Banana tree fruiting

[khoi1976]

Once a banana tree fruit. Does it fruit again after that or I need to cut it down?

[skhan]

cut it down,
Another pup will grow in its place an fruit

[RollingInTheWeeds]

I’ve been advised to cut the stalk at about 3 feet above ground.  Supposedly the sap in that 3 feet will help the plant stay healthier than if you cut it all the way to the ground.  Eventually that dying stalk withers from top down.  When it’s weak and mostly withered (months later), just knock it over and it’ll become part of the mulch pile at the base of your plant.

Banana sap causes permanent dark stains on everything it touches, so I suggest you prepare for the sacrifice by donning your traditional banana clothing and drawing your traditional banana cutlass (machete) from its scabbard.  Say a chant thanking the stalk for giving its life and its fruit into the world, and perform the sacred decapitation, piling the cuttings onto the base as mulch.

This is the tradition as I’ve inherited it.  If others in the community have better ways, please share.

[bsbullie]

If you dont mind the messy look, you can leave the fruiting pseudostem (which I will refer to as "stalk") be and allow it to decay on its own (to nourish in the same fashion or better than as staed above for the "3 foot section").  Same reasoning why not to cut leaves from the stalk and allow them to dry up and decay on their own while attached to the stalk.

[WaterFowler]

Anyone ever eat the stalk heart? Last time I cut one down and was turning it into mulch, it looked edible. But by then it was all chopped up and dirty. I told myself the next stalk I chop down, that I will save the heart (or whatever it's technically called).

[shafak]

It's edible.  Here we have several recipe to prepare it.  Just search for banana stem recipe

Anyone ever eat the stalk heart? Last time I cut one down and was turning it into mulch, it looked edible. But by then it was all chopped up and dirty. I told myself the next stalk I chop down, that I will save the heart (or whatever it's technically called).

[shafak]

Just for your knowledge, you'll see lots of reference to Vazhai (Banana) and Thandu (stem/stalk) in Tamil language while searching for banana stem recipe

[johnb51]

So now we're eating banana stalks, as well as mango skins?

[mangaba]

After the tree has given the bananas ,when you cut the stalk, you can remove the flowers from the red cover and cook the flowers. Sauté some onions, put the flowers+some grated coconut+pinch of salt and let it cook for some time under low fire.

[mangaba]

After the tree has given the bananas ,when you cut the stalk, you can remove the flowers from the red cover and cook the flowers. Sauté some onions, put the flowers+some grated coconut+pinch of salt and let it cook for some time under low fire.

[pineislander]

I haven't cooked the banana male flower but a video feed I follow shows a considerable amount of hand prep involved.
The word I can understand is 'waste', and a small part of each flower is being removed, assume due to toughness, taste preference, or anti-nutritive effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RORKnPvSA5o