related diseases, but nothing harmfull to us, or our native species.

is anyone up for a bit of genetic engineering, i plan to cross rabies with human flu, and add a bit of AR DNA in there somewhere, then unleash this new AR only disease on to world. 28 days later... all dead:grin: , well AR anyway

Chris:lol:

[Waxbillman]

:lol: has to be worth a try Chris


Matthew

[kenny]

hi chris

the sooner you make that up the better it will for us bird breeders mate send me some when you have made it

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Ouch!!

This subject is getting rather hot,:roll: but on a lighter note, the Girl with the Atlas Moth seems to be sporting a very unusual beard.:grin:

Paul.

[chris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Chris:wink:

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

while i was taking the shots of the weavers i looked at the popagator and though 'what the hell!?' by the way it's sitting otop of a 6 foot vivarium under construction, so you get the idea how big it is lol

there's 40 3inch pots in there at the moment, around about half full but can get loads more in there yet. the bit of a grill is to raise the one set of seeds overnight to cool them slightly before placing them back on the heat in the morning... something to do with breaking the dormancy

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

Chris

wow, that no propagater that a ******* polytunnel!! :)

looks like you will be able to grow many things in there.

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Kin'ell matey that is one huge Mother!!! But I don't think it was wise to post the pics mate, I think someone will stumble across the Forum and inform Kew Gardens where their missing Propagator is.:lol:

And yes Matthew, he probably could grow many things in there but I don't think it is very clever to put ideas into Chris's head, like putting Columbia out of business.:shock: :lol:

Paul.:grin:

[chris]

Hi Paul,

i've already done that mate, all be it by accident. well to put a long story short, i found it in the aviary, went to get the shovel , came back and the greenfich had ate it.... anyway he was happy enough:lol:

Chris:lol:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Class A nutter as usual!!:lol:

Paul.:grin:

[chris]

Hi All,

i have my first banana seedling growing now:grin: 1 out of 40, but they have a 2 month dormany period which i need to break before they germnate anyway, this one just seems to have jumped the gun a bit. the rest should be growing around Christmas time. First step accomplished, all i need to do now is prevent it from damping off in the propagator

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Congratulations Chris,

So it looks as though your Birthday present is also going to give you a great Christmas present too!:grin:

That should save your parents a few quid, there's no need for them to buy you a Christmas prezzie.:lol:
Paul.;-)

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris

weldone mate, hopefully first of many there.

Matthew

[dave85]

hey chris,

if your successful with all of them will you be parting with any?

Congrats on your achievement.

Thanks
Dave

[chris]

make that 4 plants now:-D

Dave i will be selling off the majority of them as i reckon i might be able to make a few bob out of growing them and selling them on. however i will keep at least one of each species that i grow.

Paul, don't get giving my parents ideas mate:lol:

Chris;)

[dave85]

how much a plant will they be bud?

Dave

[PAUL HEARN]

:lol: G'day Chris,

I wouldn't do that to you mate, (by the way who keeps playing around with the emoticons:roll: ), I'm not going to upset the biggest producer of Banana Plants in the UK now am I.:grin:
One word of advice though, keep more than one of each mate, or else when one of yours dies I've got to arrange to send one back from Dorset to the Midlands!!

It looks as though you have a new customer too, Dave!!

Paul.;)

[chris]

Hi Dave,

i have absolutely no idea mate, a 6 month old edible banana plant (musa acuminata, dwarf cavendish) from B&Q costs £10, and they are about 12-18 inches high. this should give you an idea of the price (less than that obviously) and how fast they grow. the bigger the plant though the more it'll cost, i'll probably base my prices on what i'm offered by any garden centres.

Paul, good point, also if they flower i'll need more than one plant to cross pollinate to get seeds (which i intend to try)

Chris;-)

[Waxbillman]

B&Q chris!!! don't get me started on those ....stards the growers of that banana plant would have recieved very little for them.

