B-a-n-a-n-a-s

It is December 27th.  Usually, I am spending the day in the mountains finding the best trees that my skis can find.  This year, however, is different.  I spent part of the morning with the banana trees in our back yard.  Three of the trees have stalks of fruit hanging on them.

I'm not quite sure when to harvest the bananas.  In Logan, grapes, raspberries, and apples were easy.  I knew what they looked like when ripe.  I knew the harvest time due to the season, the chill of fall, the frost.  Hawaii has no chill of fall or frost.  Thus, I was left to information I could find online.  I'm not quite sure I got it right.  However, I had a lot of fun harvesting the first batch.

To start, the tree is about 25 ft. tall.  My step stool wouldn't reach.  I can't jump that high.  I'm not agile enough to climb the stalk (even if it could hold my weight). A friend had told me how they partially cut the tree, lean it to the ground, then harvest the banana stalk at that point.  Good idea.  Banana trees are quite easy to cut through, very soft.  Step 1 accomplished.  Lowering the tree to the ground was not quite as easy.  It's tall and deceptively heavy.  However, step 2 accomplished without making banana mash the natural way.  After that, it was easy enough to cut the banana stalk off the main trunk and hang in in the lanai to allow the bananas to ripen.

I hear green bananas can be boiled and eaten.  I might try that.  However, I am really hoping to see some nice yellow showing up in the lanai.  Fresh bananas are the best.  Don't believe me, come visit us in Laie.  We'll let you cut down the next batch.