Leafroll 13 of 15 is 14.5"

 ~ Caven's leafroll 13 of 15 is now coming up.

 Leaf  #13 of  15 - 13.5" x 6.5" inch leaf on left. Leaf-roll #13 of 16 in center. Sept. 22, 2013

Leaf-roll #13 of 16 in center. Sept. 25, 2013

A zoom of the 13th of 16 leafroll on the 28th

Sept. 28 Leafroll is 13" inches.... so far...

The leafs are taking a bit longer to fully emerge. I am so going to complain. Caven's local active growing season  is over. But he seems to me doing fine in the house where it has been a stable 70-75F. Also his leafs are exceeding 13.5" now, so it just takes longer to grow out.

Leaf-roll #13 of 15 in center. Sept. 29, 2013

Leafroll #13 of 15 is 14" as of Sept. 29, 2013

Leaf 13 of 15 totally sets a record leaf size of 14 1/2 inches. 10-02-2013

Leaf 12 of 14 is totally unfurled and sets a new record leaf size for my plant of 14 1/2 inches as of 10-02-2013


Leaf 13 of 14 is in the center position ready to take that lead away. Can he do it?

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Leaf #15,

 ~ The 15 leaf is at 13.5" x 7.5" is another handsome one.  I rather like these last two larger leaves Caven has rolled out.  I am pleased how he has continued to grow in our second walk in closet that we set up for him.  

 ~  So far, even though temperatures are cooling a bit, the room seems to be staying between 70-75F with the 4' six tube 6400K T5 grow light fixture.  I have them on a timer so Caven is getting 12 hours of light daily.  This week I added some reflective foil on the back for light reflection.  It looks better than the wall behind it too.  

 ~ There has been no measurable Height or Circumference (8.5"H x 6.5"C) change with this new leaf.  Caven sure is going to be a short and stocky guy, just like me ;) 

Leaf #15 unfurled with leafroll 16 showing

 ~  I bought some Dr. Earth 6-4-6 Palm, Tropical & Hibiscus Fertilizer a while back.  Since every tropical plant but a Banana Trees is discussed on the box, I have emailed the company to see what they suggest for a serving size for my currently indoor SDC Banana Tree in a 10 gallon pot that has just put out its second 13" leaf under 4' T5 lighting to keep the plant actively growing past our now ending summer season. The SDC seems undeterred in his growth since I have brought him in.

 ~ I got a fast reply from Dr. Earth recommending: "Paul: Thank you for your inquiry. It is our recommendation that you feed the plant every other month. Two tablespoons for every 6" inches of pot diameter or 1/2 cup per five gallons of soil which would be about 1/2 cubic foot. Thank you for your inquiry and have a great week!"

~ These instruction ARE on the box but I am pleased to have a specific recommendation for the plant I am feeding.  It has not been time to feed him yet and I have been wanting the top soil to dry a bit to discourage Gnats. I have been bottom watering to let the top soil dry a bit, but it still get plenty moist.  But in order to fertilize I will have to give Caven a good top watering to help the nutrients get down into the soil. Since the diameter of Caven's pot averages 19" according to Dr Earths recommendation I would divide 19" by 6 which gives me an answer of about 3. So 2 TBSP x 3 = 6 TBSP of plant food evenly on the top soil. This would also be about Caven's drip line as according to some instruction you would fertilize within a plants drip line, which seems logical a this is where also where a plants roots would be.

~ I fed Caven 5TBSB of the Dr. Earth plant food (6 TBSP looked like a lot and I do not want to burn Caven's little roots. :) I watered him from the top with a gallon or so of water. So Caven should be good on plant food for the next 2 months.

 ~ The Gnats I had are none in sight. I am happy to have them under control.  I hope now that I have top watered him again though that I do not end up with Gnats once again.

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13th - 13.5" Leaf Update

~ Cavendish now has 11 of  his 13 lifetime leaf count as he has now lost 2 leaves. His 13th leaf is 13.5" inches long and 7.25" inches wide. Caven is 8.5" inches high with a circumference of 6.5"inches, thats a stalk diameter of a little over 2" inches.

