Are you an early adopter as well as a Foodie? Then you’re going to LOVE this!
NEW this season from North Star Orchard: home-bred and home-grown bananas from one of Pennsylvania’s most unique orchards!
You know we already go crazy ‘round here growing over 300 hundred varieties of unique and heritage apple varieties, as well as 3000+varieties in our own apple breeding program. If you’ve ever tasted Monolith or Ludicrisp, you know how tasty NSO-developed fruits can be.
Well, that wild and crazy fruit nut, Farmer Ike, has been secretly developing a new variety of banana over the past 20 years or so. Why 20 years? Well – you try making those wee tiny little black dots of seeds grow!
A lot of us are kind of astounded he undertook this project, as bananas are definitely his own personal LEAST FAVORITE food on the planet! But, as Ike will explain to anyone, “New customers to farmers’ markets always ask about bananas, and I was getting tired of explaining that we can only bring our own, locally-grown produce to the market. So, I thought if that’s really a gap which needs filling, then I might as well figure it out. They grow bananas in the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens after all.”
So, years of research and development ensued. Including how to sustainably heat the greenhouse space required to keep cold-sensitive banana plants thriving in Pennsylvania. At NSO, we try to farm as sustainably as possible, so finding an alternative fuel source for greenhouse heating for this project was paramount.
The answer was found in an alternative and very sustainable and renewable resource: burning the bodies of Japanese beetles, stinkbugs, and apple maggots which we trap on the farm every year!
Some farmers and homeowners are surprised at how many Japanese beetle traps we have around the farm, as many fear that will simply attract TOO MANY beetles to the farm. Obviously, in our case, this IS the point! The more beetles we attract, the more fuel we have for the greenhouse to keep those banana plants happy!
Be forewarned: our bananas are not yet for everyone. Research and development costs were high, and the supply of fruits is limited, so each banana, at least initially, will be rather expensive (although not as much as a Japanese $27,000 watermelon).
But if you’re the type of person who has a little disposable income and enjoys bragging rights at dinner parties, you can’t go wrong by picking up one of NSO’s new “Polaris” bananas, priced at a very reasonable $100 each. We can even put a “Chiquita”-style sticker on it, if you’d like!
“Polaris” will be available at markets soon – keep your eyes peeled!
You can also reserve yours in advance today…
