Banana Peels & Vinegar- A Powerful Garden Fertilizer Or A Waste Of Time?

The prospect of homemade fertilizer is certainly compelling for many gardeners or house plant hobbyists. You may have heard that banana peels and vinegar can create a sort of DIY fertilizer tea, but how effective is this concoction? It turns out, banana peels are chock-full of components that boost plant health, such as potassium, phosphorus, and calcium. As any dutiful plant lover knows, these essential nutrients, along with some others, support healthy root growth, flowering, and fruit production. Vinegar can serve to kickstart the process of breaking down banana peels to release the nutrients within. While this tea alone won't provide enough nutrients for your plants, it can be a great supplemental food source to add to your arsenal.

Instead, think of this unusual banana hack as a fun way to cut back on food waste while also providing a supplement boost to house or garden plants. Heavy feeders such as tomatoes, tropical house plants, and ferns are great candidates for banana peel tea fertilizer. Remember, while this can be a great way to deliver a boost of potassium to your plants, it doesn't contain other important nutrients such as nitrogen so you will need to continue using other fertilizers too.

Making your own banana peel and vinegar fertilizer is as simple as can be. Collect banana peels in a clean jar. Once your container is full, completely submerge the peels in white or apple cider vinegar. Cover the top with a cheese cloth and loosely enforce it with a rubber band or twine. Allow your solution to steep for about 48 hours. As it sits, the vinegar will work overtime to pull out all those beneficial nutrients your plants love.

Once your fertilizer tea is done steeping, you can immediately start putting it to work. Be sure you dilute the solution with equal parts water to avoid temporarily disrupting your soil pH or hurting your plant. You can use this banana tea on your plants up to once a week. Just remember not to skip out on fertilizers with more vital nutrients too. From fast-growing house plants to garden staples, this banana peel and vinegar fertilizer offers a fun, helpful way to tend to all of your plants.