How to grow banana
Musaceae, hard to grow
Tropical fruit plant; in the UK grow as a large container plant under cover.
Growing banana for the first time
Difficulty: Hard · Sun: full sun · Ready in: about 365 days
1. Choose the spot
Pick a sunny spot (6+ hours of sun). It does best in loam soil with a pH of 5.5–7.0. Avoid sandy and chalk soil, or improve it with compost.
2. Sow or plant
Start indoors or under cover in Apr, May. Space plants about 250 cm apart.
3. Look after it
- Water roughly every 3 days, more in hot or dry weather. Water the soil, not the leaves.
- Feed every 14 days once it is growing strongly.
- Keep weeds down, and add a daily note and photo to your BeAgric grow diary so you can spot problems early.
4. Watch for problems
Common problems: Panama disease, Black sigatoka. Take a photo with Check a plant if leaves look spotted, yellow or wilted.
5. Organic tip
Feed generously with compost — bananas are very hungry plants.
6. Harvest
Expect your first harvest about 365 days after planting. Record it in Harvests and list any spare on the marketplace.
Growing it organically
Feed generously with compost — bananas are very hungry plants.
Common problems
- Panama disease
- Black sigatoka
Spotted something? Check a photo of the leaf.