Repurpose Banana Peels To Help Your New Or Transplanted Plants Thrive

A banana is a tasty, nutritious snack high in potassium. Instead of tossing the peel in the garbage, set it aside for your plants. That same potassium — a key ingredient in NPK plant fertilizers — is particularly plentiful in banana peels, encouraging strong, healthy stems in new transplants, and making young plants more drought and pest resistant. Bananas serve as an excellent soil amendment for potassium-loving plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, while bananas and banana peels can help your rose bushes thrive, too. They also contain phosphorus and calcium, which are essential nutrients for new and young plants.

If you're not already composting banana peels, before you get started, you should know that it's best to cut them into small pieces so they break down faster, whether in compost or as a soil amendment. Essentially you're using banana peels as part of your mulching process. Chunks of peel act as boosters for some plants when added to the soil prior to sowing seeds or transplanting seedlings. If your bananas are past their prime, you can use them in another way that indirectly benefits your garden. Overripe bananas attract hummingbirds, who munch on the fruit flies that swarm old fruit. Simply hang them in a basket near your feeders.

To use banana peels while sowing and transplanting, dig the holes a bit deeper than you otherwise would. Then drop in a hunk or two of banana peel into the hole. Bury the pieces with soil so the peels don't directly touch roots or seeds. Then add your seeds or plants, and cover them with soil as you normally would. 

Alternatively, you can place them on the surface around a plant, then covering with a little soil to deter insects and other pests. Try and avoid getting the peels too close to roots or stems as there's a slight risk of nutrient toxicity and of encouraging mildew. As the peel breaks down, nutrients are slowly released into the soil.

Another way to use banana peels in your garden is to make a powdered fertilizer. Chop and dehydrate them or bake them at your oven's lowest setting, then grind the crispy peels into a powder. Mix into potting soil, add to a fertilizer spray, or sprinkle it around your garden as needed, avoiding close contact with plant roots.