...and plantains. I like to call the 15 banana & plantain "trees" our "Banana Farm." Lilo planted them on the steeper slope that leads down to the lowest area of the property (the "lower 40") near the southern property line. The underground spring runs into the"cantacion" (looks like a cement bunker) and comprises our water supply for the finca (farm) and potable water for the house. The "cantacion" is located just above the banana trees. Though they grow as high as trees, banana and plantain plants are not woody and their apparent "stem" is made up of the bases of the huge leaf stalks. Technically, they are gigantic herbs. As with most plants, it is best to remove dead limbs & stalks to allow the plant to direct is growing resources to living branches. Chopping off the dead branches was our farm work for today. Cleaning up the banana trees is something that Lilo usually does. He's on vacation with his family for 2 weeks. Since we were walking around the trees and M had his machete, he went to work. And this bunch of plantains was ready to harvest.
I posted a small photo gallery here of the "Banana Farm. In the first photo, you can just make out the roof of our lower water storage tanks shed. There are two 2,500 liter storage tanks on the "lower 40." There are 2 more 2,500 liter storage tanks up by the house behind the garage. The lower storage tank has a submersible pump and every couple of days, we remember to turn it on to pump water up the hill to the upper tanks.
An important aspect of the cantacion area is its surrounding plants. With the advice of our friend Jon and Lilo, we have a variety of plants/trees: bamboo, tropical almond trees, coco palms, papayas in a horseshoe above the cantacion. These plants aid in recharging the well. The plants capture the morning dew in their leaves, along the stems/trunks and in their roots. As we were working around the banana trees this morning, huge drops of water showered over us as the large leaves shifted in the light breeze. In the very early morning, we often hear the jungle rain. There is dense jungle along the east and west edges of the property. We can hear a gentle patter of water dripping down through the leaves.
And what do we do with all these plantains? Plantains are a starchy and must be cooked to sweeten their flavor. Ticos cook "patacones." It is a simple process of peeling a green plantain, cutting it into 1" sections, boiling the sections for about 10 minutes, drain, cool. Then you take 2 plates with oil on the top side of one plate and oil on the bottom side of the 2nd plate, place a section of plantain on the plate and smash it flat. Get the frying pan hot with oil and fry the flat disks. We sprinkle salt, pepper, chili powder on them. They are kind of addictive. I also chop up garlic and onion with chopped plantain & make fritters. When plantains are ripe, the skin turns black. When fried, they are a sweet dessert.
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