I have been watching these amazing plants all summer with a feeling like they are producing something other than bananas which can be harvested and only now almost five years after planting them, do I see in what way they can be utilised. Better than that, they are the answer to an old question: how can I produce my own sugar here in France?
Inside the trunk of a banana tree you also have water, but to access it you must kill the plant. So we don't do that!
But we have been using the petals of the flower as mini bowls.
With our two banana flowers around four petals fall to the ground every day, so this is perfect for our family of four!
They can be used to serve food or even drinks.
We also use them as food bowls for the cats who enjoy sinking their little claws into the soft trunks during climbing practice.
It is in fact the little male flowers of the banana plant which are the key to unlocking the door to endless sugar.
These flowers are destined to die and fall to the ground, but underneath each one is a little pot full of sugary liquid!
A closer look here:
Before I tell you more about that I want first to show you what our courtyard looked like back in March 2018, when we moved here from Bali.
Looks so naked hey! And we didn't feel good about this, arriving from such a lush green tropical country.
Here it is in May 2018 after planting a single banana tree (behind the dancing Esteban).
Just two months later in July you can see how much the plant likes it here.
Fast forward four years and I noticed liquid sugar dripping from a flower last winter.
The flower was high above the ground at that point but having made the observation I was keen to collect the sugar in the best way I could think of in that moment, using a bucket.
The mission was unsuccessful however as most of the nectar stuck to the petals and my bag was too exposed to the many insects which are attracted to the sweet smell of the sugar.
I didn't realise at that point I would need to access each one of the male flowers directly.
And the best way to do this is with a syringe! Initially I removed the individual flowers from the plant to extract the nectar in this way.
Until I realised there was no need for this and the prize could in fact be removed directly from the plant. Which is better because there is still some left for the insects!
And so, every day I remove the nectar from around 30 little banana pods, which makes around one syringe. After testing it out in my morning coffee I can tell you now one syringe is the equivalent to one tea spoon of sugar. There is a mild banana flavour to the sugar itself, but you don't taste this in coffee. Only the sweetness. Which is perfect!
So while I could now say goodbye to my sugar addiction I am instead collecting it in a pot in order that I can dehydrate and grind it into a powder. Just to see how similar it is to the sugar I am currently using. Who knows, I could make a business out of this in the future when sugar supplies start drying up and I have multiple courtyards growing bananas ;)
If you don't cut the shoot connected to the flower it will never die. Though the flower will eventually hit the ground!
Not long now and the children will be big enough to do this for me ;)
As time goes on more and more new shoots are appearing while others are reaching maturity and producing their flowers, which means the quantity of sugar I harvest each day is only going to grow and grow.
So there you have it, endless sugar!
And all from a single banana tree planted less than five years ago. In a courtyard with very limited access to the soil.
The weirdest part about this is that I can't find any information online about other people milking their bananas in this way. Surely I can't be the only person in the world with the motivation to do this?
Update: It has been three days since I started collecting the sugar and it doesn't smell so good any more! Am assuming it is fermenting like any other fruit juice and so have had to change my plan. I will fill one section of an ice cube holder each day and keep it in the freezer. Am still keen to try crushing it up after dehydration but will need a much larger quantity for this, so perhaps once I have enough frozen I will defrost it all and dehydrate on mass.
There are no problems. Only solutions!
Love & Light everyone π±
Great report Sam! I hope you are enjoying the mild weather so far!
Yes I am! The shorts are back on and I am having to water the garden every day again which is kinda weird so close to November but that's just how it is. The tomatoes are loving it and producing like crazy! And I counted 15 pumpkins yesterday which should set us up nicely for the winter ;)
Are you going bananas, mon ami?
Pretty sweet to tap your own sugar, straight from a banana plant.
I love to see all the changes that have taken place in the last 4 years, around your place. It's pretty magical :<)
I probably am going bananas to be honest. Having a conversation with a local man about sugar yesterday I realise now I could just be growing sugar beats! "A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production".
