BA – Jamaican Red Bananas

Jamaican Red is an excellent small dessert banana— sweet and flavorful. Its appearance does not change dramatically as it ripens— just wait for it to soften up quite a bit, and then it’s ready.

More cold-sensitive than many varieties, the plants will yellow at the first sign of cold weather. Perhaps because of its dislike of cool temperatures, it’s slower growing than many other varieties. Still, the distinctive, tasty fruit made it a favored choice in our SweetSong banana collection.

At SweetSong, our six Jamaican Red banana plants form one of our banana circles, a technique from permaculture in which a central pit is surrounded by a mound planted with bananas, and plant prunings and pulled weeds are regularly tossed into the pit area to compost and eventually feed the surrounding plants. “Closing the cycle” in this way is part of our ecological, regenerative approach.