Growing bananas in ontario

windwalkingwolf · Post by **windwalkingwolf** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 12:54 am

Cooool!!

Gives me hope of one day realizing my dream of growing awesome, juicy, melty, fresh-eating peaches instead of the gross hard ones found in the supermarket :) Maybe I'm thinking too small, maybe I should shoot for coconut! MMMMMM

http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/mee ... -1.3007500

ross · Post by **ross** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 7:43 am

Got 4 neighbour orchards here that grow great juicy peaches on trees outside in season . No bananas tho . Luck

Post by **poultry_admin** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 8:41 am

We grew bananas when we lived in London.
BUT: in a pot and no fruit.
Had to carry the pot out for the summer and in for the winter. In the house it didn't get enough sunshine, so no fruit.

ross · Post by **ross** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:08 am

4 for 2$ .. Hmmm think ill buy mine a WalMArt .
Haha Martin no fruit in my Pot either luck

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 12:44 pm

You're right there Jan; no comparison with a "local just picked" fruit or nut. I am tired of tree fruits (or tomatoes) with all the flavour of a potato. Soft fruits like stone fruit (peach, apricot, plum, cherry) all will grow in your area (zone 5 I believe). Windmill point farm/green barn has peaches: they say to trim them into a hedge; growth above that dies in winter. They have very mixed reviews for sales and service. I'll add more later.

muffin57 · Post by **muffin57** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 2:21 pm

So awesome...I would love to grow peach trees, too, as we have so many other kinds of fruit trees. Not all have bared fruit yet. I called around a couple years ago to see if they had any peach trees for sale that would grow in our area, but no they didn't. Maybe one day they will have created ones to grow here. We have a mango growing and 3 lemons that we keep in the house. Want to start some more mangos. It sure would be nice to preserve all our own fruit. One day maybe I will try bananas.

goatgal35 · Post by **goatgal35** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 3:57 pm

I would love to have a year round green house and have my own bananas. For now I have a fig and a lime tree that I bring in during winter. I only get a few fruits from each tree, but to me those few fruits taste so wonderful. Once or twice a year I get to sip on a glass of limonade grinning from ear to ear. My hubby thinks I am a wee bit daft, but oh well.

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 7:51 pm

So Nolalu Ontario is considered gardening zone 3b. https://www.cog.ca/uploads/TCOG%20Artic ... %20are.pdf

That limits your tree varieties that can handle 1. The winter cold; 2. The short growing "frost free" season (date of last frost in spring and first frost in fall)

In Ottawa we now suffer from numerous freeze/thaws throughout the winter. This can cause considerable damage to trees vs a winter that freezes and stays frozen until spring. You can create an "artificial" environment with the placement of walls and windbreaks. The flowering season is delicate and a frost will hit trees hard. I read an article in an old Harrowsmith where a farmer in Iowa grew dwarf trees in half barrels and used the tractor to move the trees into or out of the barn to warm them or cool them through the year. This slowed down early budding and killing frosts and the worst of winter. A lot of hassle but he grew peaches and plums and sweet cherries and many more.
There's more than one way to grow "exotic trees" if you want them.

windwalkingwolf · Post by **windwalkingwolf** » Mon Aug 01, 2016 11:31 pm

I've never had an Ontario peach that I enjoyed, I find them hard and bland. I want the juicy, sweet peaches I had as a kid. The ones that were dark red outside, just bordering on over ripe. Eating peaches, not canning peaches, blech. If that means I have to greenhouse grow a less hardy variety, I'm good with that! Bananas would be a bonus too :D

kenya · Post by **kenya** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:00 am

If you buy Ontario peaches at the roadside in the Niagara region during the season you will get the flavourful , juicy peaches you remember as a kid.