Banana peels can be placed directly onto pot plant soil, or around the base of your garden as mulch. As they decompose, they will release nutrients into the soil to feed plants. If using banana peels in your garden, place a single layer straight on top of the soil, being sure not to let them touch the plant stem.
However, the peels will break down so slowly that they likely won't provide adequate nutrients when your plants need them. Another downside to banana peels as fertilizer is that rotting organic matter can attract pests such as fruit flies, fungus gnats, and even cockroaches.
Bananas are great for: Roses and any large, shrubby flowering perennial as well as tomatoes and peppers.
Compost made with banana peels can be used as a side dressing or top dressing in the garden, or it can be mixed into garden beds or potting mixes to improve soil structure and add nutrients.
"Adding them to your plants can backfire as the soil organisms that work to break down the peels will reduce the available nitrogen that helps plants properly grow," says Smith. Organic food waste buried in the soil can attract unwanted guests to your garden, too.
Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen. They also have some amount of other nutrients like potassium and phosphorous. Overall, this means that adding coffee grounds to your garden can work fairly well as a fertiliser. Coffee should be spread in a thin layer, rather than being clumped in one place.
You can water your plants with banana peel water fertilizer once a week. Many plants require watering once a week, so you can use compost tea during each hydration session. However, if your plants need a drink more often in the summer, stick to only using banana water once a week.
Banana peels contain: calcium, which promotes root growth helps add oxygen to your soil. magnesium, which assists with photosynthesis. sulphur, which helps plants develop strong roots and repel pests.
Tea Can Work As A Natural Fertilizer
As the tea leaves and bag begin to break down and decompose, they release nutrients into the soil that helps plants retain water and thrive. That said, you should use tea only on your plants that like acidic soil.
Banana peels are also brimming with potassium, which is excellent for plants like tomatoes, peppers or flowers. “Banana peels also contain calcium, which prevents blossom end rot in tomatoes,” the Cape Gazette adds.
Egg shells contain high levels of calcium (lime) as well as other nutrients, so are beneficial to most plants. With billions of eggs produced commercially each year, attention is turning to the use of egg shells as a fertiliser and particularly as a source of lime.
“Bananas contain potassium, which is an essential nutrient for plant health. Soaking their peels in water might extract a negligible amount of potassium, but not nearly enough to benefit plants,” explains Jessica Damiano, a garden consultant, journalist, and author of The Weekly Dirt newsletter.
Add to soil: Composted coffee grounds can be added directly to soil or potting mix to fertilize plants. Make sure to mix them in well. Use as a liquid fertilizer: A dilution of coffee grounds in water can be applied as a liquid fertilizer. Add 2 cups of coffee grounds to 5 gallons of water and allow to steep overnight.
Known as a garden helper, Epsom salt is a natural and effective way to provide essential minerals to plants.
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.
If you're unsure which plants to use banana water on, think “tomatoes, peppers, roses, orchids, succulents, staghorn ferns, air plants and banana trees,” says Stephenson. She says that banana peel water is useful to prevent blossom end rot in tomatoes, which is when the bottom of the tomato starts to turn brown.
It is beneficial to use egg shells when growing your own vegetables like tomato, pepper and aubergine or plants such as roses, hydrangeas, spider plants, ferns and ivy. Another way to add this homemade fertiliser to your plants is through a calcium solution.
The key to using used coffee grounds as a liquid fertilizer is dilution! Too much of a good thing is possible, particularly for plants potted in containers. We recommend using about a teaspoon of coffee grounds per gallon of water.
If you love potatoes as we do, don't waste those peels. Throw them in a container with some water, then leave for at least 24 hours before pouring the liquid into your garden soil. Potato peels are rich in nutrients like magnesium and phosphorus which are essential for plants' growth.
Avoid using coffee grounds on alkaline-loving trees, such as linden, ironwood, red chestnut and arborvitae. Coffee grounds used as mulch or compost inhibit plant growth on geranium, asparagus fern, Chinese mustard and Italian ryegrass. Definitely don't use coffee grounds with these plants.
Mice typically do not like coffee grounds scattered around the kitchen. The strong aroma of coffee is generally unpleasant to mice, which can act as a deterrent.
How often can I put coffee grounds on my tomato plants? A sprinkling of coffee grounds mixed into the soil before planting tomatoes will not harm the plants. However, no additional coffee grounds should be added to the soil during the growing season.