How To Grow Bananas

by Glenford Nanton

The banana is the main crop in St. Vincent.

To start to grow bananas, first you claim some land. Then you clean it up good. Start to ask for banana suckers from other banana farmers and friends. Then you start to punch holes in the land. Then the suckers must soak in a chemical mixed with water. Put the suckers into the holes and cover them with dirt. Then look for manure. Circle the suckers before throwing manure around them. (Circle means to clean around the plants.) After three weeks, the suckers start to burst from the ground. Burn the grass that has grown up around the suckers. Cover them with more dirt, then, in three months, throw on one more cast of manure. You take the borning leaves (the first leaves) off. In St. Vincent, when we do this we say we plume the field. Then, in five months’ time, the banana stock starts to shoot out. The bunch of bananas grows on the stock. When all of the hands of the bunch have formed you deflower the bananas and cut off the end of the stock. You must tie back the tree to stop it from falling over. A bunch of bananas can weigh over 100 pounds. Then you chubin the bunch. This means you put a plastic bag over the bananas to stop them from getting damaged. After that, you tie a ribbon on the bunch. The ribbon shows the grade of bananas and when they have to be cut. First grade is cut after six weeks, packed in boxes, and shipped overseas. You cut them green so they don’t ripen too quick.

Bananas grown the way I told you are the best because they are so sweet. I think St. Vincent bananas are the best in the world.