When to Harvest Bananas
Knowing when to harvest bananas is one of the trickiest parts of growing them. Unlike most fruit, bananas should be harvested before they ripen on the plant for best results. Bananas that ripen on the plant tend to split, attract insects, and have a mealy texture.
Signs the Bunch Is Ready
- Fullness — Individual bananas have filled out and the ridges (angles) have started to round. Immature bananas are very angular; mature ones are plumper.
- Color change — Slight lightening from dark green to a lighter green or barely yellowish green.
- Drying flowers — The dried flower remnants at the tip of each banana fall off easily when touched.
- Days from flowering — A rough guide: 75-120 days after the bunch has fully emerged, depending on variety and temperature. Dwarf Cavendish is faster; Red Dacca is slower.
How to Harvest
- Support the bunch from below — it is heavy and will fall when cut
- Cut the entire bunch stalk with a sharp machete or large knife about 6-12 inches above the first hand
- Lower the bunch carefully to the ground
- After removing the bunch, cut down the pseudostem — it will die now anyway. See Pruning and Removing Pups.
The cut-down pseudostem can be chopped up and used as mulch around the remaining plants.
Separating Hands
You can separate the bunch into individual hands for easier ripening. Cut through the bunch stalk between each hand.
See Ripening After Harvest for how to ripen your bananas to perfection.