×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • EntrĂ©es
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Manage Account
  • Authors
  • Keyword Index
  • Join

Food Gardening Network

Growing Good Food at Home

Join
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • EntrĂ©es
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • Sign In
  • Search

How to Make Banana Peel Tea for Plants

How to Make Banana Peel Tea for Plants

Banana peel tea? It's a real thing, and your plants love it. Or do they?

By Amanda MacArthur | February 20, 2023

Banana Peel Tea

I know what you’re thinking, but banana peel tea isn’t some new trendy thing that you’ll find in a cafe alongside classics like Assam or Earl Grey. Although there are some folks who swear that it’s a great drink to induce a restful night of sleep, I’m happy with my chamomile. 

This isn’t about me, though. My garden and I have very different nutritional needs, and there are a lot of claims that banana peel tea is the ultimate multi-vitamin for your plants. In theory, this makes sense, given the nutrients in bananas. But is it all that it seems? Let’s peel through the hype and find out. 

Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!

Banana Peel

Banana peel tea: What it is, what it isn’t, and how to make it

There are some drastically differing opinions on banana peel tea out there. On some websites, it sounds like the magic potion that will make all your gardening and houseplant dreams come true. Then there are some humorous posts, like Please Don’t Make Banana Peel Compost Tea Fertilizer for Houseplants by blogger Jen Panaro, imploring you to forget you ever heard of the stuff. 

I haven’t used this concoction on any indoor plants, but Jen’s summation that it’s basically a concentrated rotten banana that attracts fruit flies and fungus gnats is quite comical. 

Let’s back up a step, though. Banana peel tea as a fertilizer is a pretty simple product. It’s just banana peels and water, like this:

  • Fill a one-quart jar with chopped banana peels and cover them with water. 
  • Seal the jar and leave it for about a week, occasionally checking to ensure the peels are still covered with water.
  • Strain the concoction, making sure to save all those banana peels for your compost pile.
  • Dilute the banana peel tea with water in a 1:5 ratio. 
  • Use it to water your outdoor vegetable plants.

Why go through the trouble? We know that the more broken down nutrients are, the more easily accessible they are to our plants. That’s why your all-purpose liquid fertilizer tends to give you fast-acting results. That’s also why you don’t want to overdo it with liquid fertilizer, as too much will burn your plants. 

In that sense, it seems like banana peel tea could give your plants a boost. But…

Look, if you’re a fan of banana peel tea, don’t take this the wrong way. I have nothing against it. Truthfully, though, I’m more inclined to make compost tea or enrich my garden with ready-to-use compost before I plant seeds. 

Banana peels absolutely hold a revered spot in my compost, along with garlic and onion peels, the stems of winter squashes, and paper egg cartons. 

Have you used banana peel tea as a fertilizer? What was your experience like?

Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!

« What’s the Charles Dowding Multi-Sowing Seeds Method?
5 of the Best Plants for Aeroponic Vegetable Gardens »

Related Posts

  • Is Cow Manure Fertilizer Safe for Vegetable Gardens?
  • 7 Solutions for Improving Garden Drainage in Vegetable Gardens
  • 5+ Soil Additives to Improve Drainage in Soggy Gardens

Tags

banana peel tea, compost tea, compost tea fertilizer, fertilizer, garlic, liquid fertilizer

Comments
  • Neogamess July 8, 2022

    How often do you water the plants with it?

    Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Give a Gift

FREEBIE!

With your FREEBIE, you’ll also receive regular email messages from the Food Gardening Network. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Your email address is private. We promise never to sell, rent or disclose your email address to third parties.

Freebies

  • How to Grow a Vegetable Garden
  • 15 Easiest Fruits to Grow at Home
  • Growing Vegetables Indoors for Beginners
  • How to Master Spice and Herb Gardening at Home
  • The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes
  • Recipes from Your Garden
  • How to Start a Freedom Garden
  • Gardening in Every Season
  • Planning Your Perfect Food Garden
  • Plants for Bug Control Chart

Browse Topics

  • Composting
  • Container Gardening
  • Easy Healthy Recipes
  • Food Preservation
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tools
  • Growing Fruits & Berries
  • Indoor Gardening
  • Pests & Diseases
  • Seeds & Seedlings
  • Soil & Fertilizer
  • Spice & Herb Gardening
  • Vegetable Gardening
  • Watering & Irrigation

We will be attending the following shows in 2023:

  • MANTS in Baltimore, MD
  • Connecticut Flower Show
  • Vermont Flower Show
  • Philadelphia Flower Show
Click here to schedule a time to visit with us at the show!

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • MCMA logo
  • Renewd logo
  • Manage Account
  • Join
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2023 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network® and Food Gardening Magazine® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.

Go to mobile version