Coast tree goes bananas
A tree has gone bananas in north Auckland.
A ‘‘massive’’ bunch of bananas was grown this season on the Hibiscus Coast.
Frank Belk has been living in his Whangaparaoa home for 15 years and has never grown such a big bunch of bananas.
After growing bananas for many years, Belk went to cut the bunch from his tree on October 27 and was surprised by the number in the bunch.
‘‘I have never seen so many bananas on our tree. I pulled off the rubbish bag on the top of the bunch and was surprised to see there was another bunch under it.
He estimates the bunch weighs around 30kg.
The bananas have taken around four months to grow and the tree was planted around 14 years ago.
‘‘We get many on there but have never had this many in one bunch. The only thing I do to maintain the tree is give it water and cover the bananas with a rubbish bag sometimes to keep the moisture and heat in.’’
Belk said the bananas are a bit different from the normal bananas that you would get in the supermarket as they are a lot more sticky.
‘‘I usually eat them with my wife and give them away to neighbours and family.’’
According to Statistics NZ, most bananas eaten in New Zealand come either from the Philippines or Ecuador.
In 2001 Manual Kabana made the world record for growing the most bananas in one bunch.
He grew a total of 473.
‘‘I think there are around 100 bananas on this bunch’’
Frank Belk