And so, I do not in fact need to be milking my bananas every day! Though knowing nothing about the process behind turning a beet into sugar I would say my syringe is probably the simplest option for now ;)
I already knew about sugar beets as a kid. I think I learnt about them, driving past a sugar ( beet processing ) factory, in The Netherlands, with my parents.
In all honesty, I would prefer banana sugar, as I relate sugar beets to factories and big industry but, then again, if you could do it organically, small scale, without too much hassle, this would be an entirely different story :<)
What a difference in your courtyard. Curious to see the results of the sugar experiment...
Not so sure about the sugar experiment now to be honest. In the comments here someone has pointed out that I can in fact just boil it down a bit and create a syrup which will last. In the end making it last is the goal, so I'm cool with syrup. Less effort!
Also, I didn't realise I could just grow sugar beets! Beets seem very happy in our soil so this could also be a solution to my sugar question.
Dear @samstonehill,
Your support for the current Hive Authentication Services proposal (#194) is much appreciated but it will expire in a few days!
May I ask you to review and support the new proposal (https://peakd.com/me/proposals/240) so I can continue to improve and maintain this service?
You can support the new proposal (#240) on Peakd, Ecency,
Thank you!
No worries. It's done.
I use Hive auth all the time btw and it's great!
Thank you for your dedication to this important service.
Thank you for your support and feedback about your experience with HiveAuth @samstonehill, really appreciate it! π
Your banana sugar collection with your little ones nearby made a great post, good for them. I loved seeing your cats on the banana stalks.
Cats on banana stalks seems to happen a lot around here! They have competitions to see who can get the highest ;)
You have created quite a jungle out of dry space!
Didnβt know you could take sugar from banana! These flowers are usually too high!
A jungle was the goal ;)
I feel blessed to have had this courtyard really as I never would have learned about this most effective system for growing tropical plants in Europe. And you can be sure I will be building 'fruit walls' when we finally get our land. Am pretty sure you could grow mangoes & avocados in this way too.
Wow! Mangoes!! Fruit wall would be quite stunning. I used to see a wall of pear trees!! That was amazing to me!
In fact I was referring to these fruit walls:
"In 1561, Swiss botanist Conrad Gessner described the effect of sun-heated walls on the ripening of figs and currants, which mature faster than when they are planted further from the wall. Gessner's observation led to the emergence of the "fruit wall" in Northwestern Europe. By planting fruit trees close to a specially built wall with high thermal mass and southern exposure, a microclimate is created that allows the cultivation of Mediterranean fruits in temperate climates, such as those of Northern France, England, Belgium and the Netherlands."
Very popular during the last grand solar minimum.
Aha! No wonder these fruit walls looked quite old and strong!
is it a banana flower??
is it banana sugar??
my god, so many discoveries for me from your post!
it would be a nice bussiness for sure!:)π
Am pleased you learned something. Certainly I had no idea about this stuff not all that long ago! Let's see for the business. I intend to sell vegetables when times get tough for the (shop addicted) people here, so it makes sense to sell sugar as well! Don't know many humans who aren't addicted to it ;)
The quantity you're having now not enough to reduce to crystallite sugar yet. But once you have a bucket, you may actually start to low heat boiling them until it reduced to syrup and keep them. High concentration sugar will not go rot. Why powder if you can have syrup?
Thanks for sharing this, hope to see more progress on your future exploration in banana sugar!
That is a great idea. Yes, no particular need for the sugar to be in crystals, so a syrup would be fine. As long as I can store it this way, it's all good. My main issue is that I am collecting only one syringe a day! So it will take some time (and many frozen sugar cubes) to create a whole bucket. I will aim for a large bowl rather than a bucket ;)
Many thanks for your thoughts.
In what part of the world are you based?
I live in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, typical urban city of 3rd world country. Whilst I'm living at 4th floor in an apartment, it's impossible for me to plant a banana tree π thinking if I can make use of the parking lot instead π€£
I had no idea about the liquid sugar you can get from banana's. Your outdoor space is looking so good, right little lush paradise you have created there. I can imagine it would ferment naturally over time. Hope all is well Sam, sending you love xxxxx
Hey Aishlinn! Do you have banana trees around you I wonder?
