Bananas and Permaculture
Off on a tangent but still connected to Africa.
On my last say in Arusha state, Tanzania, I had the opportunity to visit the permaculture block of Jerome Armstrong whom I had “met” here on Substack. It was a delightful afternoon talking about plants, farming, gardening and the world. I was given the opportunity to eat Maasai honey straight from the honeycomb and taste one of his bananas straight from the tree.
I mentioned a few ideas that he could implement on his land and promised to send him some how to links. So this is what this post is about.
I have been into permaculture for decades. I had the opportunity to meet Bill Mollison in 1991 when he showed up to a permaculture club meeting in Townsville, North Queensland. Although I “farm” a much smaller piece of land now - a 850m2 town block, I still have Mollison’s 4 zones! Yes even on this size piece of land there are beds I tend daily and areas I look at once a year - much to my so’s dismay sometimes. Zone 1 is for high maintenance plants like the ones that need watering daily, ranging to Zone 4 which is usually the forest type plants that you visit the least frequently. My Zone 4 contains annual harvest crops like cassava and yakon. I believe part of any health regime ought to include growing some of your own food. It may not necessarily be any cheaper but eating food freshly picked is jam packed with more nutrients than anything you could buy in a store.
Banana Circle
A banana circle is a great idea to maximize water use for bananas, papaya and sweet potatoes. A circle is dug 2m wide and about 1/2 to 1 m deep. A narrow inlet / outlet may be dug to allow water to flow in and excess to flow out. Stones may be banked on the outside of the rim. Fill the hole with mulch, manure, and some minerals so it is quite mounded up, it will sink as it composts. Plant alternating papaya and banana plants around the rim and sweet potato runners in the pit. A wooden, slatted platform may be placed inside the circle and an outside shower set up to utilize the water. It may also be possible to plant pineapples on the outside edge that catches the most sun. Simply use the tops cut off pineapples and plonk them in the ground. It takes 2 years to grow a pineapple. https://fullcyclepermaculture.com.au/banana-circle/
Banana Trunk Planter
Due to the very dry times of the year in Tanzania, I had suggested using banana trunks to retain water for seedlings, allowing them a bit of resistance to drying out. Here’s a YouTube link showing how it’s done.
Wicking Beds
Jerome showed me the containers that he had originally installed to provide water for his block. They were too small for the job but I suggested he could repurpose them to make wicking beds. To help with dry weather gardening, building a wicking bed helps to look after high maintenance vegetables while maximizing the use of water.
And a YouTube channel I love to watch is the Weedy Garden https://www.youtube.com/@TheWeedyGarden He presents lots of information about growing a food forest in tropical and subtropical climates. He’s based in Northern New South Wales.