Matthew

[chris]

i must be doing something right as i have 6 of em growing now, only 34 to go:lol:

Chris

[laurab]

I have received a Jungle Seeds Catalogue this week.......how do I break it to Roger that I want a greenhouse :???: :razz:

[chris]

Hi Laura,

my tactic would be to slip a few pints his way, then when he's suitably drunk pop the question. make sure you get the answer on a video recording so ther's no going back:twisted: :lol:

sorry roger:grin:

i think we might be going for a bigger greenhouse soon, i can't think of the make at the moment, rhino or sommat i think. like an aviary, go for the biggest you can as if you get a small one you'll only want a bigger one, especially with all the plants in the jungle seeds catalouge.

on the topic of jungleseeds, they sell papyrus reeds and elephant grass, also sugar cane. i can see potential uses for these in a weaver aviary........... i'm sure napoleon weavers actually nest in papyrus reeds in the wild in africa

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

chris is right on this one the bigger the better, i have a 6ft lean-to and an 8 by 6 they are both full. during the growing season i use the greenhouses at work, hundreds of square feet of it !!!
what plants are you thinking of growing Laura?

Matthew

[laurab]

I haven't thought that far ahead yet Matthew:razz:

[Waxbillman]

don't worry Laura you soon will ;) you'll be like me and chris soon, both green and feathered fingered

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

how do you know about my green, featherey fingers problem?:lol:

Laura,

there's quite a lot of choice in the jungle seeds catalouge, the banana's seem quite easy to grow but you will need a heated propagator & thermostat for em. i've gotta say the tropical fruit section is very tempting to try out, and also the bat plant/bat flower that's one weird looking plant!

Chris;)

[Waxbillman]

:lol: chris i can tell the type.

my banana seeds have finally arrived :D they also sent me 2 cycad seeds free.

Matthew

[kenny]

my god you have more jam than hartleys are you bribing all these people mr guest


ken

[Waxbillman]

:-D not me, i have my ways of getting free stuff.


Matthew

[kenny]

how so,do tell

[Waxbillman]

come on Ken

your a fellow Yorkshire man too, use you imagination. ;)

Matthew

[chris]

Hi All,

currently on 8 banana plants/seedlings. the biggest is around 12" tall, maybe a bit shorter, not bad for 2 weeks or so growth!

no signs of any more growing yet, but there's stil plenty of time, i'll try to get a photo of the biggest at least, the rate they are growing at is silly!

Chris;-)

[Waxbillman]

hello Chris

well done mate, what the dickens are you feeding them?

Matthew

[chris]

not much,

just boiled and cooled water, and baby bio every now and then. i really need to get a stronger light on em, but they seem to be growing fine with the current light from the window and the 2 tubes in the shed. i will be moving the propagator into the greenhouse at some point to increase the light level, only thing stopping me is that i will need a thicker peice of polystyrene to go under the heat mat

Chris;-)

[Waxbillman]

you have to get some then.

what variety is it that has grown so fast?

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

Ensete ventricosum, the abysinnian banana. 5 out of the 10 seeds for this variety have germinated and are growing, the other 3 are Ensete glaucum the snow banana, which is potentially bigger but just doesn't seem to grow as fast. i fear the plants may have got chilled as they are more toward the centre of the propagator where i open it to water.

both varieties grow to 20ft+ so if they keep up at this rate i might have a problem. then again at this rate when i come to sell them they'll be huge and hopefully have a higher price tag:lol: i'll just have to see what i get offered by the garden centre

Chris;)

[Waxbillman]

too right Chris

rake the money in.

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Congratulations mate,;-) but I hope you realise now that you will never lose the name of Bananaman (on this Forum at least:lol: ), I guess these Plants are way out of my price range by the time we get to meet.:roll:

Paul.;-)

[chris]

Hi Paul,

who said i'd was charging you and matt? the elephant grass isn't costing anything so why should the banana:)

Chris;-)

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Elephant Grass may increase in size over each season allowing the root to be split with very little fuss in producing one or more new Plants.
But you have spent a lot of time and effort in producing the Banana Plants you have right now, I wouldn't dream of accepting a Banana Plant you have grown on for free!

