Bananas are an excellent source of phosphorus and potassium for us, and their peels have many useful properties for plants. Find out how you can use banana peels in the garden and what benefits they have in this article!
What's so good about banana peels
Banana peels are rich in nutrients, making them an excellent natural fertilizer for your garden. You provide your plants with:
- Potassium fertilizer: This nutrient helps your plants grow strong roots and ensures good distribution of water and nutrients. Plants use potassium to regulate plant enzymes and promote the growth of strong stems. All of this combines to create strong, sturdy plants that can fight off diseases and pests.
- Phosphor: This nutrient also helps build healthy roots and shoots and is essential for the successful production of flowers, pollen and fruits. Plants that receive plenty of phosphorus grow tall and strong.
- calcium: Roots and stems also rely on plenty of calcium for their strength and proper development. Calcium helps break down soil nutrients such as nitrogen and aids in the transport of other minerals through the plant system.
- Magnesium: This mineral supports healthy photosynthesis, which is absolutely essential for all aspects of plant growth and health.
Tipp: Banana peels as fertilizer for tomatoes -If you want your tomatoes to thrive and produce a bountiful harvest, don't forget to add banana peels to the soil!
Don't throw banana peels in the trash because they have many uses in the garden. Here are some of them!
Make your own liquid fertilizer & non-toxic pest repellent
- Start by cutting your banana peels into small pieces, placing them in a bucket or pot and covering them with water. Leave them for two to three days. Stir occasionally.
- Strain it and use the liquid to water your plants. You can also put the liquid in a spray bottle and spray it on the leaves and branches of your plants to use this mixture to deter aphids.
- Take it a step further and add crushed eggshells and a spoonful of Epsom salts.
Making fertilizer from banana peels – more DIY instructionsyou can find here!
Banana peels in the garden use as mulch and compost
Mulch helps improve the quality of your soil and the health of your garden by suppressing weeds, harboring plant-friendly insects and microorganisms, and helping to retain moisture up to 70% better than unmulched soil.
Banana peels can be placed directly on top of potting soil or as mulch around the bottom of your garden. As they decompose, they release nutrients into the soil that nourish plants.
When using banana peels in your garden, place a single layer directly on top of the soil, making sure they do not touch the plant stem. Cover the trays with a commercial mulch, such as sugarcane mulch, to prevent attracting fruit flies.
Banana peels in the compost: Whether you use a compost pile, bin, or vermicomposting, adding banana peels (whole, chopped, soaked, or as a pulp) is a good idea.
- Tipp: If you use whole banana peels in the garden, you should bury them deep near the composting coffee grounds to avoid attracting pests.
If you soak, chop, grind, or pulp the banana peels, the nutrients will be more readily available to the plants and the peel will break down more quickly. For this reason, some pre-composting is desirable.
- Tipp: Another way to use banana peels in the garden is to bury them directly in the ground to improve soil health. This is an effective way to add nutrients to garden soil even if you don't have space for a composter.
Warning!However, before experimenting with this technique, keep in mind that buried bowls can attract squirrels, who may be able to smell the food underground!
Use as a nutrient supplement for flowering plants
Fermented banana peels are an excellent additive and additional source of nutrients for flowering plants. This mixture promotes bigger and better blooms. To make fermented banana peel mash, place a few peels in a mason jar and add water. Place a weight on the bowls to keep them submerged and cover the jar with a cloth.
Leave the jar at a comfortable room temperature and dim light for about a week. This allows the beneficial bacteria to release the nutrients contained in the banana peel. Drain the peels at the end of the week and save the water to use as liquid fertilizer. Add the peels to your blender and puree them. Use the resulting pulp as a nutritional supplement for flowering plants.
- Notice: Note that you should not use the mixture if it smells very bad or shows signs of mold.
Also read:Overwintering a banana plant: This is how you care for the perennials outdoors!
