Homesteading Experience cont.
| The property came with two large clusters of banana trees. One directly behind the home, and the other next to the back shop. In the future I plan on building a raised bed area behind the home, and transplanting all of the bananas into this one bed. Currently the trees are putting out lots of small trees and spreading further out into the yard, and not producing much fruit. The plan is to build a large raised bed out of cinder block, and back fill with lots of compost and organic matter. I'm hoping that the deep compost will help too protect the trees during cold winters, and hold moisture during hot summers and drought. The raised bed is planned to be beside the home in the back yard, close to the current location of one cluster. I am also going to disconnect the drain from the shower in the master bath, and redirect the grey water into this raised bed. With some luck, I hope to get these trees producing an abundance of fruit, instead of just multiplying. |
| As you can see from the picture on the left, I am getting a little fruit from the banana trees. I actually harvested two clusters of bananas like the one on the left last year. I learned that if you leave the bananas on the tree, they will not sweeten up and taste like the bananas we know from the grocery store, instead they will stay starchy. The trick is to wait until the fruit has reached it's full size, and then cut off the stock and hang the bananas in a shady area with good ventilation. I hung mine from the rafters of the back porch. When you harvest the bananas like this, the starch in the bananas will convert to sugar as they hang there, and within a short time the bananas become sweet. As for production, I have recently learned that if the banana tree is putting all of it's energy into producing baby trees, it will not produce fruit in most cases. As mentioned above the future plan is to transplant the banana trees into a raised bed, and set up an irrigation system. Once this is done, I will be proactive at removing any small trees that sprout up. I'll remove the small trees from their mother, and transplant them into pots which I will hopefully be able to sell and produce a little income. One important note for those of you who do not know. Once a tree produces a stock of bananas, that particular tree has fulfilled it's life and will die. So you must be careful and not remove all of your baby trees, once production of fruit begins or else you will end up without any trees. |
| Working on the guest bathroom. Picture on the left is what it looked like originally, and the picture of the right is the remodel. The toilet was fairly new and in good condition, so I left it in place. The sink and cabinet were completely ripped out, as well as the old light fixture. I installed a pedestal sink, which really opened up this small bathroom. I also removed the old mirror which was glued to the wall and installed an oval mirror with a medicine cabinet. To finish everything off I installed a nice new faucet, and a light fixture that matches the ones in the rest of the house. The tub and shower in this bathroom were in fairly good shape. I replaced the shower handles and shower head, and after texture, paint, and a new vinyl floor the guest bathroom looks modern and nice. |