I have decided that your offer is way too generous regarding the Banana Plant, so I insist on paying you for the Banana Plant, I know I'm being far too generous, but how does 50 pence go toward growing more Plants?

Paul.:lol:

[kenny]

hi paul
reign yourself in there mate you wont have any spending money for christmas at that rate

ken:lol:

[chris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

i think the pot cost more than that:lol:

Chris

[laurab]

Paul, you're gonna give us Dorset folk a bad reputation :evil: Oh no, it's ok, I've just remembered, your not from Dorset are you ;)

[kenny]

hi chris
cheapskate aint in it

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello all,

I hope you all realise my previous offer was tongue in cheek and that I'm more than willing to double my offer at least.:lol:

Seriously Chris, you are way too generous mate in offering me a Banana Plant for free,;) whatever the Garden Centres offer you, I will match the price, plus a bit extra!!

Who knows, you may be set up for taking on a few Tri-Coloured Dart Frogs when we meet at last?:-D

Paul.;)

[bigal47]

Hi Chris
How the banana business do's fifes have to worry yet??
I went to a local banana growing plantation out here last week and was supprised that the fruit were grown in large paper bags so to protect them from the fruit bats and birds they are a problem out here, usually the cockatoos if let at the fruit will distroy a whole field in a night. Some of the plants grow high and need ladders to pick the bananas. The fruit are a sweeter shorter variety than usually seen in the shops but the market you can buy them by the stem at about $1.00 a kilo. Are your plants hardy out door plants or indoor plants. if out door plants they should grow in the Corwall area as on Tresco thats just off the coast they grow.
Allan

[chris]

Hi Allan,

most of the banans i grow are indoor plants, all are ornamental/wild types with seeds and only a few are edible. Although one or two are edible when ripe/cooked. i think about 5 of the 17 species i've got seeds for are frost hardy at root level down to about -5'C, but there is one that is hardy down to minus 10 which i have hopes for when i plant the seeds at christmas time.

unfortunately i've lost 3 banana seedlings over the week to 'damping off', all were the ensete glaucum bananas none of the ventricosum (abysinnian bananas) were affected and are quite tall now.

Chris;)

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I'm sorry to hear you have lost a few of your young Plants mate,:( but I wish you the best of luck with the rest of them!:D

Please keep us posted mate.

Paul.;)

[Waxbillman]

well its only been just less than 3 months and already one of the giant banana plants has germinated, i discovered todya, i hadn't bothered looking at the pot for a few weeks, its over and inch already. not bad going to say its have no extra lighting and only minimum amount of heat it said on the packet thet they can take 6-12 months to generminate!

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Matt,

if you grow anymore you could swap one of your giants for one of my Enstetes, they're roughly 18" tall now and doing quite well. that's if your interested

Chris;)

[Waxbillman]

brilliant,

if i can any more do grow i'll do a swop, there were only a five seeds though so i suspect this one is a lone ranger, though there many more months yet, so there plenty of time for them to grow.

Matt

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

It looks as though your Banana powers are wearing off onto Matthew,:D good on you Matthew I hope the other seeds germinate for you in time.;)

Paul.

[kenny]

hi paul
he is only growing them by seed cos he is to greedy to buy the plants

ken:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken,

I don't blame him mate, have you seen the price of grown on Banana Plants?:shock:

According to Matthew I'm a rich Southerner (how wrong he is),:lol: but I would still rather grow from seed than buy the grown on Banana Plants, having said that I would love the knowledge that Chris and Matthew have gained in growing their own without going wrong so far.

