How to Make Banana Peel Fertilizer
Banana peel is rich in vitamins and minerals, including potassium, which is one of the three essential nutrients plants need to stay healthy. According to the experts, there are four main ways to use your banana peels in the garden, including a water trick and a technique for chopped peels. Banana peel fertilizer is rich in potassium and magnesium, both of which contribute to stronger stem and plant root growth and improve nutrient distribution. You can add banana peels to an existing compost pile, sow them directly into the soil near the plants, or ferment banana peels in water and then use a spray bottle to apply the water to the soil.
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Banana Peel Fertilizer is Good for Plants
Banana peel fertilizer is an organic fertilizer that can provide nutrients to your garden plants or houseplants. A banana peel fertilizer contains many nutrients that contribute to healthy and happy plants, including:
- 1. Calcium: This element supports plant growth by helping to break down nutrients in the soil and distributing them throughout the plant’s system.
- 2. Magnesium: One of the main contributors to plant photosynthesis, magnesium assists plants with photosynthesis—the process by which plants harness energy from the sun.
- 3. Phosphorus: This element contributes to healthier plants with strong stems and roots, and it aids the growth of flower blossoms and pollen.
- 4. Potassium: A vital nutrient for plants, potassium helps plants regulate enzymes and distribute nutrients through their systems. It also encourages new growth and stronger stems. Potassium-loving plants, like tomato plants, can benefit throughout the growing season from a good potassium fertilizer, such as one from banana peels.
You always hear about plants needing potassium, but do you know why? Think of potassium as the plant’s supervisor – it assists in nearly every chemical and metabolical process that happens during the life of a plant.
From moving nutrients and water from cell to cell to controlling enzymes, even assisting in when photosynthesis occurs, potassium plays a role in it all.
In addition to potassium, banana peels contain some vital nutrients for general plant health – calcium, manganese, sulfur, and magnesium. Each of these nutrients plays a role in maintaining plant health, whether it’s photosynthesis, generating chlorophyll, or regulating the movement of water among cells.
Furthermore, banana peels don’t contain nitrogen, which is important to note if you’re an avid tomato gardener. Banana peel fertilizer is perfect for plants with low-nitrogen requirements such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and even radishes.
But don’t worry, even nitrogen-loving plants will benefit from the use of banana peel fertilizer. The calcium content found in banana peels helps plants absorb nitrogen in the soil easier.
How to Make Banana Peel Fertilizer
Brewing a batch of banana peel fertilizer is super easy.
Equipment for Banana Peel Fertilizer
- Banana peels
- One-quart mason jar
- Mason jar lid
- Distilled water
Instructions for Banana Peel Feritlizer Making
- Add a banana peel to a clean jar.
- Fill the jar with water and put the lid on it.
- Let the concoction sit for a week to two weeks, then remove and discard the banana peel.
- Dilute the finished fertilizer with water in a 1:4 ratio.
- Enjoy happy plants and bigger yields.
How to Use Banana Peels as Fertilizer
There are various ways to use banana peels in your garden to help your plants thrive. Consider using one or more of these methods for making banana peel fertilizer:
- Add banana peels to your compost. Simply throw banana peels in your compost pile or compost bin with other organic materials, such as eggshells and coffee grounds, to create a rich fertilizer.
- Blend banana peels into a fertilizer slurry. You can run your banana peels under running water or soak them and then blend them in a food processor to make a slurry of nutrients for your plants. Side dress this slurry by burying it in a shallow slot in the soil near the plant.
- Make a banana peel fertilizer tea. You can make a nutrient-rich and bug-repelling banana peel tea by soaking banana peels in a mason jar filled with water for at least one week. Remove the peels and dilute the mixture so it’s not quite so acidic, then spray it at the base of your plants. Alternatively, you can steep the peels for up to a month to make a tea that is more acidic for plants that prefer acidic fertilizer, such as blueberries. The banana water acts as a liquid fertilizer or compost tea as well as a pesticide that will help repel garden pests like aphids.
- Plant the peels directly in the soil to drive away pests. Simply cut up a banana peel into very small pieces and then bury the chopped banana peels beneath the soil and off to the side of the plant. The smaller the banana peel pieces are, the better they will decompose.
More Banana Peel Uses In The Garden
Banana peel fertilizer is excellent, but it’s not the only way you can use banana peels in the garden. Here are some other a-peel-ing ways to put this everyday kitchen scrap to work. (What? I’m a sucker for a good pun.)