I have learned (here under this post) that the simplest solution to the fermentation problem is to boil it down a bit and create a syrup. In this way it will apparently stay good. So, am gonna give that a try and see how it goes...
And yes, we love our courtyard now. If it wasn't for this space we surely would have left already. But the main super cool thing is have I learned about fruit walls here and how effective they are at housing trees which are accustomed to warmer climates. Which is unquestionably useful knowledge for the future!
Sending love xxx :)
A well and perfectly written article dear friend.
I am trying out the banana flower.
Thanks for the comment.
And good luck with the flowers. I have around one jam jar of nectar now :)
Greening your courtyard is probably the most eco-friendly decision in terms of ventilation and temperature control. It's like making a little ecosystem that constantly gives :)
Exactly right. This courtyard has an ecosystem of its own. Likely due to the numerous small holes in the main earth supporting wall which let the moisture of the mountain come through. Apparently this place was for cattle a century ago but I'm not sure I buy that story. More likely it was for growing lush tropical plants where they would not normally be able to grow!
It's amazing what greenery can do to enhance a place and you have made your courtyard so tropical Sam
You know it! Green is the answer to so many problems :)
All the best to you Eden x
Thanks Sam - and to you too. Did you hear my new song? Video out tomorrow.
Good stuff! I actually discovered Ecency through this post of yours. Thanks! I had been wondering exactly the same thing as you - whether anybody collects banana nectar. I live in Thailand and grow bananas. The tradition here is when the female flowers have finished you cut off the rest (all the male flowers) because they are not needed for pollination. Leaving them on means the plant carries on producing nectar and puts less energy into making nice big bananas. But as wildlife is my main interest I have started leaving them on for all the insects, birds and especially bats, and accept that we will get smaller bananas. In our area we also have a lot of sugarpalm trees where people do collect the nectar and mostly use it to ferment into a rough but cheap alcoholic drink - perhaps you could try that!
Wonderful you made it here due to this post! You are now using the world's most advanced decentralised social media blockchain. Which by the way, is much more than just Ecency. I personally use peakd.com to access this blockchain. There are many different interfaces which can. Ecency being one of them. Though rather basic in my opinion.
Whereabouts in Thailand are you? I met my french partner on a bus in Chaing Mai, on our way to Pai! Ten years later we have two kids, living in the south of france.
Great you are growing bananas! They are in my opinion the best fruit for so many reasons. And your experience in relation to this is invaluable! I am wondering now if my fruit would have been bigger (and edible!) if I had removed the male flowers? You are right however about them attracting wildlife. Indeed, I've seen so much more insect activity in this little courtyard since they started flowering.
Banana booze! I like the sound of that ;) Have tried making wine out of most things around here (pumpkins included) so I don't see why I shouldn't also try banana nectar. Have noted that more nectar is produced in the winter for some reason. So will give it a shot when it gets cold. Great idea!
Thanks. I live in Petchaburi, a couple of hours' drive south-west of Bangkok at the top of the peninsular. We also spent three years in Chiang Mai and I really miss the mountains but definitely not the hot season air pollution. I also spent way too long living in Bangkok.
I have grown to love just about everything about banana plants except their susceptibility to strong winds. A friend and I have discussed the possibility of making banana beer but I read that it generally isnβt that good and it would be a shame to waste the fruit!
Cheers.
Yes, I remember that Chiang Mai hot season. It was a test for someone from London!
Our banana plants are supposedly amongst the biggest in this region, perhaps in France, exclusively because of the high walls around them which protect from the crazy winds we get here. That and the fact we are next to an old church which I have found to generate a signal which is good for plants. Anything growing right next to the church booms. Further away not so good. In a word this is because of Electroculture and if you don't know what that is I recommend joining the electroculture community where a few of us are sharing our experiments and results.
This post in particular discusses the church a little and offers some ideas about how we might replicate this energy in our garden: https://peakd.com/hive-198415/@samstonehill/increase-growth-potential-by-x10-with-the-worlds-first-cosmic-cucumber-cone
Thanks, I'll have a look.
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High on sugar again cuddlekitten?