What a mix! This seems to be the year I am using plants to help my garden – bananas and tomato leaves. For now let’s stick with the banana peels. On social media I was reading posts bragging on banana peels and how healthy their plants are now. A bit of research and I decided to run an experiment.
Banana peels contain nutrients that are essential for healthy potted plants. However, they don’t contain everything your plant needs. As they decompose, banana peels add potassium as well as small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium to the soil in a similar fashion as a slow-release fertilizer. Use the peels in conjunction with complete houseplant fertilizers to make sure your plants are getting all the nutrients they need.
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/banana-peels-work-potted-plants-55514.html
The experiment was simple. Liquify banana peels as much as possible with my osterizer, let the mix sit for 2 days and add to the tomato plants. Keep in mind that my tomato plants are in 40 gallon nutrient tubs (basically a really large pot). I left one plant out for my base case.
Two weeks in and I was impressed. Impressed enough to stop my experiment and add some to my base case tomato plant. To see the plants watch the video.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
- We have bears. As soon as I add the banana mix I add 2 gallons of water to dilute any smell. The goal is to help the plants, not draw in critters.
- We buy organic bananas to avoid as much pesticide as possible.
- We let the mix sit for 2 days.