Best Way to Harvest Moco Plantains.

I have a few moco plantains growing in my yard. They are a great source of food and when they bear, it's alot. Most times the tree falls over due to the weight of the plantains! This forces me to pluck the bunch and let them ripen inside the house.

A wooden prop to hold the tree up or a naturally short tree will easily hold its load of plantains. From the same sucker I actually have both tall and short patches growing separately. The short patches of trees produce the best by far!

Once birds start attacking the ripe plantains that is a sure sign they need to be picked. You can wrap the bunch with a plastic bag or sheet to keep birds off. Once cut from the tree they can be left in the kitchen for use.

The first pic is a green full moco. See the brown stretch marks along it? That is a sign it is mature.
Once left on its own it will ripen as in the last pic. If left to ripen on the tree, the moco becomes super sweet. It can then be boiled, steamed, fried, baked. All healthy and good!