1. Bug Buster
A jar is filled a quarter of the way with apple cider vinegar and chopped banana peels with a funnel in the mouth of the jar to catch flies.
You won’t believe how well this easy and effective trap captures fruit flies.
Spray diluted banana peel fertilizer on plants to repel pests such as aphids. Burying chopped up banana peels around the base of plants will also keep aphids at bay.
Banana peels and apple cider vinegar make a fantastic bug trap. Pour a small amount of apple cider vinegar into a jar and add a couple of tablespoons of chopped banana peel. Place a funnel in the container so the bugs can get in but not out. Discard after 48 hours and repeat the process.
2. Plant a Peel
Start the season off right by popping a part of the banana peel directly into the bottom of each hole or container as you transplant your tomatoes and other potassium-loving plants. The peel will break down quickly, giving your plant the nutrients it needs to do well.
3. Give Seeds a Head Start
Several pumpkin seeds lay in the dirt next to a piece of banana peel with a pumpkin seed on it.
Banana peels are excellent for getting seeds to germinate.
Use banana peels to give seeds an extra boost while germinating. Pop a piece of banana into the hole and drop the seed in on top. Or place the seed directly on a piece of banana peel before covering it with soil. Water and wait.
4. Banana Peel Powder
Hands hold a mortar and pestle which is filled with banana peel fertilizer powder.
Banana peel powder can be sprinkled on top of the soil and watered in to fertilize plants.
Dry banana peels on the lowest setting in your oven. Place them on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching. I cut mine into 1″ pieces first. They should break apart easily once they’re done.
You can also leave banana peels on a rack to dry in the sun for a few days.
Crush the dried peels into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or an old coffee grinder. Keep the banana peel container in a sealed jar or baggie.
Loosen the soil around the base of each plant and then sprinkle one or two tablespoons of the powder over the soil. Water the plant thoroughly and let the banana peel work its magic.
5. Chopped Banana Peel Mulch
A hot pepper plant has many banana peels sprinkled around its base.
These hot peppers will get a boost from the bananas placed at their base.
Chop up several banana peels and add a small handful at the base of each of your potassium-loving plants. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
As the peels break down, they will release nutrients in the soil right where they’re needed most.
6. Banana Peel Vinegar for Acid-Loving Plants
A jar filled with water and chopped banana peel with cheesecloth over the top of it.
This banana peel vinegar keeps your acid-loving plants happy and healthy. Fermenting the banana peels will result in an acidic vinegar-like mixture. Acid-loving plants like blueberries and hydrangeas will do better with this fertilizer, rather than the standard banana peel fertilizer.
Finely chop a banana peel and add it to a mason jar.
Pour in enough water to cover the peels, plus an inch.
Cover the jar with a doubled-up layer of cheesecloth. Put the jar somewhere warm for a week.
Remove the peels after a week and recover the jar with the cheesecloth. Let the vinegar continue to ferment for another month.
Dilute the finished vinegar 1:1 with water and feed to plants that require acidic soil once every other week.
7. Winter Soil Booster
Once the growing season is finished, till or dig under banana peels throughout your garden. The peels will break down during the winter months, replenishing your soil with nutrients.
If you’ve got a large garden, ask the local smoothie place to save their banana peels for a few days for you.
8. Wipe Houseplant Leaves
Houseplant leaves can accumulate dust over time which hampers their ability to absorb sunlight and photosynthesize. This can hinder their growth.
Use the inside of a banana peel to gently wipe down your houseplant leaves.
9. If All Else Fails – Compost Them
A banana peel lays on top of compost.
Give your compost a boost by tossing in a few banana peels.
Like most vegetable and fruit scraps, banana peels are great for the compost bin. Banana peels, however, break down quicker than most scraps, making them perfect for the compost bin. If you do nothing else with your banana peels, add them to your compost.
How to Peel Green Banana and How to Peel Ripe Banana
For Green Banana Peeler
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For Ripe Banana Peeling
Generally, it is much easier to peel for ripe banana. For bulk peeling, worker can also complete. In factory using, generally, it is used for banana puree making after ripe banana peeling. We design the Ripe banana peeling machine for fast peel as follow
Banana Peel Tips
Depending on where you live, putting banana peels directly on your plants might not be the best idea, as it can draw pests to your garden. It might be a better option to use banana peel fertilizer or banana peel powder.
If you’re not big on eating bananas, check local places that make smoothies and ask them to save their banana peels for you. Or you can also ask at your local supermarket for overripe bananas that they can no longer sell.
