Eat A Chiquita

You’ve eaten your banana for the day. You’ve gotten your antioxidants, vitamins, and electrolytes…but what about your plants? Have they gotten the nutrients they need to grow? As it turns out, you don’t need to be finished with your banana once you’ve finished your banana: you can use the peel to make homemade plant fertilizer!

Bananas: Healthy For You AND Your Plants

Bananas peels are a good source of phosphorous and potassium, common ingredients in store-bought fertilizer and important contributors to a healthy plant’s growth. Instead of letting it go to waste, you can use banana peels to nourish your garden or indoor plants. It’s earth-friendly, free, and easy to do.

Bury It, Spray It, or Pour It On

There are three easy and simple ways you can make your own fertilizer (for free!) by using banana peels.

1. Cut the banana peel up into small pieces and put them in your soil. As they break down, they will help your plants by adding nutrients to the soil. 
2. Cut the peels up into small sections and put them into an empty spray bottle. Fill it with warm water and let it sit for a couple of weeks. The peel will ferment and turn the liquid into fertilizer. 
3.  Blend the peels in a blender with warm water, and pour the results directly onto potted plants or into the dirt in your garden. Same result: fertilizer!

Looking For a Step-By-Step?

Check out these eHow.com articles for more details and instructions on homemade banana peel fertilizer:

How to Use Banana Peels on Flowers

How to Use Bananas as Fertilizer

Be sure to check back for more DIY (do it yourself) fruit fun!

Have a home-grown tip of your own? Leave us a comment!