Horse Manure, Mulch and Bananas

Posted by Phillip Richards Mar 27, 2007

Today I am going down the road to collect a trailer load of horse manure. When a little dry – not too wet and fresh but not desiccated - this is the perfect blend of Nitrogen and Carbon for mulch. I am going to layer it around my bananas. Following the cyclone in Northern Queensland earlier this year the banana industry up there was virtually wiped-out and bananas became very expensive. We were lucky to have bunches to harvest, eat and pass around to friends.

The stands have been growing for years without much in the way of help or encouragement so this year they get a good feeding. The layer of mulch, too, will suppress the weeds and save me the task of cleaning up.

Each morning I watch a Lewin honey eater picking the nectar from the banana flower bell – after I chop the bell off (so that the goodness goes into the bananas), he is still there but turns his attention to the green bananas. He does not mark them but is picking busily away so I presume he is getting insects.

However, I have to watch him – when the first bananas begin to yellow, he will change his diet again.

He’s had his fair share: it’s time to cover the bunch with an old feedbag.