Plant Maintenance

During the time between harvesting, the banana plant must be maintained to ensure the quality of the plant itself and the bananas it produces. It requires many steps and is very labor intensive.

Deflowering

In early stages of development, each finger has flowers on the end that must be picked off by hand. This is usually done when special bags are put over each bunch that act as insecticide, protection and ripening agent.

When the flowers are picked off a banana sap, or latex, oozes out of the end of the banana. It got my hands sticky.

Pruning

The banana plant grows forward with a new stalk or sometimes several stalks springing up. The stump on the right is a plant that has been cut off as it deteriorates. The stalk in the middle is where the fruit is growing. The stalk on the left will start producing fruit after the middle stalk has been harvested.

Sometimes more than one of the baby stalks spring up. Only one should be kept so there is no competition for nutrients. The one that is kept is chosen based on its size and location on the plant.

I'm still struggling with the machete, and I think some of the workers become terrified when I am wielding one.

De-Leafing

The process of de-leafing involves the removal of the droopy, unhealthy leaves.

The tool used for this is a long stick with a blade at the end.

After the leaf is removed it is added to one of the piles of leaves and stalks that have been removed. This adds organic matter back into the soil and acts as ground cover to prevent grass from growing.

These steps are actually the most important part of growing bananas. A well-maintained plant tends to produce higher yields and a better quality fruit.

Mayan Ruins

There are Mayan ruins all over Belize. These are near San Ignacio. The size of these structures is breathtaking....so is the climb to the top of them.

Shrimp Farm

I got to visit a shrimp farm and take a look into the world of aquaculture. A very well-spoken lab technician named Diego showed me around the shrimp farm. First we visited the breeding tanks, then the maturation tanks. After the shrimp reach a certain age, they are put into large ponds. These ponds are like a feedlot for shrimp. Once they reach the desired size, the water is drained and and the shrimp are filtered out into a tank that is stocked with ice. From there, they go the processing plant, or they are sold whole.

They have to grow algae to feed the shrimp in the maturation tanks and to stock in the ponds.

Don't let my smile fool you. I didn't like touching that icky shrimp. That's Diego in the background.

I had to wear rubber boots, a lab coat, a mask and a hairnet inside the processing plant.

This was taken in the freezer where the shrimp are stored after processing.

Observing a shrimp harvest.

Chemical Application

To maintain the health of the banana plant, it is important to use herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Perhaps the most threatening disease to the banana industry is Sigatoka, which affects the leaf. The health of the leaf is essential to the rest of the plant. Crop dusting is the technique used to prevent Sigatoka. I got to tour the mixing station for the chemicals and see the planes.

The crop dusting plane

Grasses grow around the banana plants and compete for nutrients. So, teams of workers spray the grasses with herbicide as needed. I got to participate. I had to put on white coveralls, boots, a mask and gloves so I wouldn't get the chemical on my skin. The coveralls were a few sizes too big and my boss told me I looked like the Michelin Man.

I decided to accessorize my coveralls with blue polka dotted rain boots. It gives them a needed splash of color.

I felt like I was going to fall over backwards when they put the sprayer on my back.

It is very important not to let the grass get out of control.

Striking a pose with the other sprayers

Waterfall

There are beautiful waterfalls not far from where I am staying. I've gotten to got there twice already. It is being made into a tourist spot with stairs that go up to the waterfall and benches. The first time I went I didn't have a suit so I just waded. But the second time, I had my suit and got to play on the swings. There were some workers there and they swam too after their lunch breaks. As a former Carmen Municipal Swimming Pool lifeguard, I noticed they didn't follow the wait-a-half-hour-after-eating-before-swimming rule, so I made sure to be ready to spring into action. There is a big waterfall at the highest point and that flows into a second, smaller waterfall.

The swing is very fun!

The view from the deck.

It is difficult to distinguish, but that is actually me lounging by the waterfall, not a Belizean jungle Goddess.

Just swinging!

This is the smaller of the two waterfalls.

Deliciousness

This is at De' Tatch and I'm fixing to get after that burrito.

Fry Jacks!

Breakfast Burrito!

Conch Ceviche!

Yum!

I'm loving the food here. The Belizean national meal is rice and beans and stewed chicken. In the states, we typically eat a big supper. Here, the noon meal is the heaviest. Instead of calling it breakfast, lunch and supper, they say "Tea, dinna, tea."

I have gotten to pick and eat oranges, grapefruits, mangos, and bananas, of course. The oranges and grapefruits grown here are grown for juicing, so they are nice and juicy. I ate my first mango at the farm. A little girl brought it to me. She didn't speak English and she just said "Mango. Gringa." For mangos that are unripe, they are peeled, cut up and eaten dipped in a mixture of salt, ground pepper and hot sauce. Not my favorite but I'm coming around. Bananas are also eaten unripe sometimes. They are peeled, sliced and deep fried with seasoned salt. Sounds weird but it is like eating potato chips. Delightful!

I don't like seafood, but the other night I tried conch ceviche and it wasn't bad. Another common dish is fry jacks which is pretty much fried dough. I love me some fry jacks. Most people here eat them with beans, but I put butter or jelly on them or just eat them plain.

There is a man who works on the street here in Mango Creek who sells fruit and flavored ice out a cart that is attached to a bicycle. The flavored ice is basically a snow cone so it very refreshing on the warm days. The flavor I get is cola and almond with cream on top.

In Placencia there is a restaurant called De' Tatch (The Thatch) and they have excellent food. When I had supper there I had chicken with mango sauce and coconut rice which I love. For breakfast one morning I had an amazing breakfast burrito with hashbrowns. And fry jacks.

Flavored Ice

Fried Bananas with seasoned salt. I can't stop eating these little pieces of heaven.

Harvesting

This week I got to help with the banana harvest. This takes place a few times every week as the fruit becomes ready. As you will notice in the pictures there are no yellow bananas. They are always picked green. At a certain point in the banana maturation, a blue bag is placed over the bunch. This serves several functions: 1) It contains an insecticide 2) It protects the bananas from the elements 3) It speeds ripening.

It takes a team of workers to harvest the fruit. One worker stands under the bunch to support it while another worker cuts the stem with a machete. Bananas bruise very easily so the person who is holding the bunch must be very gentle. This is very difficult because the bunches are very heavy. I didn't do a very good job with this task. I looked like a bull in a china cabinet trying to weave my way through a banana field while holding a 45 lb. bunch of bananas over my head. However, the team captain, Mota, did compliment my nice, broad back. Yep, I'm a sturdy gal.

After the bunch is cut down, the tree is then cut off so a new stalk can come up. When the workers cut the tree they chop it up even more and use it for ground cover. Although my accuracy is lacking, I enjoy using the machete. The bunch of bananas is then walked through the field to a cable line where they are hung by the stalk. Pieces of foam are put between the hands to prevent more bruising. After about 25 bunches have been harvested, a worker will tie a rope around his waist and pull the cable line of bananas to the processing shed. This is pretty tough. I pulled one to the shed, but I think the nice guys behind gave me some help when I wasn't looking!

Once in the processing shed, each bunch is graded and records of which block the bananas came from are taken. I will go into the processing in another post.

I am sharpening my Caribbean steel.

Walking the bananas to the cable.

With my guns (my arms) and machete, I am a weapon of mass destruction.

I am pulling the cable line. The men who do this are cableros. I'm a cablera.

Here I am cutting down the bunch of bananas. I felt sorry for the guy holding the bunch.