If your plants are showing signs of stunted growth, have lost their fresh appearance, and seem close to death, use Banana Peel Fertilizer to boost the soil’s nutritional richness. Read here to learn more.
Having a lush green garden or different indoor plants potted around your home can be therapeutic and refreshing. However, you only enjoy gardening when your plants are healthy and green.
If your plants seem tired and dull and are no longer producing any new healthy leaves or flowers, use banana peels as a natural DIY fertilizer to increase the nutritional richness of the soil and save your plants from death by deprivation.
Keep reading to learn how to use banana peels for plants.
This blog post will discuss banana peels as an excellent plant fertilizer, how you can add them to the soil, and other ways to enhance the quality and richness of the potting soil.
What Makes Banana Peels an Excellent DIY Plant Fertilizer?
Many health experts encourage people to consume fruits and vegetables with their skins on because the real nutritional goodness is usually the most concentrated in the outer peels.
For instance, while apples are known for helping gut health, the most soluble fiber is usually only in their yellow-red skins.
However, although you cannot consume a banana’s peel to benefit from all its nutritional wonders, you can still make the most of these nutrients by feeding them to your growing, sick, unhealthy, and weak plants.
Banana Peel Fertilizer Benefits
- A banana peel contains some of the most vital nutrients and minerals that can impact a plant’s health and improve its growth rate.
- When you place a banana peel on the plant’s potting soil, it slowly decomposes, releasing all its packed nutrients into the soil.
- As you water the potting mix, those rich nutrients drip deeper into the soil until they reach the plant’s roots.
Some of these nutrients that make banana peels excellent DIY plant fertilizers include:
| Name of Nutrients Banana Peels Release into the Soil | The Respective Benefits |
| Calcium | Potassium helps build up the plant’s immunity and vigor. This helps the plant develop resistance against common plant diseases, infections, and infestations. |
| Potassium | Phosphorus helps the plant with seed germination and pollination. It also helps increase the abundance and quality of flowers and fruits. |
| Phosphorus | Like calcium, sulfur plays a big role in improving root health and strength. It also helps the plant develop immunity against common plant pests. |
| Magnesium | Magnesium is a key mineral a plant needs to photosynthesize water, light, and air into plant food. |
| Sulfur | Like calcium, sulfur plays a big role in improving root health and strength.It also helps the plant develop immunity against common plant pests. |
Since these nutrients and minerals are some of the key ingredients that make up the most common plant fertilizers you can find at the store, banana peels can be used as excellent DIY plant fertilizers when you cannot find popular commercial fertilizers.
With this in mind, whenever you bring home a bunch of bananas, store their peels in an airy container, which will help them decompose faster into the perfect plant fertilizer.
Signs Your Plants Need Extra Attention
If this is your first time taking care of a plant, look out for the following signs that indicate your plants need some extra attention in the form of fertilization.
These signs are:
- Slow or stunted growth
- No new plant limbs
- No new leaf, flower, or fruit growth
- Leaves are pale and yellow
- Leaves have brown and black spots
- Leaves have dried tips and twisted bodies
- The plant is produced poor-quality fruit
- The plant is unable to defend itself from common diseases
How to Use Banana Peel Fertilizer to Improve Your Plant’s Appearance
1. Prepare Homemade Slow-Releasing Liquid Fertilizer
Since banana peels can take some time to decompose into the soil, the best way to unleash their nutritional magic is by turning them into a slow-releasing liquid fertilizer.
For this, chop up an old banana peel into small pieces and add them to one part of the water. Cover the container with a lid and leave it aside for two to four days.
Finally, strain the banana peel and water mixture and collect the liquid fertilizer into a spray bottle. Spray the banana fertilizer onto the plant’s potting soil and use a garden shovel to mix it in.
To make the fertilizer even more effective, you can crush in a few eggshells and add a small amount of Epsom salt.
2. Place the Banana Peels Directly onto the Potting Soil
One of the most practiced ways of using banana peels as a DIY fertilizer is by using the peels as compost.
For this, place the peels onto the potting soil while making sure that it does not come into contact with the plant’s stem.
Water the peels after every other day to speed up the decomposition process, and use a garden shovel once a week to push in the decomposed peel bits.
3. Brew Some Banana Peel Tea
Another excellent DIY fertilizer is banana peel tea. This is extremely effective and preferred when the plant seems close to death.
For this, add some distilled water to a pan along with a few banana peels. Let the mixture come to a boil and let it simmer until it concentrates.
Strain the solid peels out of the banana tea and bottle the solution. Once the tea has cooled down to the normal temperature, spray it onto the potting soil and use a garden shovel or spoon to mix it.
4. Plant the Banana Peel with the Seeds
If you want your plants to have the best height, health, immunity, and appearance from the very beginning, it is important that you start caring for their nutrition while it is still a seedling.
Hence, while putting the plant seeds in the soil, make sure to add one or two banana peels along with it.
