We are saving banana peels for the garden, it is easy. Come on, I’ll show you.

What in the world does one do with a crap ton of bananas?

Eat them silly!

Now what in the world does one do with a crap ton of banana peels?

Use them in your garden silly!

Table of Contents

• Benefits of banana peels in the garden
• Banana Peel Compost Tea
• Benefits of Using Banana Peel Compost Tea
• Drying Banana Peels
• Dehydrating
• Oven Drying
• Freeze Drying
• How to Use Dried Banana Peels in the Garden

Now you’re probably wondering, “why in the world do they have so many bananas?”

I know that’s what you’re thinking. We are banana eaters people. We freeze them and our kids mow on them like they are going out of style. Who am I kidding we do to. Frozen bananas are our ice cream. When we want something sweet we bust one of those frozen bad boys out and indulge. They are perfect. So needless to say we tend to buy a crap ton of bananas. This last trip to the store I bought two 5 lb bunches and then my husband came home with two bunches of marked down bananas.

Hello crap ton of bananas.

This was perfect because we needed to refill our fertilizer bag anyway. The process is incredibly easy and extremely satisfying. The quick explanation is you dry them, grind them and mix it in your soil as fertilizer to build nutrient rich soil.

Benefits of banana peels in the garden

Bananas contain high amounts of:

Potassium– Helps with root development. It also helps regulate water flow through the steam and leaves building a stronger plant that becomes disease and pest resistant.

Magnesium– Supports photosynthesis to take place, which actually feed the plant the nutrients it needs.

Calcium– Which is another helper with root development. Calcium helps build your soil by helping breakdown nitrogen. Egg shells are another great way to add calcium to your soil.

While bananas contain many other nutrients, these three help a great deal with soil and plant development.  Adding them to your garden in various ways can help build a beautiful strong garden.

Banana Peel Compost Tea

All you do is cut up the banana peel throw it in a pitcher or bucket, depending on how many peels you have, with water and let it sit for a week. After a week you strain out the peels throw them in the compost. When ready to use mix one cup of tea with one gallon of water.

Benefits of Using Banana Peel Compost Tea

• Helps to kill off aphids on your plans. Just generously spray your plant leaves and aphids.
• Adds extra vitamins and nutrients to your plant roots and helping them build strong stems. Simply water the base of your plants to give them an extra boost.

Drying Banana Peels

The main way we use our banana peels is by drying them out, grinding them up and mixing it in with the soil as an added fertilizer. To do this method we are going to either bust out our dehydrator, just turn the oven to the lowest setting or our newest and FAVORITE method is freeze drying them. We will go through each method so you feel confident either way.

Dehydrating

This process is super simple.

1. Peel banana peels and place them on the dehydrating trays. Try to keep them separate to allow ample air flow so they dry completely.
2. Set your dehydrator to the lowest setting and allow peels to completely dry out. The amount of time can vary depending on your dehydrator. This process took about 10 hours.
3. Once your peels are done, throw them in a high powered blender or food processor and blend until you have a powder texture.

Oven Drying

1. Line a baking sheet with either foil or parchment paper.
2. Peel your bananas and place them on your lined baking sheet.
3. Turn oven on to its lowest setting and place your peels inside.
4. Again, the timing may vary depending on your oven. Peels should feel hard and completely dried out. Ours took about 6-8 hours
5. Place dried peels in a high powered blender or food processor and blend until you have a powder consistency.

Freeze Drying

1. Peel banana peels and place them on your freeze dryer trays.
2. Place trays inside your freeze dryer and follow all the necessary steps to starting your freeze dryer.
3. Once your peels are done, simply throw them in a blender or food processor until you have a powder consistency. You will notice that the consistency comes out much smoother and a thiner powder than drying in the oven or dehydrator.

How to Use Dried Banana Peels in the Garden

This step is simpler than drying out your peels. Simply sprinkle a small handful either inside your planting hole or thinly over the soil if your plant is already established.

That’s it our friend! Store them in a plastic storage bag or container of your choice and use at will. Don’t forget to label with what it is. If you are looking for more fertilizers for your garden straight from your very own kitchen read this post.

Until next time…