Green Banana Flour

Green Banana Flour

Preparation of banana

• -          Wash green bananas in water with a little vinegar (or lime) added. This helps to prevent bananas from getting extra brown (oxidized) when peeled.

• -          Peel green bananas and slice them thinly lengthwise (easier to handle this way).

• -          Put sliced bananas into clean water with a little vinegar or lime added.

Drying of banana

• Remove sliced bananas from water. Grain off some of the water.
• -          Spread sliced bananas onto a sheet of zinc and place in full sunlight. A plastic container can also work if you do not have a large metal surface to put the bananas on for drying.

• -          When you see that they have begun to dry on one side, turn them on the other side.

• -         Make sure you do not leave the bananas out until late evening (doing this can dampen them and make them prone to mold/mildew).  

• -          Store overnight in a tightly closed container (or in cloth)

• -          As soon as the sun rises high, put the bananas out again and make sure to take them in before the sun goes down and dew falls.

• -          Do this for three to four days (or until banana is perfectly dried - banana will break/snap easily when pressure is applied to it)

Sun dried green bananas

Courtesy of Ellis Guzman (DUF member)

Making into flour

• -          If you have a mortar and pestle, you can pound it until it breaks into fine pieces (same process when beating hudut). Strain/sieve to get the powder. Continue beating the large pieces until you are satisfied that you have enough powder.

• -          You can also use a blender, a food processer or a magic/ninja bullet to get the powder. This process is faster and easier. You may not need to sieve the product when using this. Most can give fine powders.

Put dried bananas in a plastic bag or a piece of cloth and pound to make smaller pieces before putting into magic bullet container.

Let this blend for 30 seconds, stop, and repeat process until banana is finely powdered

Powdered green banana

Storage

• -          Store in a sealed plastic bag or a container with tight lid.

Banana powder placed into two plastic bags and tied

(to be used to make banana porridge, banana shake, and pancakes/waffles)

Making banana waffle or pancake by Kaydoc

Ingredients

1 cup plain banana flour (no other flour added)

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Pinch of salt

2 - 3 eggs

2 tablespoons coconut oil

3/4  or 1 cup cups milk

 

Mix ingredients until you get a smooth consistency. See below.

Heat up your waffle iron or pancake maker and spoon in the batter based on the capacity of your appliance. 

I use 1 1/2 spoons of batter.

You can add toppings to your waffle/pancake based on your preference. 

I added chocolate syrup to one and honey to  the other and sprinkled them with pecans. 

Just be creative folks. 

You can use other syrups, powdered sugar, whipped cream, other nuts, fruits (fresh/dried), seeds, etc.

…………………………………...

Interestingly, you can make flour out of any commonly found starchy foods - yam, coco, dasheen, breadfruit, potatoes, sweet potato, cassava, rice, corn, plantain, blogo, etc.

(added benefit - all these are gluten free)

The ingredients needed to make these into commonly used foods remain the same or similar to what we are used to with ordinary white or wheat flour.

Each will provide a unique texture or taste. 

Keep an open mind and continue to eat healthy and local.

*Cassava will take in more water than the other flour types due to its water absorbing property. Be mindful of this when using the flour in recipes. That is, you may need more liquids in the recipes.

Let us NOT waste food. 

If you do not have a food dehydrator, do dry your food using the Belizean sun. 

The weather is perfect for this. 

Soil pH

Soil pH

pH, pH scale, its interpretation & explanation in layman terms

pH defines how acidic or basic (alkaline) a soil is.

The pH SCALE

i.            Ranges from 1 to 14.  

ii.            7 is neutral (this means it is neither acidic nor alkaline)

iii.            Less than 7 is acidic. The lower the number the higher the acidity.

iv.            More than 7 is alkaline. The higher the number the greater the alkalinity.

       Most common garden plants do well in slightly acidic (little less than 7) or slightly alkaline soils (little higher than 7).

*With this understanding, you should be able to amend your soil to suit the conditions your plants (crops) will grow best in.

See examples of common materials below and their positions on the pH scale.

It would be great to learn the pH of your common household materials. This helps with creativity in gardening and can limit unnecessary expense.

Tools you can use if you want to be a bit more accurate include:

          

 Soil test kit (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium: N-P-K and pH)  

                                                                                                                      Test meter (moisture, light, pH)

                 

It is easier to increase soil pH when it is found to be too acidic. One of the best additives is limestone (white lime, lime). Dolomite is another option.