Paul.;)

[kenny]

hi paul
yeah i know mate,just trying to wind him up but he is not biting today,woe is me

ken:lol:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Ken,

I'm sure he will bite later today mate, after all he still has to explain his new word in the form of generminate.:lol:

Paul.;)

[kenny]

he is worse than homer simpson and his trampampoline and saxamaphone
ken

[Waxbillman]

:lol: :lol:

nutters

i'm sorry i couldn't bite you two last night, but it was late, i was in bed, and you may be dissappointed to know this but i do not have vamperick tendancies, not only that but i have no compulsion to bite old men :lol: :lol:

my spelling is shocking because of my very poor eye sight, due to me counting all my pennies.

Banana plants are very easy to grow, try growing the strelitzia family (bird-of-paradise plant) they need very warm conditions and can take well over a year to germinate). roughly speaking banana plants, as they come from the tropics, they have little or no light saturation point, that means the more light they have the faster they grow, with no limits where as many plants, especially those from temperate regions have a light saturation point, basically means that there is a limit to thier growing capabilities.

gardening session over for today

Matthew

[kenny]

hi matt
i might try them a bit later in the year do you think they will fair ok where i am or do you think it is to cold in gods wonderful county

ken

[chris]

Hi Kenny,

a heated propagator and you can't really go wrong with em mate. unless they damp off like half of mine did, or fail to germinate like the bulk of this round did:oops:

still, i'm confident the next batch will go much better when i plant them ina month or two's time

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Ken,

they definately will need shelter, they are ok in sheltered places in the summer but in the winter they will need bringing in. in my opionion there is only certain areas in Britain where they can easily be left out without worries.
they but some in the peace garden in Sheffiled city centre, even in that sheltered ared they have got shredded and frosted.
the large seeds tend to be easier to grow (the ones i have grown anyway)

Matthew

[kenny]

chris
cant you use cheshunt compound to stop the damping off.or does it not work with banana plants.

ken

[chris]

Hi Kenny,

yes you can, i would have used it myself however i don't have any at the moment, and i won't be planting more seeds untill i do

Chris;)

[kenny]

hi chris
i know its a bit expensive for the amount you get but i suppose in the long run if it stops your plants from keeling over its worth the outlay

ken

[Waxbillman]

the best way to stop your plants damping off, without a doubt is good hygiene and just as important good ventilation, and obviously don't over water.

happy gardening

Alan T

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

yeah that was the problem, i couldn't open the propagator to let the air in without drastically cooling the seeds and chilling the seedlings. that's why i'm leaving it until later on in the year.

on the subject of bananas, i don't know what the hell has happened to the big un in my living room, but i've just come back and it was drooping over to one side and the dish was absolutely full of water. methinks some has done something to it:evil:

i have re-potted it, supported it with a bamboo cane and let it fry out a bit to see what happened but i wont be happy if this one dies because of some idiot. i'll know more when someone gets back home

Chris;)

[Waxbillman]

lol,

that would be a great shame, me thinks someone is going to be in trouble soon

Matthew

[kenny]

methinks someone has watered someones plant despite it already being wet and methinks that someone is like my wife just cos it hasn`t been watered dosen`t mean it needs it even though it has not even dried out from the bath she gave it 2 days ago my poor old orchid was swimming about in its dish and i tried to lift it out to repot it and the top came of in me hand dear oh dear oh dear why do people do that !

ken

[laurab]

Chris, what has happened to your spelling mate?!? Whatever Matthew has, must be catching :lol:

[Waxbillman]

:shock: what are you implying Laura?

i think i caught sausage-fingeristus off Kenny, and now Chris has caught it off me, what out Laura your next!

