Bananas
Amigas del Señor
From Sister Alegría
We’ve lived here 2 ½ years and in all that time we’ve been planting several varieties of bananas. And been taking care of them. William has done most of the work, which we pay him for. We are not kidding ourselves that this provides us with cheaper food. This is part of our commitment to eating local food. William brings manure from local cows. And, of course, we make a lot of compost. In the humid tropics where we live, you can just put the leaves on the ground and they turn into compost. You don’t have to have a compost pile.
This morning, Sister Confianza brought in a new bunch of bananas, when we hadn’t even finished the last one. I teased her saying, “We don’t need any more bananas. We already have enough.” So we gave some to Lorany and to our friend Amparo. Later Sister Confianza will take some to the neighbors at the children’s program. William says we will have one batch right after another. That’s the goal. Isn’t it fun when you can actually reach a goal? When we think about how many goals we set and how few of them we actually meet.
This afternoon Sister Confianza brought me out to the porch. I have been watching a banana plant grow. (They are NOT trees. They’re actually in the grass family.) A few days ago it sent out its “flag” leaf (that’s our term for it), indicating that the bud is about to emerge. Two days ago I saw the reddish bud peeping out. Today it is several inches longer. It looks a lot like an ear of corn. This plant produces sweet little dessert bananas, which I like a lot. They all get ripe at once, so one has to share them.
Other local foods we are getting from our yard recently have been katuk leaves, plus another edible leaf that’s pretty yummy, a squash, a papaya, and sweet potatoes. And coconuts. Usually I drink a cup of coconut water each morning (for the potassium and hydration). Sister Confianza eats the soft immature flesh. It’s a good deal for both of us. About half of the coconuts come from our own yard, the others William brings to us. 40 cents a coconut. Good money.
Just thought you’d like to know….
This year looks like a bad year for mangoes. In 2023 we had a bumper crop. Last year was very poor. This year will be poor again. And late. Mangoes are my favorite (of all the things I’ve mentioned).
Bendiciones,
Sister Alegría
(typed and edited by Sister Confianza)