Overview of garden, NOV 29, 2013
Radishes are growing!
Our plantain cluster on NOV 29, 2013.
Plantain trees on NOV 29, 2013.
Even though these plantains are beginning to turn brown, our one plantain cluster is still growing. We are going to get a small radish yield. We’ll see what happens with our winter weather. Will it freeze?
My newest plantain flower.
If you look carefully, you can see a couple of bees, which is reassuring.
Another picture of my flower with little plantainlets. This makes it clear that both male and female parts of the plantain live closely together.
This is the same flower two weeks later than the above pictures. There are four “hands” of plantains. This plant does not shade my garden, so I will leave the plant standing for awhile. It has become fallish today. The temperature is only in the mid-60s.
Our bananas proved to be plantains. Here they are at their peak in August.
Here is a different view of them at the end of September with a pink yardstick to help gauge their height. As estimated here, the tallest plantain is currently 24 feet tall. In September the plantains grow more slowly, because the amount of light has gone down, due to shortening days, and decreased angle of the sun. 
Another view 
The plantains are are very slow to ripen. It can take longer than a month for the green plantains to turn yellow, then black after the clump falls over, or is cut off of the tree.
They started to ripen three days ago.
Day one of ripening: just a few.
Day two of ripening: a few more.
Day three of ripening: even more.
In a few days, when more are very dark, we will be able to make plantain bread!