This way, the seeds will have an excellent chance at sprouting and will benefit from the surrounding nutritional richness of the soil.
5. Pest Control using Banana Peels
Banana peel can be a great DIY pest control for common gardening bugs like Aphids, Powdery mildew, and other insects.
- Wrap little pieces of banana peel around the plant’s base.
- Spray a banana peel tea directly onto the plant
4. Composting using Banana Peels
A. The Advantages of Composting with Banana Peels– Contribute to the creation of nutrient-rich soil. Improve the composting process
B. Composting using Banana Peels– Before adding the peels to the compost pile, cut them into small pieces. Combine the banana peels with other organic materials.
5. Using Banana Peels to Improve Seed Germination
A. Banana Peel Benefits for Seed Germination– Increase the rate of seed germination and seedling growth.
B. Banana Peels for Seed Germination– Before adding soil and seeds, place little pieces of banana peel at the bottom of a planting hole. Use only once per planting hole.
6. The Use of Banana Peels as Mulch
A. The Advantages of Using Banana Peels as Mulch
- Assist in the retention of soil moisture.
- Keep plant roots safe from harsh temperatures.
B. Using Banana Peels as Mulch
- Peel the oranges and cut them into small pieces.
- Spread the pieces around the plant’s base and repeat every few weeks.
7. Using Banana Peels to Shine Plant Leaves
A. Get Ready
- Rub the surface of the plant leaves with the inside of a banana peel.
- Wipe away any residue with a clean towel.
B. Advantages of Using Banana Peels to Shine Plant Leaves
- Make the leaves shine and gleam.
- Remove any dust or grime that has accumulated.
- Using banana peels for plant health is a simple, long-term, and low-cost strategy to increase your plants’ development and well-being.
Signs Your Plants Are Reacting Well to the Banana Peels
Since banana peel fertilizers or compost are not as concentrated or aggressive as most store-bought plant fertilizers, they can take a little time to cure and revive a plant.
All it needs is constant action and lots of patience. However, to know if your efforts are coming to fruition, look out for the following signs:
- The stem seems straighter and firmer
- The plant is growing new leaves, flowers, and fruits
- The leaves have developed their original vibrant pigment and are no longer spotted
- The leaves are wide open and plump
- The plant is bearing high-quality fruit
- No excess leaf loss
When Are Banana Peels Not a Good Idea?
As mentioned several times in this article, banana peels will take some time to fully decompose into the soil. In general, a peel will take nearly 2 years to decompose and release all its packed nutrients.
Hence, although the physical peel can be used as excellent plant compost to keep the plant healthy, well-fed, and growing, it cannot act fast enough to save a dying plant.
However, if you have no way to use store-bought fertilizer or concentrated fish emulsion, the best way to introduce the banana peel’s nutrients into the soil is by using it to prepare a liquid fertilizer or a concentrated banana tea.
Top Plants That Benefit the Most from Banana Peels
Although the nutrients a banana peel can offer have the potential to benefit your entire garden, there are certain plant and vegetable species that enjoy this DIYed natural fertilizer more than others.
Some of these plants and vegetable species are as follows:
- Tomatoes
- Roses
- Bell peppers
- Most air plants
- Banana trees
- Staghorn fern
- Blueberries
Q: How often to use banana peel fertilizer?
Most plants can benefit from banana peel fertilizer once a month.
The frequency of use, however, will be determined by the type of plant and the state of the soil.
To guarantee a steady release of nutrients over time, use it sparingly and slice the peels into little pieces.
Q: Can We Use Fermented banana peel fertilizer
Fermenting banana peels aids in the breakdown of organic matter, making it easier for plants to absorb nutrients.
Fermented banana peel fertilizer is high in potassium, phosphorus, and other essential minerals for plant growth.
It’s also a more environmentally beneficial approach to fertilizing your plants because it employs natural resources and reduces waste.
To avoid over-fertilization, use it sparingly and with suitable application procedures.
Q: What is Banana peel liquid fertilizer disadvantages?
There are various drawbacks to utilizing banana peel liquid fertilizer.
For starters, improperly prepared peels can attract bugs and have an unpleasant odor.
Second, using too much banana peel liquid fertilizer can over-fertilize the plants and injure them.
Finally, banana peel liquid fertilizer may not be appropriate for plants that require specific nutrient ratios or pH levels in the soil.
Final Thoughts
If your plants are showing signs of stunted growth, have lost their fresh appearance, and seem close to death, use banana peels as a natural fertilizer to boost the potting soil’s nutritional richness.
However, if the plant seems too weak and close to death, turn the peels into a liquid fertilizer or tea to maximize their effectiveness.
My name is Olivia, and I live in the United States and love having plants in my garden. Lots of plants are there on my balcony, indoor and outdoor garden also. Here I am trying to share useful gardening tips, how to grow and care for various plants, etc.