Matthew :lol:

[chris]

Hi Laura,

thanks for that, i've noticed i seem to be slipping an awfull lot on the keyboard lately

Chris;-)

[laurab]

must be those banana skins Chris :grin:

[kenny]

hey up lauras cracked a joke
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[chris]

Hi All,

yesterday i planted the remaining 130 banana seeds, setup the propagator (correctly this time) with a timer set for 9 hours on and 15 off. the thermostat doesn't have a temperature setting on it!? so i have set it up with a thermometer until the right temperature was gained (30'C). we have some cheshunt compound to prevent any damping off this time round also, the first treatment has already gone into the compost and the second will be given when the seedlings are transplanted. since there was space for another 70 seeds i invested in a packet of Tobasco Chilli seeds (HOT!!!:lol: ) and also the wild tepin chilli peper, which although it claims to be the worlds hottest on the pack, the habereno holds the record. either way it makes the tobasco feel cool as this stuff is the daddy of chilli. now i have a friend who tried a jalapeno and thought it was hot, until i gave them a standard hot chilli pepper which put him in pain (ESPECIALLY AS THE IDIOT RUBBED HIS EYE AFTER MY WARNING OF DON'T TOUCH THE EYES! :lol: )

anyway, that still left a good 40 spaces to plant some red millet so i should have over 80 of those also soon enough as i already have 40

fingers crossed ther'll be bananas in 4-8 weeks time

[laurab]

Wow! you have been busy :-D

[Waxbillman]

thats some banana plants you'll have. hopefully you'll get a better success rate
#
Matthew

[chris]

yup,

i dont know where i'm going to keep them all when they get bigger, speaking of which the red abbysinian banana i have in the living rom is now making some serious growth spurts, something like a 1m + long leaf every week, with another half grown down the centre of that!

i'm looking forward to these chillis as i can have some fun with the fruits, sisters sandwich......:lol: plus there's one or two at college seriously winding me up the wrong way lately so that could be fun also.

forgot to mention the 8 atlantic giant pumpkins i now have growing also, i have a personal record of 150lbs to beat from 2 years ago. given the amount of horse manure we're being given every week that should be no problem, and since i've never used the stuff on the pumpkins in the past despite the fact every decent book tells you to use the stuff this year could get interesting.

Matthew, how much do you reckon a garden centre would pay to buy a banana plant that's about 2 foot tall? as that'sthe size i aim for before selling on the bulk, assuming i can grow these this time round

Chris;)

[Waxbillman]

depends on what garden centre it is, the buggers don't pay much, between £5 and £10 if your lucky

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

that's good enough as the seeds don't cost that much, infact if they sell for that price and enough grow then it should pay off the propagator, seed trays, compost, electricity, seeds, and pay for another few rounds ontop of that. hmmmm could start a banana nursery :lol:

Chris

[Waxbillman]

:lol: yeh why not Chris, put them up on ebay or make your own website now you know how

Matthew

[chris]

Hi All,

the first 2 banana seedlings are now coming through. only 100+ left to go :lol: good thing about these though is that being the Musa family they all send out suckers so should be easy to propogate, that also means i'm ok provided at least one of each species comes through.

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Good news Chris,

The best of luck to you with the rest of them coming through.:wink:

Sorry to change the subject mate,:roll: but have you sown any of your Fonio?
I've sown a very good handfull in an ice-cream tub only to find what must have been a 100% sprouting rate,:shock: the tub is looking very full, any advice on pricking out Grass plants that are all of 2 inches high?:lol:

If not then I've discovered an alternative (and expensive) Grass to be used for lawns in very dry Countries.

Paul.

[Waxbillman]

hello Paul, if they are a mass and you cannot safely get them out with a dibber then, turn the lot out carefully on your hand, drop it onto a hard surface from a height of a few inches, this should loosen the soil, repeat the process if neccessary enough to take them out one by one, and pot them up.

