Are Banana Peels Good for Plants - Banana Tea for Plants?

Have you ever put a banana peel into your plant soil? It sounds crazy at first, but banana peels contain many nutrients that plants crave. Those nutrients include potassium and phosphorus, which plants need to grow healthy and strong. While you can buy fertilizer from the store to give a burst of nutrients to your plant, using banana peels is organic, which helps the environment.

So, what makes up a banana peel anyway? Why do plants even need fertilizer? What are some of the benefits of using banana peels on plants? Are there any plants that should not use banana peels as a fertilizer? What exactly is banana tea for plants?

Here is everything you need to know about are banana peels good for plants.

Table of Contents

What Makes up a Banana Peel?

According to Asking Lot, banana peels contain carbohydrates, fiber, high potassium levels, phosphorus, calcium, protein, magnesium, and manganese. Manganese is a critical component of photosynthesis, which all plants need for healthy growth.

In addition to that, banana peels have high amounts of B6 and B12 vitamins.

Why Do Plants Need Fertilizer?

Fertilizer provides a burst of nutrients to promote healthy plant growth. Fertilizers have NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) critical components for creating healthy and nutrient-rich garden soil. Giving your plant fertilizer is also crucial because regular dirt will break down over time, so adding fertilizer is like a shot in the arm of additional strength to the plant.

Why is Banana Peel Water a Great Fertilizer Option for Plants?

If you have not given your plants banana peels before as a fertilizer, you should start with banana peel water. Banana peel water comes from taking the banana skins off the banana, placing them into a jar, and filling it with water. Let the banana skins soak in the water for 24-48 hours, which will start to fill with a brown liquid. You can give your plants some of that brown liquid to introduce them to this nutrient-rich diet.

If you want to limit how much banana peel water you give your plants, one tip is to use a spray bottle. The spray bottle will act as a mist so that you won’t go overboard.

Why are Banana Peels Great Fertilizers for Indoor Plants + Outdoor Gardens?

Potassium and phosphorus are two critical components that houseplants need to grow healthy and strong, and banana peels have just that. In addition to having those two elements, banana peels don’t contain nitrogen, which is vital to remember. Some plants, like tomato plants, don’t want extra nitrogen in their diet, so using dried banana peels in the soil won’t disrupt what they are seeking.

How to Mix Banana Fertilizer into the Plant Soil for Success

Banana peels take a few weeks to decompose in the soil thoroughly. To help speed up the decomposing process, consider using 1/4 inch or less in thickness of the peel and mix that into the ground. You can continue this process throughout the spring and summer since the peels will take a few weeks to decompose into the soil.

When Should You Add Banana Peels to Mulch and Potting Soil?

The best time to add banana peels to your mulch or potting soil is when you want to give a burst of nutrients to your plants. The general rule of thumb is to provide the extra nutrients during the spring and summer since that will be when most of the growth occurs for plants. Giving the plants banana peels in the winter might not work out great since that is when plants grow the tiniest amount, so those extra nutrients will go to waste.

Can You Give Your Plants Too Much Banana Peels?

Like any fertilizer, you want to give your house and garden plants the proper nutrients and not more. Otherwise, if you give your plants too many nutrients, they can’t take up water. Obvious signs that you have given the plants too much fertilizer include wilting, yellowing leaves, root rot, and overall slowness in growth.

Banana Tea for Plants Summary

When you start using banana tea (banana peels + water) or simply straight banana peels in your plant soil as a fertilizer, you want to introduce your plants to them gradually. Consider cutting up the banana peels and submerging them into the ground to allow them to decompose naturally. Give the plant a few weeks to fully absorb the nutrients from the banana skins before adding more banana peels to the mix.

Reasons why Banana Peels are Good for Plants

Now that we understand that banana peels contain loads of nutrients, which plants crave, here are some other reasons to use banana peels as a plant fertilizer.

Another Organic Fertilizer

There are two types of fertilizer that a gardener can use; natural and synthetic. If you are looking for fertilizer to reduce your pollution, staying with something organic would work best. Banana peels are a natural fertilizer that works excellent for houseplants and gardens and can be part of your kitchen scrap formula to make fertilizer.

Sticking with organic matter fertilizers, you can also use banana peels with eggshells, tea bags, tea, and coffee grounds to boost nutrients to plants. These natural fertilizers all pack essential nutrients into the potting soil for the plant, which will help it grow strong and healthy.

Inexpensive DIY Organic Fertilizer Option

Using a banana peel fertilizer is an inexpensive fertilizer hack for your plants when you are on a budget. Instead of going to the store to buy expensive liquid fertilizer mix, you can make your own with banana peels. An affordable fertilizer solution is to mix other ingredients like coffee grounds, eggshells, and tea, with banana peels into a compost pile and spread that into the plant soil.

Removes Waste

Unless we have a compost bin system, most of us take our banana peels and toss them in the garbage. One way to reduce waste that usually goes into a landfill is to use banana peels in your soil.

Pest Repellent

By cutting the banana peel into small pieces and placing them in the soil, you create a pest repellent. This pest repellent can help discourage aphids from attacking your plants and garden. This organic pesticide works excellent and doesn’t add harmful chemicals to your soil. You can also use banana peel tea instead of the peels on the plant to help discourage aphids from attacking it.

Are There Any Downsides to Using Banana Peels on Plants?

The one main concern about using dried banana peels in orchids is that they can attract fruit flies, ants, and aphids. Orchids are slow growers, which will delay how quickly the banana peel will decompose in the soil. It is best not to add banana peels to orchids because they can create more headaches for you since they will attract critters.

Conclusion: Are Banana Peels Good for Plants?

In summary, banana peels are an organic fertilizer option that can help boost nutrients into your plant soil. This inexpensive organic fertilizer works excellent when combined with other organic matter, like eggshells, coffee grounds, and tea. Putting banana peels directly into your soil reduces landfill waste, where most of us place our banana peels.

However, while using banana peels in plant soil is generally good, using them in orchids is not a great strategy. Since orchids take a long time to grow, you will find that the banana peel will be in the soil longer than other plants, which can attract fruit flies.