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How to grow bananas from seeds

Is it possible to grow a banana at home or in a greenhouse to see flowering and fruiting? Can. But you will hardly be able to enjoy the taste of its fruits. If everything is done correctly, there will be flowers and fruits. But their edibility will be very relative.

The fact is that banana is different from banana. The ones we buy come from plants that did not exist in nature before human intervention. In wild bananas, about 90% of the fruit consists of large (about a centimeter long) black inedible seeds. But people noticed that the fruits of some banana seeds had little or no seeds. They began to purposefully multiply the offspring of plants with a minimum number of seeds in the fruits.

This is how (with some simplifications, of course) the varieties of bananas that we know came into being.

In addition to the already mentioned cultural forms, there are others in which the presence of seeds is not only allowed, but even welcomed.

For example, the notorious textile banana. And there is also bananas decorativethat are grown to decorate rooms.

Start by preparing the seeds. They have a rather rigid shell, which must be damaged in order to allow water to penetrate inside to the embryo. This treatment is called scarification. You can do it with sandpaper, a nail file, or simply by scratching with a needle. The main thing is not to overdo it. The shell should not be destroyed, but only damaged.

Another important point is the choice of dishes. If there are no more than 10 seeds, then the easiest way is to plant them one by one in plastic disposable cups. It is more convenient to sow more seeds in a common bowl. It should be wide enough, but not too deep. Do not forget to make holes about 10 mm in diameter in each corner and in the center of its bottom to drain excess water.

First, pour a layer of drainage from small pebbles or expanded clay 1.5-2 cm high into the selected dish. Then - a layer of substrate. Its height is largely determined by the depth of the dishes, but it should be at least 4 cm. There should also be about 3-4 cm of free space from the surface of the substrate to the edge of the dish so that the emerging seedlings do not rest against the glass covering the greenhouse from above.

And it is imperative to cover it. The fact is that the germination period banana seed (even fresh) long enough - at least 3 months. Before planting, seeds should be placed for 30 minutes in a sufficiently saturated (the color of very strong tea) solution of potassium permanganate. With the same solution (and even hot), it is advisable to water the substrate abundantly one hour before sowing.

The substrate in this case is a simple mixture of coarse river sand (previously thoroughly washed and calcined on a dry metal sheet) with a small amount of steamed peat (4: 1). The introduction of something "nutritious" into the substrate is not only meaningless, but also harmful - it will attract a host of those very putrefactive bacteria and fungi that we want to get rid of.

The seeds are evenly spread on the surface of the substrate and slightly (!) Pressed into it. They need light to germinate.

It is clear that the sowing pot itself should be in a fairly bright place. But direct sunlight is unacceptable, as overheating and death of seeds will inevitably occur.

When the substrate dries up, immerse the seed bowls in a slightly larger dish filled with warm boiled water, slightly colored with potassium permanganate. The immersion depth should ensure that the bottom of the substrate is in contact with water. But no more. A sure sign of the end of watering is the appearance of wet spots on the surface of the substrate.

When mold appears, which can manifest itself in the form of a small white rash on the seeds themselves, cotton-like white lumps on the substrate or white fluffy cobwebs, you must react immediately.With the help of, for example, an ordinary teaspoon, the affected and suspicious seeds and areas of the substrate are ruthlessly removed. They do this with a fair amount of space and a depth of at least a centimeter. At the end of the operation, the entire surface is abundantly sprayed with a pre-prepared strong solution of potassium permanganate, and the cover glass is immediately returned to its place. By the way, it should also be disinfected.

Everything will change with the emergence of seedlings. The banana grows surprisingly quickly. Under suitable conditions, tender seedlings will turn into powerful plants 2-2.5 m high and about 15 cm thick (at soil level) within a year.

But for this they need to be given plenty of everything: light, heat, water and fertilizers. Get ready for the fact that by the end of the first year of life, your pet will no longer need a flower pot, but a tub or box that can hold 30-40 liters of soil.

One consolation - this will stop the wild growth of the banana, it will bloom, the fruits will appear and ripen, and the plant itself will safely ... die. Yes, yes, do not be surprised and do not be indignant. Banana - this is a grass, albeit a large one. And the lot of all herbs is the same - to grow quickly, give offspring and make room for a new generation.

By the way, if you don't stop there, you won't need to mess with the seeds. Children (10-15 pieces) will appear next to the dying old banana, which will be enough just to carefully separate and put in the appropriate vessel. And everything will happen again.

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