Harvesting Bananas

Justin used to harvest bananas when he was younger, so he gave us a run through of how they are grown.

Carnarvon is known for their variety of bananas, they are smaller and sweeter than the ones we usually see. These pics are all a little blurry, is was very dense and dim in the rows of naners and I didn't take the time to re-set my camera.

So the banana bunches grow from flowers that look like this. The bananas grow in a spiral down the stem from the flower. The flowers are broken off the bottom when the bunch is long enough.

When the bananas are big enough the harvesters walk through the groves hacking down the trees bringing the bunches closer to the ground, the next guy shoulders the bunch while another guy chops it from the tree. The naners are still green at this point and have to be stored in sheds to ripen. The new banana plant will grow from a sucker at the base of the tree, you can see some small ones on some of the trees already.

Very cool and interesting to me! Not something I have ever seen growing on a tree :) I will say it is a little scary in there, there is a lot of dead leaves on the ground and lots of live ones over your head. Also Justin delights in telling stories of the bad snakes and spiders you find in bananas!