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Paul,

i took your advise with the fonio liking fairly poor soil, warm and a bit on the dry side...... and they all died:lol: :lol: :lol:

i'll sow some more now i'm thinking about it and do things a bit differently. the red millets however are doing really well i must have around 80 of them. the first batch went into the garden a while ago and are now finally starting on a growth spurt. the second batch went in yesterday but i have quite a few left over that'll probably end up in pots.

shouldn't take long to grow some more fonio as it grew quite rapidly last time round before i altered what i was doing

Chris:lol:

[laurab]

Did you know you can buy banana plants on ebay? http://search.ebay.co.uk/banana-plants_W0QQfcclZ1QQfclZ4QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1

[kenny]

hi laura
thats a great link, it just goes to show you can buy almost anything on e-bay

ken:shock:

[Waxbillman]

i have seen these offered for sale before on ebay, saves someone the time to germinate them, though its more expensive and takes the fun away

your right Ken, you could sell your soul on ebay

Matthew

[chris]

Hi All,

so far i've had the following bananas germinate: musa ornata, M. cheesmani, M. balbisiana, and M 'burmese blue'. the other seeds have shown no signs of anything, but i wont take them out yet as it can take a year although it shouldn't have on my temperature cycle.

all the ensetes that germinated during the winter months have died, a combo of damping off and compost fly maggots eating the roots off... which didn't seem to help after washing all the roots and re-potting several times.

the plant i bought last october is now in the garden and is doing well, it took a beating after first being planted out but has recovered now and is going on a growth spurt again given the good weather. i have also bought an M. basjoo plant since which is along side my ensete in the garden and has started to sucker (more plants:D ). both plants will be protected with heating cables and straw during the winter which should maintain a minimum constant temperature of 10'C. the latter is frost hardy anyway so should form a huge plant to 15 foot in a year or so depending on how fast i can make it grow!

the little un's will probably overwinter in the propagator or my room, or the living room. M.ornata might even flower next year as they only reach 4/5 foot before flowering, if not next year almost certainly the year after

Chris

[Waxbillman]

sounds brilliant, Chris i look forward to to seeing them

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I agree with Matthew, despite the fact I have yet to post a single photo of anything,:lol: isn't it about time we saw some of your Banana plants?;)

Paul.:smile:

[chris]

Hi Paul,

i'll take a few on my phone shortly, the video camera no longer likes my PC so big good reasopnable quality photos are a no no for now

Chris

[chris]

alrighty then....

these 3 are m.ornata, m. cheesmani & m. balisiana 'burmese blue', m.balbisiana from left to right. m. cheesmani is a possibly frost hardy banana which i will be putting to the test once i've propagated a few more from suckers etc. this one happens to be in the foreground of the middle photo with 3 or 4 burmese blue in the background (the big bugger at the front!)

Chris

[chris]

these 2 are M. basjoo and E.maurelli. both are currently available from B&Q at £10 each for the smaller plants, although jungleseeds & gardens do far superior plants and the larger plants are a much much more reasonable price.

the above, left to right again

Chris

[chris]

Finally, since we've had mention of home grown millets and fonio around in this topic, here's a few of what mine are like so far. the fonio just looks like a tray of grass at the moment, no flowers yet but i was late starting it. the 'English':razz: red millet well see for yourselves... yes that is my hand the back of the spray;)

photos left to right, millets in border next to aviary, millet spray, fonio

Chris;-)

[kenny]

hi chris
the others might have to grow a bit,but the millet spray you have got in your hand looks a realy decent size

ken

[Rogerb]

chris thanks for the pics mate realy nice to see :grin: got me thinking I ought to try some of this for our birds :grin: :grin: MR B

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

The photos are great mate,;) but apart from the Bananas etc I'm not going to challenge you to producing the first Fonio seedhead.

All the best mate, Paul.;-)

[chris]

Hi Paul,

if that's a challenge to grow the first banana fruit... which it sounds like.... then your on8-) i will warn you though that if any of the dwarf or pink bananas decide to germinate they can flower as early as at 12 months of age in optimal conditions.

i'm reckoning i might need an allotment to grow all this fonio, millet and other bird food next year but i'm certain it'll pay for itself if i can repeat what's happened so far with the millets

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

No mate I meant what I said as a compliment,;-) it seems to me your knowledge of plants is incredible which is obvious from the photos of your Banana plants.