• -          White lime is sold at Tzul Tortilla factory
• -          It can also be bought in St. Margaret on the Hummingbird Highway.
• -          Dolomite is sold at Belize Minerals near Forest Home in Toledo.
• -          Wood ash works well too (it is a source of potassium). Not the same as potash.

It is more challenging, and sometimes even more expensive, to lower pH when soil is alkaline. The easy and organic ways include addition of peat moss, composted (or treated) animal manure, organic mulch, fallen leaves and kitchen waste.


*Vermicompost can be used. But I will depend on you guys to tell me how this one works. 😀


Other options include pine needles (if you have access to conifers) and coffee grounds (if you love the coffee rush).  

This list came with my soil testing kit

Additional information

If your soil is not appropriate for your choice of plant/crops, you can improvise - concentrate the nutrients (prepare your soil with the materials you have - see previous blog on soil preparation) and plant in containers (check YouTube for ideas). 

*this will require that you give more attention to the amount of water you use for watering.  You will need more. You can create your own dripping system using used soda or water bottles (check YouTube for ideas).

In these uncertain times, we need to invest our time in planting crops that will provide enough calories (that is, calorically dense crops). 

These include potatoes, squash, lentils, sweet potatoes, and corn. These do not require a lot of care.

• -         Potatoes and sweet potatoes can be planting in used tires or sacks. Simply control the running of the vine by pruning regularly.

• -          Corn, beans and squash can be grown in the same space. Plant corn before beans. Beans can run on corn for support. The squash will help to limit the growing of weeds.

Reminder on tools needed to maintain a productive garden

Rake

Shovel

Hoe

Fork

Trowel and hand fork

Watering can

Pipe hose

Strings

Scale

Spray pump

Machete

Feel free to provide comments, add pictures or share your experience. 

Write to dufsept2014@gmail.com.

DUF home visit

DUF home visit artefacts 

March 25, 2020

Sedella's roof top

         

Wayne's backyard

Karen's agro-processing kitchen

(Making Cassava Farine at home)

Exact same processes are applied as in making of ereba (cassava bread) except for the last stage. 

See below.

   

 

 Instead of baking and pressing to form the ereba, the sieved and dried grated cassava is roasted or patched in a wok at low heat and constantly stirred.

Cassava farine can be used like corn meal. 

It can be made into a tasty porridge, into muffins, or used to coat meat or seafood before frying or baking.

 Encouraging all members to plant things to eat in their yards. 

Easily available are:
Sweet potato cuttings - Wayne
Corn seeds - Reimer's Feed Mill
Okra seeds - Ellis
String bean seeds - Jones
Spinach cuttings - Wayne, Jones
Sesame seeds - Karen
watermelon - market
Cucumber seeds - Karen
Sweet Pepper seeds - Karen
Jalapeno seeds - Karen
*Chayote (chocho) - market
Cantaloupe - market
Cassava sticks - Sedella, Wayne, Ellis
Aloe vera - Sedella, Karen
Culantro - Sedella
Cilantro seeds - Reime'rs Feed Mill
Strawberry - Sedella
Cherry tomato seedlings - Karen
Pitaya - Tasher
Papaya
Plantain
Cane
Squash
Pumpkin



We can get black soil from Silk Grass
We can get used tires from Belize Tire Depot or from local mechanic shops

Prosser has an outlet in Hope Creek.

Companion planting

-      Corn, squash, pole beans (can also add peanuts). Plant corn first.

-          Chives and tomato

-          Cucumber, pole beans, radish

-          Radish and spinach

-          Lemon grass and eggplant

Stay connected. 

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DUF Challenge

DUF Challenge during this Stay home time

Production of EM, Bokashi and Liquid fertilizer

EFFECTIVE MICRO-ORGANISMS

Ingredients

¼ cup Raw rice

      1 cup Water (non-chlorinated)

80 oz whole cream milk

1 teaspoon Molasses

Materials
a bottle for mixing, fine mesh strainer, 1 qt mason/ball jar (4 cups), a one-gallon gar or bottle

Step one

Created by Kaydoc on March 27, 2020 at 10:00p.m.

*Take note - amount used is doubled

 

Stored in cool dark place until April 1 - 3, 2020

Instructions

1.         add rice to water in a bottle with cap.

a.      Shake vigorously. The water should turn cloudy white.

b.      Put strainer on top of the jar, strain off the rice (this is not the part to use).

c.       The liquid part is what is needed. Place the cap unto the jar loosely.

d.      Store in a cool dark place (or cabinet lockers) for 5 to 7 days

e.      After 5-7 days, sift off the top layer and strain the liquid again. This liquid is the fermented liquid.

