Bananas In Compost: How To Compost Banana Peels

Many people are excited to find out that they can use banana peels as fertilizer. Using banana peels in compost ^[1] is a great way to add both organic material and some very important nutrients to your compost mix. 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.

The Effect of Bananas on Soil Compost

Putting banana peel in your compost pile will help add calcium ^[2], magnesium ^[3], sulfur ^[4], phosphates ^[5], potassium ^[6] and sodium ^[7], all of which are important to the healthy growth of both flowering and fruiting plants. Bananas in compost also help add healthy organic material, which help the compost retain water and make soil lighter when added to your garden.

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.

How to Compost Banana Peels

Composting banana peels is as easy as simply tossing your leftover banana peels into the compost. You can toss them in whole, but be aware that they may take longer to compost this way. You can speed up the composting process by cutting up the banana peels into smaller pieces.

Many people also wonder if banana peels can be used as a direct fertilizer. You will find this advice in many gardening books and websites, especially in regard to roses ^[8]. While, yes, you can use banana peels as fertilizer and it will not harm your plant, it is best to compost them first. 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. 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 ^[9] on a regular basis.

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.