An Australian eco-warrior who discovered a simple and inexpensive fertiliser hack went popular on TikTok.
All you need for the video, which has received 1.3 million views, is a banana peel and a jar of water.
Sydney-based The hack was posted on TikTok by Lottie Dalziel, who also provides advice on how to conserve resources and treat the environment better.
The creator of Banish posts films on a variety of waste reduction subjects, such as composting, recycling, and how to switch out products for more environmentally friendly ones.
Although there are several fertilizing tricks floating around the internet, none are as simple as this one!
Did you know that potassium, calcium, and phosphorus are all present in bananas? She claims you can use them to feed indoor plants by simply soaking a banana peel in a glass of water for 24 hours before applying it to the plant.
Homemade liquid fertiliser and non-toxic pest repellent
Banana peels should first be chopped into small pieces and placed in a bucket or other container with water covering them. Give them a two- to three-day break. sometimes stir.
Water your plants with the liquid after straining. To help ward off aphids, you may also put the liquid in a spray bottle and spritz it into the leaves and branches of your plants.
Add some Epsom salts and crushed eggshells to this concoction to take it a step further.
By adding the strained peels to your worm farm, bokashi, compost pile, or just burying them in your garden or potted plants, you can make this recipe waste-free.
Homemade slow-release fertiliser
Banana peels should be chopped up and placed on a tray to dry in the sun or a low oven (with the door slightly open).
You can either use them as dried banana skin chips or powder them by grinding or blending them. To increase the nutritional content of your soil, bury your powder or chips in potted plants, garden soil, or mix them into your potting mix.
This slow-release fertilizer, which should be used every few months, is especially beloved by epiphytes including staghorn, orchids, bromeliads, and bird’s nest ferns.
Use them as mulch
Mulch inhibits weed growth, serves as a haven for beneficial insects and microorganisms for plants, and helps soil retain moisture up to 70% better than unmulched soil. These benefits help your soil and garden thrive.
Banana peels can be used as mulch at the base of your garden or directly on the soil of a potted plant. They will release nutrients into the soil to feed plants as they break down.
When using banana peels in your garden, make sure they don’t contact the plant stem and spread them out in a single layer directly on top of the soil. To keep fruit flies away, cover the peels with a common mulch, like sugar cane mulch.
When in doubt, compost, compost, compost!
Banana peels are an excellent source of nutrients for your worm farm or compost, adding to the process of organic recycling.
With our compost rebate program, council is making it easier to buy your organic recycling system. The program offers rebates of up to $70 off the cost of approved composting equipment to qualified Brisbane residents. There is a composting system to meet your needs whether you live in a home or an apartment and whether you own it or rent it.
In order to assist Brisbane homeowners who are unable to compost at home with the recycling of their kitchen scraps, council has also worked with a number of community gardens in the area. Our Community Composting Hub initiative encourages locals to routinely add their cooking scraps to compost bins in neighborhood gardens.
Which plants profit from the peel of a banana?
Many individuals are feeling alone and ill due to the epidemic “Go bananas because the word “going bananas” is likely derived from the earlier expression “going ape,” which refers to behaving erratically or wild like chimpanzees occasionally do.
Bananas are odd in a variety of ways, not the least of which is that, botanically speaking, they are berries like watermelons and bananas, which produce a single flower with a single ovary and frequently several seeds. Bananas indeed contain seeds, but since they are little and edible, we tend to ignore them.
Rub the interior of a banana peel on your skin to relieve mosquito bite and poison ivy itchiness because of the oil in them. Even silver can be polished using banana peels by rubbing it with the inside of the peel.
Bananas have the scientific name Musa sapientum, which translates to “the wise men’s fruit Furthermore, you are quite clever to use banana peels as fertilizer.
As one of the three main fertilizer ingredients, together with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), potassium (abbreviated to its scientific name K)—which is found in banana peels at 42 percent—is beneficial for gardens, banana peels are a rich source of potassium. Banana peels are actually one of the best organic sources of potassium.
Potassium helps plants transport water and nutrients between cells. The mineral potassium both strengthens plant stems and deters disease. It is particularly crucial to the creation of flowers and even improves the flavor of fruits (and berries!). Even your plants will become more drought-resistant with potassium. In general, plants develop poorly when their potassium levels are low. Even your plants’ protein content rises as a result.
