GARDEN Affair: Going bananas about the Banana Plant

17 Aug, 2014 - 06:08 0 Views
GARDEN Affair: Going bananas about the Banana Plant Banana tree

The Sunday Mail

Bananas are unique in their richness of vitamins, sugars and dietary fibre.
Just two bananas can give up to 90 minutes of energy for strenuous activity, thus the fruit is recommended for athletes.
Scientific research is proving that bananas can help us fight a number of illnesses.
Banana tree

Banana tree

The recent Heroes and Defence Forces holidays saw me travelling to the Eastern Highlands and one fruit that is synonymous with that part of the country is the banana.

This amazing plant originates from Indomalaya and Australia and is grown worldwide for fruit, fibre and wine. It is also widely used as an ornamental plant in gardens.

Bananas are unique in their richness of vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, folate, choline and vitamin C), trace elements (iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc), sugars (sucrose, fructose and glucose) and dietary fibre.

Just two bananas can give up to 90 minutes of energy for strenuous activity, thus the fruit is recommended for athletes.

Scientific research is proving that bananas can help us fight a number of illnesses.

Depression can be counteracted by eating a banana as it contains tryptophan, which the body converts to serotonin, known to make you relax and improving your mood.

Vitamin B6 in bananas also regulates blood sugar levels, which can have an effect on our mood.

Anaemia, an iron deficiency, can be prevented by eating bananas as they are rich in iron, an essential component in the production of haemoglobin.

Blood pressure, a silent killer, can be helped by the consumption of bananas, as they contain high levels of potassium and low levels of salt.

Research is also proving that bananas improve students’ learning by keeping them alert and in some cases they can also reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

Perhaps it is time we said a banana a day keeps the doctor away because the banana out-competes the apple, indeed.

Contrary to popular belief, bananas help you fight constipation due to their high dietary fibre, restoring normal bowel movement.

They are also useful when one has diarrhoea.

Without having to resort to anti-acids, one can also get relief from heart burn.

The banana can be eaten even in chronic ulcer situations, as it reduces acid and coats the stomach lining.

Trying to quit smoking? Eat the high potassium and magnesium fruit, as it helps the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Bananas should be popular with those that drink, as it cures hangover: blend bananas, honey and yoghurt for a quick remedy.

The fruit also helps lower cholesterol, which is attributed to heart attacks. The high amounts of potassium in bananas help reduce the risks of stroke.

When suffering from a lack of sleep, eat a couple of bananas a few hours before bed and you will have a peaceful rest.

Placing the inside of a banana peel on cuts and bruises overnight with a bandage will help soothe wounds. The same method can be used on warts and mosquito bites.

Bananas contain B6 and vitamins C, which are essential for the health and elasticity of the skin.

Ladies, the banana is a natural moisturiser of the skin.

To get quick results, mash a ripe banana and apply it to the face for 20-25 minutes, but avoid contact with the eyes.

The inside of a banana peel can be amazingly used to polish your shoes.

Once the fruit is harvested, the stem is removed as it will not produce any more fruit.

The inner part of that stem is harvested in other countries and cooked as a vegetable to be eaten with rice.

The banana flower is also rich in vitamins, flavonoids and proteins.

It is a leafy, maroon-coloured cone with creamy coloured florets layered inside. These florets need to be cleaned well before being cooked as a vegetable.

The banana leaves are used as an aluminium foil to wrap food before steaming or grilling.

Though the leaves are not eaten, the food cooked in them tastes better as the polyphenols in the leaves are transferred to the food this way. Foods that can be cooked this way are fish, eggs, meat, cakes, rice and just about any food you can think of.

The banana plant is one of the easiest plants to grow, requiring moderate care.

Bananas, however, are heavy feeders which will do well in compost pits where there is a lot of manure and moisture.

The plant can turn that ugly corner in your garden alive.

The plant is not very fussy, surviving for long periods without being watered once it is large enough — but is very frost susceptible.

The banana plant requires high humidity, with day temperatures ranging from 26-30ºC and night temperatures not lower than 20ºC — no wonder Honde Valley in the Eastern Highlands is quite suitable for banana growing.

Multiple banana plants help maintain humidity.

New plants can be raised using disease-free rhizomes or corms, which can survive long distances of transportation or alternatively use sprouted suckers to raise a new plantation.

Tissue culture is now widely used so as to get a uniform crop.

Good crop husbandry, which includes fertilising, mulching, watering, de-suckering and disease control must be maintained.

Bananas take a whole year to grow.

The fruit can be noticed easily when ready to be harvested as they begin to turn yellow. Also, squeeze the banana to feel it: if it’s too hard then it still needs time to mature, but if it leaves a dent then the bananas are ready to be harvested.

So, go ahead and plant a banana today.

For further details contact, Andrew by email on [email protected]

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