What I was getting at though was despite the set backs you have suffered with producing Fonio, I'm sure you will get there way before I do.:roll:

The only way I could beat you in growing the first Banana Fruit would mean buying a bunch from Tescos and sellotaping them to a Tree.:lol:

Paul.:wink:

[chris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

bit like blue peter, 'and here's one i made earlier.....' :lol:

Chris

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

Something like that mate,:lol: at the end of the day if it is Plant, Reptile, Amphibian, Fish and in some cases bird, then most of us can bet our bottom Dollar that you will come out above the rest of us.

Paul.;-)

[chris]

Hi All,

my musa basjoo plant had around 4 suckers on it which were growing for quite some time now. i've put off cutting them off for new plants untill now as the last time i tried this i had no roots and the lot died.... however, this time they've got millions of root on them and i now have 3 new plants:-)

also, from the lack of germination with the last lot of banana seeds, jungleseeds have sent me some replacement seeds and a couple of new ones i didn't have first time round. can't wait to grow them but i'll have to anyway as i won't be around home long enough to do so until either easter, or summer next year.

the smaller plants germinated from seed earlier in the year are doing well although nothing else ever came through. i hope to propogate these by suckers during next year when they're large enough and provided they overwinter ok in my propogator.

i've now used all but the last millet spray grow along my aviary. the last one is now almost fully ripe so i know for next year if i manage a bumper crop i can simply dry out the surplus and save for a rainy day (once they're ripe anyway) the indian summer we're having has probably had some effect on the millets ripening so well as i've heard that they don't ripen well over here usually

Chris:wink:

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

I'm pleased to hear all is going well with the Banana Plant Jungle you are creating mate.;-)

Also Jungleseeds sounds to be the place to go with the customer service they have provided you, I look forward to hearing your results from the new batch of seeds.

And it sounds as though you have the Millet spray growing lark down to a fine art too.:D

All the best for next year, Paul.;-)

[laurab]

Hi Chris

Well done! ;)

I have some millet sprays in the garden but they are green, is it too late for them to be any good?

[chris]

Hi Laura,

with the weather we're having lately there is a chance they could still ripen, although if you have a look at the seeds and they appear full and not just empty shells, your birds will love them as they are

Chris;)

[laurab]

Thanks Chris :-D

[chris]

they're all dead. bar the one outside, that *might* be alive. the 7 foot beast has had it also.

rule of the day: dont leave your plants in the care of your parents

Chris:evil: :evil: :evil:

[laurab]

No!! That has to be as bad as loosing a bird!! :-(

[chris]

Hi All,

now is as good a time as any to start of a few millet sprays for an early crop around May ish. Matthew has just planted his lot, i've just started off my chillis, and hope to get some quinoa, red millet, and anything funky i find in the meantime planted next week some point.

as a rough estimate, out of 40 red millet seeds, most will germinate, about a third will be too small/weak and die or remain stunted and small. the remaining 2 thirds normally grow quite well, although about half will probably get had by slugs! so best bet is to go with the motherload and repeat it again 1-2 weeks after the first batch and so on. this got me a fair few decent sized millets last year, only problem is i underestimated how many i would need to plant in the first place!

i think overkill is key here:shock:

when they start to grow, keep them in a well light location and moist but not too damp. at about 3 inches tall start giving a high nitrogen feed untill they are a good 2-3 feet tall. then change to a high potassium feed to encourage flower growth and keep them on this while the seeds develope. this should result in good 6 inch + millet sprays. the trick is to get the plant as tall as possible before they begin to flower as thier heigh determines the flower length and spray size. the good news is the nitrogen fertiliser seems to inhibit flowering to an extent.. but it isnt fool proof!