Step two

After 5 to 7 days, gather the materials above.

                Liquid after 5 days (left)                            Strained liquid (right)                             

2.         Use one-part fermented liquid to 10-parts milk in a gallon jar or bottle (ratio of 1 to 10 of whatever unit of measurement you choose)

a.   Loosely put the cap/lid on

b.   Let this sit for another 5 to 7 days

c.    After 5-7 days, sift of the curd that will settle on top.

d.   The light-yellow liquid that remains will be the Unactivated serum.

The strained (fermented) liquid is added to whole milk in a ratio of 1 to 10)

The mixture (fermented liquid and milk) is covered loosely and stored for another 5-7 days
(made April 1, 2020)

Unactivated serum produced after 5-7 days.

3.         add 1 teaspoon of molasses to the serum. This will feed the organisms.

              a.   Refrigerate the serum. This is your EM (inoculum) and can last for at least one year.

Pale yellow liquid remaining after the curd is skimmed off.

Unactivated serum strained to remove residues of curd

Molasses added to feed the organisms and stored in the refrigerator (or a very cool place)

This is the finished product - homemade EM

Dosage

Add 1-part serum to 20-parts water (room temperature) to activate the serum

Feed the diluted serum (EM) to the soil directly or by foliar feeding (applying to leaves).

*Foliar feeding can be done once a week.

(Process completed by Kaydoc on April 7, 2020 at 8p.m.)

BOKASHI 

(an anaerobic fermentation composting method used to amend soil and improve its texture)

  

Ingredients

10 lbs. Rice bran or saw dust (ensure this is free of pine wood)

4 tablespoons EM

4 tablespoons Molasses10 cups water (non-chlorinated)

Materials
large garbage bags, large container for mixing

Instructions

1.   Add molasses to water and add the EM

2.   Pour mixture unto the rice bran and mix well.

3.   Keep checking the moisture content. It should not be too wet.

4.   To check for moisture, squeeze the bran to form a ball.

5.   Add more water if the ball could not hold together.

6.   Once satisfied with moisture content (30-40%), put into the large garbage bag. Tightly seal to prevent air from entering.

7.   Store in a shaded and warm area. Leave to ferment for a minimum of 14 days.

8.   The mixed bran (Bokashi) should have a sweet-sour smell after 14 days. This is ready for use (wet mix). Store in airtight container.

*Try as much as possible to prevent mould from forming. That is, by preventing air from coming in contact with it during the process.

*white mould is tolerable. Black or green mould means the product is not desired.

9.   If you prefer a dry mix, spread the bokashi in thin layers on a concrete surface after day 14. This (air drying) can be done for three consecutive days (sunny). This is done for longer storage.

10.  The dried bokashi should be stored in a sealed bag at room temperature for up to 12 months.

Use of bokashi

As organic fertilizer (compost tea)

Enhancing the decomposition of organic waste

Reconditions soil (soil conditioner) to increase nutrient level

Use as top dressing

Can be diluted to create foliage spray

LIQUID FERTILIZER (organic)

Ingredients

5 lbs rice bran (or saw dust)

2 ½ gallons non-chlorinated water (same as ½ bucket)

1 litre milk (full cream)

½ litre EM

1 litre molasses

4 eggs

Materials
1 five-gallons bucket, weighing scale for rice bran, 1 large spoon for stirring, a measuring cup.

Instruction:

1. Combine all ingredients

2. Stir every day for at least 15 minutes or more (or even twice a day)

3. Do this for three weeks

Dosage

Dilute 250ml of the liquid fertilizer in 5 gallons of water. Apply to plant drench.

*The organic fertilizer can last for 2 months if stirred every day.

Pesticide training

Pesticide training with Mr. Peter Shol

March 14, 2020

The objective of this is for us to learn enough about pest management in the country and also to be able to identify chemicals based on their functions (and toxicity levels). Mr. Shol is always very helpful. We are very grateful for his usual zeal to share his experience with us. Thanks Mr. Shol.

***

The group intends to produce crops with little or no use of inorganic chemicals. Part of our goal is to gain enough knowledge on farming practices to be able to make informed decisions and to share this with others who may have interest in producing their own organic food. 

 *** 

Identification of pesticides by color of labels

The color codes are used to allow persons who cannot read or who do not understand the commonly used languages on labels to know the toxicity levels of the pesticides they are using in order to take proper precautions. 

DUF field trip to Independence after pesticide training

A stop in Georgetown Village to visit a farm. 

Join us

write to dufsept2014@gmail.com