Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Banana Plantation

Lots of people asked about the bags and those who hypothesized that they were to protect the bananas from insects (and spiders) were correct. They pick them when they reach a light green color and a marketable size. They get hung on the banana train, which carries them into a processing plant. They are being dipped in a dilute chlorine solution near the end (because fungi and insects are so prevalent here). Lastly, people break them into bunches of 5 or 6 to be shipped. Earth University supplies Whole Foods with all their bananas.
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23 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 4:50 PM

    Is your trip to Costa Rica for fun or school/science related? Either way it looks like tons of fun!
    Why are there plastic bags covering the growing bananas? Is it to protect them from bugs or the elements, or is there some other reason? love the photo with you and the huge banana bunch.
    JQ p5

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  2. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    Ms Stephens,
    I enjoy all of your pictures, and everything looks so natural over there. The bananas are huge! And why are they on the ground in the third picture? Anyway, have a fun trip!
    KL, period 6

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  3. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    Those bananas look HUGE! how were they grown so big!?

    ML Period 1

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  4. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 6:08 PM

    Do you know why the bananas are covered in that plastic? LG-E Period 2

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  5. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 6:14 PM

    why do they put plastic over the bananas?

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  6. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 7:38 PM

    How soon do they harvest the bananas from the tree?
    K.D. Period 1

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  7. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    What are the blue coverings for over the bananas? Are they to protect them from pests/bugs or from weather?

    Hope your having a fun time!

    EC, Period 2

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  8. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 9:39 PM

    What are the plastic bags on the bushels of bananas for?

    I've heard that Costa Rica also has a vast amount of coffee plantations as well! My friend has visited Costa Rica before; she mentioned that the climate is apparently conducive to crop growth and (for whatever reason) usually yields VERY high caffeine levels. :)

    Looks like you're having fun!

    -SB, Period 5

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  9. AnonymousNovember 29, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    Wow, that explains where all our bananas come from...although their space would be better employed towards growing mangoes (: At least from the pictures on here, Costa Rica looks much more natural and chaste than the U.S. The forest pictures look a lot like the Hoh Rainforest though.

    AN third period

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  10. UnknownNovember 30, 2011 at 6:37 AM

    ML, I think it helps that they're not organic. The heat, humidity and endless rain also causes lots of growth here. I'm glad that I'm rain adapted:)!

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  11. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    That banana tree looks so good. How long does it take to grow a banana tree?
    LK per.3

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  12. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 4:28 PM

    What are they doing to the bananas in the last picture with you next to it? I'm also wondering why bananas grow upwards like that... wouldn't gravity force it to grow the other way? Its so cool how the bananas are harvested in giant groups, its probably bigger than me!

    BT period 3

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  13. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 5:39 PM

    Can animals such as monkeys go into the banana plantation and steal some bananas?
    - JL Per. 5

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  14. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 6:47 PM

    Does putting a bag over the banana actually affect its growth? Because you know, when a watermelon is grown in a box, it takes the shape of a cube and weird stuff like that. Also, does the banana itself need to do photosynthesis or does it get all the energy from the tree? If so, why do bananas that are detached from the tree ripen from a greenish color to a yellow color if they just kind of sit there?
    -SH, P6

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  15. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    DM period 2. Those are some big leaves, they look like palm trees. Did the bananas taste as good as they look?

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  16. S.S Per. 6November 30, 2011 at 10:15 PM

    Banana!.. In India we had lots of Banana trees. They make nice house decorations for the garden of course.
    -S.S Period6

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  17. AnonymousDecember 1, 2011 at 3:19 PM

    why are the bananas dipped in a dilute chlorine solution? bugs, fungi, or taste?
    MP Period 2

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  18. AnonymousDecember 1, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    It sort of looks like the bananas are being soaked in something in the 3rd picture from the bottom. Is it just the angle of the picture, or are they really sitting in some sort of liquid? If so, what is it?

    S.E. Period 3

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  19. AnonymousDecember 1, 2011 at 8:39 PM

    All the pictures i've seen have been amazing so far. I was just curious on how long the bananas take to grow? And in what season? What temperature?
    M.H. Period 2

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  20. AnonymousDecember 1, 2011 at 9:14 PM

    You said that the bags on the bananas protect them from insects in the jungle. But does the bag effect the speed at which the banana's ripen?
    Thanks, S.B. period 3

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  21. AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 12:21 AM

    these picture are great! YUMMM! those are the brightest green bananas i've ever seen. I wonder how they tasted if you tried some

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  22. AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 12:22 AM

    that was MO, Period 6!

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  23. UnknownDecember 6, 2011 at 7:46 AM

    S.B.,

    They are picked green, so it takes 2-4 weeks for them to ripen. I don't think it affects the ripening rate.

    Ms. S.

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