My neighbor on the next block is an amazing organic gardener who specializes in growing tropical fruit. Mitchel grows delicious pineapples, taro, mango and numerous varieties of bananas. Shown below is his Namwah banana plant from Cambodia. He shared *a hand with me yesterday and they are so delectable, I had to force myself to stop eating them so I’d have some left for tomorrow. When it comes to bananas, Mitchel is a walking encyclopedia. *A hand is a small group of bananas, a bunch is the whole bunch that hangs from the tree, and a finger is one banana. Did you know that bananas are an herb, and once a tree produces bananas, it’s done forever and you have to cut it down. Luckily they grow “pups” which will produce more bananas for you. In the coming weeks, I’ll post more on Mitchel’s tropical garden.
Text and photo by Deni Mosser
Mitchel’s Namwah bananas
Reynier Village Blog 
Posted by Tucson restaurant news: banana bacon donuts, books/brunch, Amici at Circle of Food | Healthy Food Blog on July 7, 2010 at 11:53 pm
[…] Speaking of Bananas (not Tucson related) When I was in Los Angeles last week, I visited my syn twister and we walked around her neighborhood, Reynier Village. It’s a hidden pocket of older homes with manicured yards south of Beverly Hills, east of Beverywood, and north of Culver City. One of her neighbors is growing bananas! Who would think that the L.A. climate is banana-friendly but apparently it is. Check it out. […]