a plastic propagator may come in handy around this time of year, if heated even better, and if a light is in there too then your crazier than i am :lol:

Chris;)

[kenny]

hi chris
you want to see my aviary floor mate .where all the stray seed has been knocked of i have millet and canary seed and rape allsorts really all growing like cress its warm and moist in there just like a rain forest some i am leaving to grow but the rest i am letting the birds eat..i will take a pic tommorrow and let you see what its like when i get my really cheap quinoa tommorrow i will plant some of that under wire netting so the birds cant get at it

ken

[Waxbillman]

good suggestion Chris

my red anjou i have sown in pots in a large heated propagater, this is in my greenhouse which is kept frostfree, this time of the year the heat from the sun and the propagter should make the seeds should up fast

unripe seeding millet i'd recommend to anyone with foriegn finches, it make are real difference

Matthew

[kenny]

hi all
i picked up my quinoa from the hippies todayhttp://bestsmileys.com/peace/1.gifapparently it is pronounced kinwa,yep i got a free lesson in pronunciation! its produced by a firm called SUMA and its an organic fairtrade produce ..the price was a little higher than they said coming out at £2-35p a kilo but i still think its cheap they can supply up to 25k and a 5k bag is just £7 so might be worth buying if your birds get to lie it i am buying one of those sprouters from them next week £7-50p then i will be all set .by the way the people who supply it have a website www.suma.coop (http://www.suma.coop) they do flaked quinoa also but it works out more expensive anyway see what you think you might be able to e-mail them to find a supplier in your area as they are supposed to supply to shops country wide

ken

[kenny]

hi all
well i must say that the quinoa wnt down pretty good,the canaries ate more than the others but all my finches seem to like it even the cpq ,i didnt give them a lot as i wanted to try it dry first and i put it in seperate pots so i could run it through the winnower to see how much they had consumed..yesterday i put some to soak so i will be trying it on them when it sprouts i am also monitoring the stuff to see how long it takes to sprout.the woman in the shop said it sprouts pretty quick so i will see.then i am going to give it on its own...then with some pym and then with cod liver oil dry and so on to see how well it is consumed so i will be back with an update when i have finished

ken8-)

[chris]

Hi Kenny,

dont forget to try it boiled like rice, untill the husks split open and the seed inside swells up, should make a very good rearing food like that

Chris;-)

[laurab]

Hi Ken

Sounds like you are enjoying feeding it to your birds as much as they are eating it!!:razz:

[kenny]

hi laura/chris
yep i am enjoying doing something instead of just waiting for the birds to breed

chris the hippy woman told me to do it that way and i may just give it straight without eggfood to see how they take it then i will do it with eggfood i checked the soaked stuff today and it has swelled up so iwill leave it in the sieve while tuesday and see if there is any change:grin:

ken

[chris]

i've just planeted batch no.1 of the red millet and red quinoa. hopefully they should start sprouting by tomorrow and i should have seedlings in a few days. depending on how many pots etc. i can safely cram into my room i'll probably start the second batch of millet next week

Chris;)

[laurab]

I am hoping the Fonio will grow again in my garden as it should have self seeded :p

[kenny]

hi all
well my quinoa was well recieved in its slightly sprouted version ,so i am going to do the hot soak method and see what happens when i have done that...then i will plant some!

ken

[laurab]

'Keen-wah' Not just for the birds :razz: http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/quinoa.html

[chris]

well the quinoa is germinating quite well, infact maybe a little too well... most have a good 3cm of root growth overnight!:shock:

[kenny]

hi chris
i told you it grows fast..it will be great in summer when the birds need quick soaked seed...i finally found some in tesco organic section £2-45 for 250gramms daylight robbery

ken

[kenny]

hi chris
how is your qiunoa coming on..i put some in an old cress container when i had fed it to the birds last week and it is already growing like topsy i have a tub that its going into when it is tall enough

ken