How to Reuse Banana Peels — in the Garden!

Bananas are yummy, but they’re also practical. Want to know why? If you and your family love bananas, you probably end up with a lot of peels in your garbage, especially if you make banana cream pie or banana bread. But there is no reason to throw those peels away. In fact, they have a ton of beneficial uses in your garden. For example, here’s how to make your own banana peel fertilizer.

1. Collect Your Peels

Save your banana peels until you have enough of them for a batch of fertilizer (15-20). Just throw them in a freezer bag and keep them in your freezer. Before you freeze them, but off the stem and end pieces; this will make processing them a lot easier.

2. Cut & Dry

Thaw your banana peels, then cut them up into small strips you can work with. They’ll give you a good drying time if you aim for 2 to 3-inch pieces.

Load up your dehydrator trays with single a layer on each tray, positioning the peels so that they don’t touch. Dry them at the highest temperature setting until they are crisp, which should take about 6 hours (at 145 degrees). If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use your oven on its lowest setting, and stick a wooden spoon in the door to keep the air flowing.

3. Make a Powder

Once your banana peels are totally dry, take the pieces and process them into a powder with your food processor or blender. This is going to be your fertilizer. Depending on your equipment, you might need to work in small batches.

4. Fertilize!

There are a few different ways you can use this powder as fertilizer. One way is to make a spray with 1 Tablespoon of the powder, 1 Tablespoon of ground egg shell, and 1 Tablespoon Epsom salt. Mix it all the dry ingredients together and put it in a 32 oz spray bottle of water. Shake it well to dissolve, and spray this solution directly on house plants. You can also pour this right around the roots of your garden plants.

Another way to use the powder is to sprinkle it into soil and work it in. Just don’t put it right on the roots because it can burn. You can also add a teaspoon of the powder into your planting hole, cover it with a little soil, and add your plants.