One does not normally think of bananas as a crop for arid regions. It is quite common, though, to see bananas being grown in monsoon climates where there is a pronounced dry season. These plantings often suffer during the dry season where water for irrigation is scarce. By planting in deep holes and using significant amounts of mulch, however, growth and production of banana plants can be improved. Pictured below are
banana trees that were established as follows:
1) A 2.5 ft hole was dug
2) 18 inches of compost was placed in the hole
3) Banana plantlets (pups) were planted at or near the top of the compost (15 to 18 inches up from the bottom of the hole
4) 1 ft of mulch was placed around the plantlet
Pods of the vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) are used to make vanilla flavoring. Pictured here are vanilla orchid plants trained onto living posts (Gliricidia sepium). Apparently, the resulting curves in the vanilla orchid vines stimulates flowering to occur. We have observed that when allowed to grow vertically, up into an oak tree for example, the vines rarely flower. This is a small observation plot in the rainforest. We're also trying it with black pepper (Piper nigrum) in the same plot.