~ This banana variety obviously puts all its energy into leaf growth rather than plant height or circumference.

Leaf  #11 of 14 - 13.5" x 6.5" inch on the left. Leaf-roll #12 of 14 in center.

~ If Caven gets too big I hope I can get him back outside ;) I am pondering building an inexpensive PVC greenhouse. I need a place for all our garden and potting supplies to go anyway. It would be great for Caven and his pups later anyway if he and his family gets too big for the house.

~ I won the war with the soil Gnats using DE (See last post). 

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At war with the soil Gnats using DE

Listen to this post as an Audio Blog

~ The soil is a bit sour.  I have been dealing with some soil gnats by regularly using 'Safe Soap' the last couple of days and it seems to work for a while and then they are back. I am letting the soil dry out as much as I dare between waterings. Since bringing Caven into the house he does not need nearly as much water so this helps.

~ I am going to try some of the solutions found here. First, since I have some and I see how it could work, I am trying an 3/16"-1/4 inches worth of food grade Diatomaceous Earth on the top soil.  

 ~ I also set a lid of vinegar on the pot soil. This seems to be getting a few adults that fly into it but I am not overly impressed.

 ~ I can see how the 'DE' should work. For one thing it will soak up some moisture from the topsoil. But the DE does need to be mostly dry as this is when it is dangerous to insects. It drys and irritates their skin like glass shards. They can NOT crawl up through the dry DE. When wet, DE is not as effective, although I do not see them crawling through the layer to any eggs in it even when wet. :)

~ CAUTION: Use only food grade DE. Use a mask when applying. Let soil dry some before applying.   Turn all room fans off while applying  Apply slowly with a sifter or perforated spoon. Use a mask. While not dangerous if ingested wet, it IS dangerous to breath. It is like glass shards to the lungs(and Gnats) when dry. Wet DE is no longer as effective. When DE dries it is again most effective. Don't let all the cautions overly scare you. After all the cautions are dealt with, remember it is chemical free, natural, cheap, and effective against insects.

~ Side Note: We have used DE cautiously and successfully against a major flea infestation one year. It worked great but you have to work hard to clean the carpets later. And it left the whole room with an earthy smell for some time.  

For the reasons given above I see this remedy being very successful.... I will update my progress.

UPDATE: Sept 16,2013 ~ I have won the war with the soil Gnats using the DE.

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Leaf #12 mostly unfurled. A teen plant?

Caven's 12th Leaf Mostly Unfurled

 ~ I guess this will depend on how many leaves he will ultimately keep at once.  Just how many leaves are on an adult Cavendish?  13, 18, 21?  Will the junior Cavendishes characteristic purple acne splotches disappear on future leaves or the current ones?   The way Caven grows I guess I won't have that long to find out.

The 12th leaf with 13th leaf curl is on its way.

 ~ Caven lost his second baby leaf  today.  Leaf #12 is mostly unfurled with its 13th leaf curl already starting its turn up the center. He currently has 10 of his 13 leaves. This plant is really noticeably growing in size at 8.25' inches in height to the base of his 12th leaf and has a bottom stem circumference of 6.25 inches. Ah, I can remember way back when he was a wee little plant in a 4" pot that I could easily hold in my hand way back in July of 2013. 

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Shopping for Cavendish

  ~ Kathy and I went to Jerry's building materials and bought some 6-4-6 Dr. Earth Organic Palm and Tropical plant food  (4 lbs for 8.99) and a drip saucer for his 10 gallon pot. I will feed him in a few weeks as I have already fed him.

 ~ Now that the weather is cooling down I have brought Cavendish in for the winter. His 12th leaf roll is ready to unfurl.

 ~ Caven is settled in to his indoor location with a 4' ft. 6 tube T5 light fixture to help lengthen out his growing season. This will be his main source of light. For now, until I read differently I am giving him a 12 hours on and 12 hours off cycle.

Spreadsheet Records Logbook Growth Details with Links and Banana Plant Terms

Banana Photo Album (All photos) Cavens Baby Picture Album

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