Banana Technology

 This morning in Costa Rica I took a lesson in banana growing from one of the residents.

Bananas are considered a gift from the gods, as they require little maintenance and give much in return.  Place a bit of banana trunk in a hole during the rainy season. Nothing further need be done. In time the trunk produces a large female flower. Small bananas can be seen forming.

Female Flower

 The male, pollinator flower hangs below it. When the bananas are developed the male flower can be harvested. Raw, it tastes like a green banana peel. After soaking in salt water, and cooking, it resembles both artichoke hearts and mushrooms.

Each trunk produces one bunch of bananas. Multiple shoots sprout around it, providing a perpetual harvest. The leaves make elegant plates; the discarded trunk provides mulch and fertilizer.

 There are several types of bananas, some for cooking, some for raw eating, and some for cell phone use.

Lord Krishna makes a speech about the munificent nature of trees, recorded in the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam, "Just look at these most fortunate trees of Vrndavana. They have dedicated their lives to the welfare of others. Individually they are tolerating all kinds of natural disturbances, such as hurricanes, torrents of rain, scorching heat and piercing cold, but they are very careful to relieve our fatigues and give us shelter. My dear friends, I think they are glorified in this birth as trees. They are so careful to give shelter to others that they are like noble, highly elevated charitable men who never deny charity to one who approaches them. No one is denied shelter by these trees. They supply various kinds of facilities to human society, such as leaves, flowers, fruit, shade, roots, bark, flavor extracts and fuel. They are the perfect example of noble life. They are like a noble person who has sacrificed everything possible--his body, mind, activities, intelligence and words--in engaging in the welfare of all living entities." Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead walked on the bank of the Yamuna, touching the leaves of the trees and their fruits, flowers and twigs, and praising their glorious welfare activities.  http://krsnabook.com/contents/