...they are doing WHAT now? | Hawaiian Apple Bananas + Harvest Update!

01 Dec Hawaiian Apple Bananas + Harvest Update!

Posted at 23:49h in Farm Flora, Life on Kaua'i Hawaii, What we ate today by sarah 2 Comments

We’ve been told these bananas will RUIN all other Chiquita varieties for you — Hawaiian Apple Bananas are a little sweeter and smaller and we finally got to try them today! And the other exciting thing is that we have bunches on the farm that are ripening slowly – so we’ll get the whole harvest experience! The ones we ate today were from a neighbor’s farm and definitely lived up to the hype!

Banana excitement

We have another banana tree on the farm that is flowering, which is the beginning of the banana-bunch process. The bud looks bland from the ground but the petals are this gorgeous red color and HUGE!

: Start of banana flowering

: fallen petals, bigger than my whole hand!

Harvest Update – week 4, Monday

Jiva decided today was the day to harvest a bunch of bananas! There are a couple other bunches we’ll get to harvest in the coming weeks. Look at the difference in the first flower above compared to a ripe banana bunch below! The longest flowers indicate a bigger / more ready bunch.

To harvest, the entire stalk of the banana tree is cut down — because bananas actually grow from more of a grass structure than a tree! The plant will not continue producing banana bunches if left up. Luckily, there are 3 banana groves on the farm, each containing anywhere from 10-20 trees!

Aaron excitedly grabbed the machete and help Jiva cut down the ready-bunch plant:

Jiva cuts the first crease in the front of the tree, it starts to bow, heavy with water