In other words, potassium is better for plants that are grown for their fruit and flowers, such as fruit trees and rose bushes, than for their leaves, such as spinach, lettuce, and Swiss chard.
Because of what they do not contain, banana peels make very good fertilizer. They have no nitrogen at all. While nitrogen is necessary for plants (remember the NPK on fertilizers), too much nitrogen will result in an abundance of berries and fruits but few green leaves. This means that plants like tomatoes, peppers, or flowers benefit greatly from the potassium-rich banana peels. Calcium, which is also included in banana peels, shields tomatoes from developing blossom end rot. Banana peels include salt, which promotes water movement between cells, and manganese, which facilitates photosynthesis. Even residues of sulfur and magnesium, which are used to create chlorophyll, can be found in them.
Banana peels can simply be buried nearby your plants, where they will decompose and release their nutrients. Banana peels can also be used to make tea by placing them in a container with water. You will have a liquid fertilizer that is rich in nutrients after letting this steep for a week or two. In contrast to solid or powdered fertilizers, this liquid fertilizer reaches the roots right away and benefits the plants right away. Useless peels can be buried in the yard or added to a compost pile.
Paul Barbano, who lives at Rehoboth Beach, writes about gardening there. You can write to him at PO Box 213 in Lewes, Delaware 19958.
Can plants benefit from soaking banana peels in water?
Numerous minerals, such as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium—all essential for healthy plant growth—can be found in banana peels. When the banana peels are soaked, the nutrients can leak into the water, where they are then absorbed by the soil’s roots. Although you can soak the peel intact, one user suggested that you should chop it up instead because this exposes more surface area and allows more nutrients to flow into the water.
And hey, if you still haven’t developed a green thumb, these virtually indestructible houseplants are a wonderful place to start!
How should banana peel be prepared for plants?
First, chop up the banana peels and put them in a big dish or container. Submerge in water. You shouldn’t be overly picky; the ratio should be roughly 1/3 peels to 2/3 water.
Step 2: Let the minerals extract as you soak for 2 to 3 days. After that, strain into a bottle using a colander.
Use as-is for your plants in Step 3 (no need to dilute). Peels that have been soaked can be fed to worms or composted.
Due to fermentation, the bottles may slightly bulge; nevertheless, you may easily “burp” your bottles by sometimes unscrewing the lid.
We hope you’ll join the campaign to use sustainable coffee capsules to help us prevent over 11.5 million pods from going to waste each year.
Are banana skins a plant’s aid in growth?
Due to their high nutrient content, banana skin and peels are a fantastic natural source of fertilizer for your lawn and garden. Your plants receive from them:
- Fertilizer with potassium helps your plants develop sturdy roots and promotes even water and nutrient distribution. Potassium encourages the growth of stronger stems in your plants and aids in the regulation of plant enzymes. All of this contributes to the development of robust, resilient plants that are resistant to disease and pests.
- Phosphorus: This nutrient is extremely necessary for the proper creation of blooms, pollen, and fruit. It also aids in the development of strong roots and shoots. When given a plenty of phosphorus, plants expand and become robust. Even better is bone meal!
- Calcium: For strength and healthy stem and root development, roots and stems also require a sufficient amount of calcium. Calcium facilitates the movement of other minerals through a plant’s system and aids in the breakdown of soil nutrients like nitrogen.
- Magnesium: A healthy photosynthesis is supported by this element and is crucial for all aspects of plant growth and health.
Brew Some Banana Peel Tea
Use only the banana peels and water to make an organic liquid fertilizer made from banana peels that is rich in potassium, phosphate, and nitrogen. This mixture nourishes and feeds plants, aiding in their resistance to pests and disease.
Brew This Nourishing Banana Peel Fertilizer Tea In Several Different Ways
#1 Pour water into a 2-quart big jar until it is about 3/4 full. Place the water jar in the fridge. Slice the banana peel into little pieces before eating it, then drop the pieces into the water.
For about a week, store the jar of boiling banana water in your refrigerator. Remove the peels once it is full, then combine the banana water with one gallon of normal water. To hydrate your plants and provide them with a healthy dose of minerals, use this “compost tea.”
# 2 Make small batches of banana peel tea for plants if you don’t want to keep a jar of chopped peels in your refrigerator. Put banana peels in a 1 quart Mason jar with water to accomplish this. For two days, let the jar stand at room temperature with a loose cover. When watering plants, remove the peel and use the water directly.
