Informed people are not accustomed to throwing away the peel left over from eating bananas. The share of the skin accounts for up to 40% of the weight of the fruit. It is no wonder that the concentration of trace elements is high in the soft and fleshy shell. That is why banana peel fertilizer for indoor plants is very common among amateur flower growers. How to make mineral top dressing? Let's talk about it in our publication today.
About the benefits of banana skins
What minerals do banana peels contain? You can make a real replacement for potash and phosphorus fertilizers for your houseplants, which have a beneficial effect on the development and growth of indoor flowers and vegetable crops (in particular, spring seedlings). Banana skins are the richest source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and nitrogen. If you prepare a complex fertilizer, which includes grape branches and banana peels, the use of such top dressing for indoor flowers will be very effective. It is believed that such a mineral fertilizer is not inferior in composition and properties to ready-made purchased dressings.
Experiment and add your own mineral composition to a pot of begonia, saintpaulia or cyclamen. Within a week, the transformation of the plant will become visually noticeable. In addition, your home beauties will only be happy with natural fertilizer. What are the ways of preparing compositions, and are there any nuances in the technology? Let's talk about it right now.
Do I need to process the peel?
When transporting fruit to our region, the peel of bananas is treated with a wax coating and some dangerous chemicals, in particular, a dust group related to carcinogens. Therefore, make it a rule to thoroughly rinse the skin before eating fruit. But one surface treatment of the peel with water at room temperature is not enough. It will be correct to wash with hot water, be sure to use soap. Note the long white fibers within the peel itself. These elements will not work for future fertilizer, remove them before you start preparing top dressing.
Banana peel: home use
The simplest, but at the same time effective way to feed houseplants is to add chopped peel to the soil under the root system. This method is usually used for spring transplants of flowers into larger pots. If you do not plan to transplant, carefully remove the plant from the container, make sure that there is soil left at the bottom of the pot, or add a portion of fresh soil.
The peel of bananas is cut into pieces and does not fit too deep from the root system of the plant. Some flower growers, using large containers, put the whole skin on due to the fact that the microorganisms acting in the soil quite quickly completely process the laid element. It takes only 10 days for the peel to completely “dissolve” in the soil.
Feeding from oven-baked banana skins
To prepare powdered fertilizer, you must use the following recipe. Banana peels should be spread out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Before that, divide the skins into decayed elements. Frying pieces must be placed face down. Preheat the oven to your usual temperature and place the baking sheet with the banana peel inside. The skins should be taken out when they are completely fried. Next, the dried elements are cooled and ground into powder. Apply the resulting fertilizer should be dosed.
Can banana peels be dried without using an oven? Yes. Dry the skins by placing them on a radiator, or take them out into the open sun in the hot season. Some summer residents use a flooded bathhouse for these purposes.
How much ready-made fertilizer do I need to put in a pot?
Banana peel fertilizer for indoor plants is used no more than once a week. In order to fertilize the plant well, one teaspoon of the resultingpowder. Store the dry concentrate in a sealed package in a dry, dark place.
Liquid feed
Among amateur flower growers, liquid dressings are very popular, which are usually applied along with watering. To prepare a tonic mineral delicacy for home plants, you must adhere to the following scheme. Dried peel is brewed in an unnecessary container in the same proportions as regular tea. After the microelements are steamed up and penetrate into the water, such “tea” cools down and is brought under the root into the pot instead of the usual watering. For liquid feeding, you can use dry banana concentrate, but it is better if it is whole dried skins. Store dried blanks in a paper bag.
How else is dried peel used?
We have learned many ways to make fertilizer for home flowers, including the use of raw crushed elements, dry concentrate and liquid mineral fertilizer. Can dried items be placed in a pot? Yes, you can. Dry banana skin is used in the same way as crushed raw skins, bringing it into the soil of a houseplant pot not too deep. When using such a fertilizer, it is necessary to ensure that the elements do not end up on the surface of the soil, otherwise putrefactive bacteria will develop.
Freezing crushed skins
To save more valuable nutrients for your pets, instead of drying the skins, you can freeze them. banana peelshould be crushed and placed in a special tray or in a plastic container and sent to the freezer. From time to time the container can be replenished. Frozen banana skin nutrition contains more nutrients than dry extracts.
For those who are not looking for easy ways. Composting
Someone may think that there is no easier way to feed than a banana peel for plants. However, this is not quite true. And if up to this point we have considered mainly the untroubled preparation of fertilizers, now we will take up a responsible and time-consuming task - the preparation of compost. If bulbous plants live in pots in your house, do not be too lazy to prepare a special treat for them. Banana compost can also be used for garden bulb crops. In order to prepare the composition, you will need a bucket of earth, Baikal fertilizer, as well as a large amount of banana peel. Put all the skins in a bucket of soil, fill with fertilizer and mix thoroughly with a stick. Leave in a secluded place to decompose the peel for about a month.
In the meantime, save up the skins again, because after the specified time it will be necessary to repeat the procedure. Reapply the peel, fill with Baikal fertilizer, mix the composition thoroughly. If possible and the time of year permits, put a number of small earthworms inside the bucket. Completely black and very rich in micronutrients, the compost will be ready in 2 moremonth.
Banana peel against aphids
Our today's heroine fights very well against aphids, one has only to bury a few particles next to the problem plant. You can make an infusion that will resist the parasite. They do it this way: they take 3 banana skins and place them in a three-liter jar filled with water. Then the container is tightly closed with a lid and infused for 3 days. It remains to strain the infusion and dilute with water in equal proportions. Aphid liquid is ready to use.
Interesting information
Want to know how much a banana peel weighs? As we have already found out, the skin takes up to 40% of the total mass of the fruit. A medium-sized banana peel weighs 87 grams, while the largest ones reach 95 grams.
