Edible Toronto

Homegrown Bananas

• Photo by Britney Townsend

  At Canada Banana Farms, Terry Brake propagates new plants by cutting the off-shoots known as pups, pieces of rhizome that form miniature banana plants. They are cut from the mother plant and transplanted to eventually become a separate tree.

• According to Terry Brake, above, parts of the purple banana flower are edible. Inside, long thin florets can be removed to expose an inner white flower that can be added to salads, added to soups or eaten raw.

• The three hoop houses that dot Macpherson's property keep the inside temperature at a balmy 25C and the humidity level between 85 and 90 per cent — creating the ideal tropical conditions for bananas, mangoes and papayas to grow even in Huron County's harsh winters.