Break twigs into small pieces. She enjoys exploring foreign locales and hiking off the beaten path stateside, snapping pics of wildlife and nature instead of selfies. If not, turn the pile and add more green matter to it. Many people are excited to find out that they can use banana peels as fertilizer. A full-sized banana or peel takes three to four weeks to decompose. Rake the yard to acquire dead grass, twigs, leaves and decaying plant matter, pushing it all into the compost area. Using banana peels in compost is a great way to add both organic material and some very important nutrients to your compost mix. What Do You Mix With Yard Waste to Break It Down Into Compost Faster? The two types of matter should be layered. If a pile seems too plain for you, compost bins can be purchased at garden centers, or you can use an old trashcan with the bottom cut out. So, the next time you are enjoying a healthy banana snack, remember that your compost pile (and eventually your garden) would appreciate getting the banana peels that are left over. Lifting the can is how you'll access the compost at the bottom once it has broken down, without disturbing the materials near the top. Touch the pile from time to time -- if it feels warm, the composting process is working well. Like other fruit and vegetable matter, the smaller the banana or banana peel pieces, the faster they'll break down within the compost. University of Florida, Polk County: Master Gardeners: How Do You Compost Garden Waste? Kathy Adams is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer who traveled the world handling numerous duties for music artists. Many people also wonder if banana peels can be used as a direct fertilizer. "Brown" matter such as twigs, leaves and wood chips contributes carbon to the composting process. Coffee grounds and filters as well as eggshells are welcome in the compost pile. You may test at first until you get the right formula depending on the plants need. Bananas are a suitable compost material, breaking down within the compost to provide a nutrient-rich additive for garden soil. Bananas in compost also help add healthy organic material, which help the compost retain water and make soil lighter when added to your garden. Composting banana peels is as easy as simply tossing your leftover banana peels into the compost. You can speed up the composting process by cutting up the banana peels into smaller pieces. An ideal carbon-to-nitrogen ratio for composting is 30:1, based on dry weights of the materials. This process needs air to happen, and buried banana peels will break down much more slowly than ones that are placed in a properly maintained compost pile that is turned and aerated on a regular basis. Burying the banana peels in the soil under a plant can slow down the process that breaks down the peels and makes their nutrients available to the plant. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Vermicomposting is similar to traditional composting, with the addition of red wiggler worms and lots of paper or cardboard bedding as worm shelter. Cut bananas or their peels into small pieces, an inch or two at the largest, using a kitchen knife. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! Whether you compost with the help of worms via vermicomposting or through traditional compost, which gets hot as materials break down outdoors, bananas break down in the process, adding nitrogen to the compost. Brown and green matter together create a reaction that builds heat and breaks the organic material down into compost. To planting it in the container, use potting soil with perlite, sand, and compost. Select a corner of your yard or an unused area far from outdoor living and play areas to house the compost pile. Food scraps in plant form are used as food for the worms. Read more articles about Compost Ingredients. To make the banana tree rich in potassium, make the soil slightly acidic. Airflow is crucial to banana breakdown and the composting process, so turning the compost or poking holes in it from time to time is necessary. You will find this advice in many gardening books and websites, especially in regard to roses. Plant materials are safe in compost bins. Putting banana peel in your compost pile will help add calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphates, potassium and sodium, all of which are important to the healthy growth of both flowering and fruiting plants. To apply it in the container, use it in the potting soil with perlite, sand, and Continue adding produce and yard based plant matter to the compost pile whenever you acquire any. 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Find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Keep up to date with all that's happening in and around the garden. I filled the plot with plenty of bags of quality compost and combined this with bags of horse manure compost. Airflow is necessary for the breakdown process. Fruit and vegetable scraps, including bananas, are considered "green" matter because they contribute nitrogen to the composting process. Learning how to compost banana peels is easy, but there are a few things you need to be aware of when putting banana in compost. Turn the compost pile with a shovel or pitchfork every week or so to aid the composting process and add oxygenate the pile. The worms produce worm castings -- nutrient-rich soil additives -- after digesting the food. She writes travel and budgeting tips and destination guides for USA Today, Travelocity and ForRent, among others. If the soil pH is 6-7, it will be better. Add a little water if the pile is extremely dry; damp is ideal. How Long Does it Take Banana Peels to Compost? Dairy products and oily foods do not belong in a compost bin as they may contribute mold. Missouri Department of Transportation: No MOre Trash Program: Litter Facts, Compost Guide: Making Compost: The Basics, University of Florida: Elements of Composting. Bananas in compost also help add healthy organic material, which help the compost retain water and make soil lighter when added to your garden. Pull and remove dead leaves, stalks and spent flowers from plants nearby, placing them on the compost pile. Beyond this, banana peels will break down quickly in compost… Sign up for our newsletter. I bought five species of banana plants and planted these within the new garden. How to Convert Waste to Fertilizer Using a Compost Heap. The higher the number is the more concentrated the nutrients are. Putting banana peel in your compost pile will help add calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphates, potassium and sodium, all of which are important to the healthy growth of both flowering and fruiting plants. The well-drained and sandy soil is best for a banana tree. While, yes, you can use banana peels as fertilizer and it will not harm your plant, it is best to compost them first. Beyond this, banana peels will break down quickly in compost, which allows them to add these important nutrients to the compost much more quickly than some other compost materials. Group peels, skins and unused fruit and vegetable parts from your meals along with the bananas, adding them to the compost pile. In usual cases, nitrogen should be higher but if this seems inefficient, you can increase the amount of either potassium or phosphorus. I now had a 6 x 3 meter enclosed south-facing garden for my banana plants. 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