11/15/07
Clarendon goes bananas at Camp Bob Cooper
By Jerriod Grizzle

Jerriod Grizzle/Manning Times

Ronnie Haselden shows off his 46 freshly cut bananas at Camp Bob Cooper.

Ronnie Haselden has had one more job to add to his list of tasks at Camp Bob Cooper this summer … growing bananas.

Before now, Haselden, facilities manager at Camp Bob Cooper was famous in Potato Creek and Camp Bob Cooper for his pepper crop.

This year he’ll be known for growing bananas.
“I started out in 1986 with three trees and soon they multiplied into ten,” he said.

Haselden, a 21-year veteran of the camp said he takes pride in what he does and the results he has produced.

“Mostly, I just like banana plants and how they grow,” he said. “I don’t do it for money but just for fun.”

He said his plants have had some success in the past but none compared to this year.

“About seven years ago we had ten bananas on the tree but this year was a surprise,” he said.

Jerriod Grizzle/Manning Times

Ronnie Haselden and his 18-foot banana plant. Haselden said that if all of bulbs (below the bananas) had come to fruition it would have taken two people to lift the bunch.

This year Haselden’s crop of fruit totaled 46 bananas on a plant that is 18 feet tall. Most banana plants are 20-25 feet tall.

This is the largest crop he has ever produced off his plants and as he said, possibility the largest in the state.

“I’ve heard of some other people growing plants but I think this may be the biggest so far,” he said.

Haselden said that growing bananas is not easy but over time he learned what works and what does not.

“I don’t fertilize them with anything but compost. No sprays or anything else. In the winter time I keep the seeds in water and keep the bowl in a warm dry place,” he said. “Some people like to let them fallow for the winter and they will grow back but I found that my technique works.”

He also puts part of his crop in the hands of luck.

“One of the major factors this year was the weather. It stayed hot right up until now which gave them time to grow,” said Haselden.

After picking the bananas Haselden puts them inside to ripen some more but he already has plans for what is to become of his beloved fruit.

“Well, everyone and their brother that know I’m growing them wants to eat one. So I’ve already promised a few to some friends of mine. I think I might go and cut down some of the trees as well and give them to some other people,” he said.

Haselden is equally appreciated for his pepper crop.

“They really are great,” said Camp Bob Cooper Program Director, Beau Mongold. “He made some sauce two years ago and it was best I ever had.”

“We grow all kinds here, and some of them have cross pollinated so much we don’t know what they are,” Haselden added.

Pepper types such as bell peppers, jalapenos and red chilies grow in Haselden’s experimental garden located at the back of Camp Bob Cooper.

“They’re hotter than Tabasco, that’s for sure,” he said.