Before you start mashing up your nice bananas with water for your plant kids, let me emphasize that the magic is in the peels. When you’re finished with your banana, why not use the peel to make your own banana water fertilizer?
It’s a wonderful technique to decrease food waste in your home (in addition to composting! ), returns organic nutrients back into the soil, completing the natural cycle, and plants seem to enjoy it.
The majority of the internet certainly believes so, and there is a modest body of study exploring the peculiar qualities of banana peel water.
Continue reading to find out what we determined after reviewing the research on banana peel water fertilizer and its efficacy in the garden.
Banana water for plants appears to be popular lately, as the finished product is high in potassium (K), one of the three components that comprise the holy trinity of a good fertilizer, together with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). This is hardly surprising given that banana peels are one of the best organic sources of potassium.
Why Should You Be Concerned About How Much Potassium Your Plants Get?
What, after all, does it not do? Potassium aids in the movement of nutrients and water between cells of the plant by controlling roughly 50 enzymes in each specific plant. According to other studies, a healthy potassium intake in plant fertilizer generates stronger plant stems by increasing turgor and aids in disease and drought tolerance. It is required for the production of flowers.
It also improves the flavor of fruits and boosts the protein content of plants such as peas. Throughout their lives, plants will require enormous amounts of vital potassium. A potassium deficit, on the other hand, may have negative consequences on plants, resulting in weak, wiry stems and overall poor growth.
This indicates that a banana water fertilizer, due to its high potassium content, has the ability to perform well on most plants, but notably fruiting plants such as flower and berry bushes and fruit trees.
Related: How Often To Fertilize Succulents?
Other Advantages of Using Banana Peel in Your Garden
What’s better? Banana water fertilizer increases potassium levels in the soil without adding too much nitrogen. This makes a banana peel water fertilizer perfect for use on berry and other fruiting plants, as excess nitrogen has been shown to impair production. It is also worth noting that banana water fertilizer may be less effective for leafy greens because nitrogen is required for the growth of lush foliage.
Other minerals in the banana peel extracted into the banana water fertilizer, such as calcium, manganese, and salt, contribute to its efficacy in fighting disease and can even aid in photosynthesis and osmosis in the plants to which it provides nutrients. The usage of bio-stimulant banana peel water fertilizers in agriculture improved the germination rate of tomato and fenugreek crop plantations enormously, according to research (Hussein, Shaarawy, Hussien and Hawash, 2019)
Why not just toss in the entire peel?
You could absolutely bury the banana peels in your garden bed, ideally around 7 centimetres deep around where your plants’ roots would reach, where they would decay and naturally release minerals into the surrounding soil for your plants to absorb through their roots.
The disadvantage of this strategy is that decomposition takes a long time and is affected by a variety of elements such as temperature and soil makeup, resulting in a delayed effect. Banana water eliminates this wait totally by permeating directly into the roots, allowing you to witness more rapid results in your plants with controlled and consistent use of the liquid fertilizer.
Related: Do All Succulents Need the Same Care?
How To Make The Best Banana Peel Water Fertilizer
Spoiler alert: It’s quite simple!
Step 1: Make sure you have a clean, washed container (like a jar). Step 2: Collect as many banana peels as you can over the course of a week, slice into little pieces, and add to the jar, covering with water. (We prepared a large batch by requesting that our friends and family keep theirs as well.) Step 3: Cover and soak the banana peel water for 7-14 days away from direct sunlight.
Chopping up your banana peel into tiny pieces permits the increased exposed surface of the banana peel to more efficiently release its soluble nutrients, which are then absorbed into the water around the peel in the jar. It is critical to remember that the banana peels must remain totally immersed in water within the jar throughout the entire brewing process, or else mould will destroy your efforts!
If you follow our simple methods and advice, the end result, after being strained, is a nutrient-rich liquid fertilizer ready to give your plants a boost.
Related: Can I Bring a Dead Succulent Back to Life?
Banana Water Fertilizer as a Garden Spot Treatment
Your newly brewed banana water fertilizer can be used to spot-treat your plants if you see any of the following symptoms of poor health:
- The occurrence of brown patches or veins on your plants’ mature leaves.
- The plant’s lower leaves are yellowing.
- Plant growth has slowed.
For severe cases of the following symptoms, or if you’re noticing any unusual developments with your plants that aren’t listed above, we strongly recommend getting a sample of your garden soil tested at a local soil lab, or looking into purchasing a soil testing kit from your local garden supplies store.
Otherwise, you can apply a diluted version of the banana peel fertilizer (see infographic below for ratio) to your vegetable bed on a weekly basis to replace and maintain healthy nutrient levels in your soil.
Related: Where And How To Plant Succulents?
The Final Word.
We find that reusing banana peels in biostimulant fertilizers like this is an excellent way of reducing waste and getting started in permaculture, whether you’re using concentrated banana water fertilizer as a spot-treatment for symptoms of poor plant health or a diluted concoction of banana water fertilizer as a weekly nutrient boost for your garden!
Related: Will Succulents Leaves Grow Back?