How frequently should I use banana water to water my plants?
Here are three methods for using banana peels as fertilizer in the garden if you know it needs additional potassium (modified from the Project Diaries on YouTube).
Easy 1-step natural banana fertilizer
- Banana peels should be buried in the ground in three-inch-deep trenches around the plant’s base, reasonably close to the roots, so that they can slowly breakdown and release nutrients.
This is a fantastic method for getting your soil ready for planting. This is very beneficial for seed germination. Banana peels are a fantastic, nutrient-rich side dish for plants that can assist improve plant health. Adding chopped banana peels to the soil might make the situation easier to handle.
Make sure to bury the peels fairly deeply to prevent them from luring pests or unwanted animals to the garden.
Brewed banana peel tea
- As many bananas as possible should be submerged in water in a glass jar or other container. If you have the time, slice up the banana peels to help them release more of the healthy banana flavor and to help them fit more tightly into the jar.
- Make sure to completely submerge it in water to avoid having it get moldy and worthless.
- For a week or two, keep the mixture away of direct sunshine.
- Every so often, make sure the banana peel tea is completely submerged because the water can evaporate.
- You can make a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer by diluting banana peel tea with water (5 parts to 1 part tea).
Your plants will appreciate you for composting the soaked banana peels or for simply burying them in the ground.
Use the diluted liquid fertilizer made from banana peels at the base to water your plants once a week. The roots quickly begin to absorb the liquid fertilizer. You can also spray straight on the plants to give them a rapid boost.
This takes a little more time and effort. But it would be worthwhile once you saw how much healthier and stronger your plants were getting week by week.
Be tolerant. To see the results, it will take some time. For the greatest results, use the fertilizer consistently every week.
Increase soil acidity
Vinegar can be made from banana peel that has been soaked in water and allowed to ferment for a month. Rhododendrons, hydrangeas, and gardenias are just a few examples of plants that thrive in acidic soil.
Banana peel powder for the soil
Organic fertilizers in fine powder form release nutrients slowly. These kinds easily disintegrate and become accessible to increase plant vigor. It’s similar to providing your plants vitamins for any nutrients and trace elements that are missing from your garden.
Making fertilizer from banana peel powder:
- Banana peels should be completely dried out either in the sun or in a low-heat oven until they become brittle and black.
- Use a mortar and pestle or an electric blender to grind the dried banana peels into a fine powder.
- Directly mix the powdered dried banana into the ground.
- Hold in a dry location.
It is recommended to incorporate the powdered banana peel into the garden soil 3-6 months before utilizing it. Once more, making this is simple but may take some time.
The germination percentage of both tomatoes and fenugreek improved with increasing doses of banana peel extract, according to the results of a study using nano-fertilizer made from banana peels on those plants.
After 7 days of planting, tomatoes, the germination rate jumped from 14% (without nano-fertilizer) to 97%. Fenugreek showed the similar tendency, with a germination percentage ranging from 25% to 93%.
Egyptian banana was used to make the nano-fertilizer after being chopped up and mixed. To obtain a clear dark material, potassium hydroxide was added to the slurry and vacuum filtered. To be used as a nano-fertilizer, this was dried and milled into powder.
You can make do with a straightforward banana peel if you don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of purchasing a banana peel nano-fertilizer. To accomplish this, prior to planting the seeds in the ground, place them directly on top of a banana peel.
The decomposed banana peels nevertheless supply substantial stocks of beneficial minerals to the soil, including iron, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus, despite perhaps not being as effective as the nano-fertilizer.
Is one method recommended over another?
There aren’t many scientific research that compare various types and methods to determine which is superior. However, the majority of studies employ powdered fertilizers made from fruit peels.
Organic fertilizers that are in powder form are highly effective at providing nutrients for better plant growth, larger agricultural yields, and accelerated microbial growth.
Can you use it in potted or plants in a container?
Banana peels can be used as fertilizer for plants in a container. The nutrients will be kept inside and won’t be as easily washed out thanks to being contained.
You can either water the plant as usual with the liquid fertilizer or bury the chopped banana peels in the soil in the pot.
What about air plants you say?
A liberal spray of the diluted banana peel tea will help air plants as they do not require soil to thrive. Alternately, place a banana peel and some mulch at the base of the air plant. The peels would serve as the foundation for compost and would release beneficial nutrients as they broke down.