A balanced supply of nutrients plays a key role in skilful rose care. Banana peels make a valuable contribution so that the queen of flowers dresses up in her splendid floral dress. This insider tip has been circulating among hobby gardeners for generations and has proven itself very well in daily practice. Even though the natural material does not cover all of the needs, it does at least provide essential potassium, phosphate and magnesium. Read here how banana peels are properly used as a fertilizer for roses. There are also practical ideas for compost.
What are the characteristics of banana peels?
Banana peels are much more than just the natural coating of the delicious pulp. While the shell is formed from the flower cup and the outer seed shell over the course of the vegetation period, an abundance of valuable ingredients are stored there. As early as 1968, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) confirmed the high Content of important nutrients in banana peel, increasing their importance for use as fodder underline. These findings result in their beneficial effect on the growth of roses and other flowers, as they also exactly demand the nutrients that have been highlighted. The dominant ingredients at a glance:
- Sodium: 0.1 g / kg
- Phosphorus: 1.0 g / kg
- Potassium: 42.0 g / kg
- Iron: 60 mg / kg
These are the average values that were last confirmed by the FAO in May 2016. This value is higher in unripe banana peels, while it degrades somewhat over the course of the ripening period. This reduces the proportion of
Minerals in a dessert banana from 13.2 percent to 12 percent of the dry matter.Potential for rose fertilizer
Looking at the composition of high-quality organic rose fertilizers, it becomes clear why banana peel is recommended as a fertilizer for roses. Most of the special fertilizers come in an NPK formulation of 7 + 7 + 10, enriched with trace elements such as iron and magnesium. While nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are responsible for growth and abundance of flowers, potassium is responsible for strengthening the plants. This task is of the highest relevance in the context of rose fertilization, as the royal hybrid tea roses in particular suffer from soft shoots. Potassium increases the cell sap concentration, which improves the suction power of each individual cell. Your roses absorb rain and irrigation water better and do not evaporate the valuable moisture as quickly when exposed to sunlight. As if that weren't enough, stinging and sucking pests such as aphids find it difficult to get through the strengthened cell walls, so that potassium also functions as a natural preventive measure. In addition, a balanced supply of potassium lowers the freezing point in the cell sap. The result is an optimized frost resistance, so that your flower queen gets through the winter safe and sound. Since banana peels are primarily rich in potassium, it is hardly surprising that they make excellent fertilizers for roses. How to do it right:
- Dry the banana peel on a wire rack
- Cut with a knife
- Work 1 cup of banana peel into the surface of each rose bush in April, June and August
In addition, surrender dried
Banana peels a rich mulch material for your roses. Cut the pods into small pieces, mix them under lawn clippings, leaves or bark mulch and distribute the mixture in the rose bed. While the mulch keeps the soil warm and moist for longer, busy soil organisms open up the potassium for the rose roots so that they can absorb the valuable nutrients. Use only bananas from certified, organic cultivation. The bowls of commercially available goods are heavily contaminated with pesticides that nobody wants in the hobby garden.Tip: If brown to purple-brown leaf margin necrosis develops on roses, the flower colors fade and the stems grow thinner and thinner, the flowers are suffering from a potassium deficiency. So that the nutrient is quickly available to the suffering flower beauties, supplement the gift of Crushed banana peels with potassium-rich comfrey manure, which in a diluted form used for watering will.
Ideas about compost
In view of the nutrient composition of banana peels, it is obvious that they cannot act as the main actor in the context of rose fertilization. Although potassium is important for strong, resistant and hardy roses, nitrogen, phosphorus and other trace elements must not be neglected. So how should banana peels be incorporated into the compost to achieve their full potential? The following ideas may serve as inspiration.
Compostable materials
In principle, all vegetable, rotting waste from the garden and kitchen can be used for composting. Herbaceous plants such as vegetables, flowers, herbs and perennials are ideal. In addition, there are autumn leaves, seed weeds and withered lawn clippings. Vegetables, potato peels, coffee grounds and fruit go from the kitchen to the compost heap. The peels of untreated bananas and other tropical fruits also make an important contribution to a balanced composition. Crushed eggshells provide lime, while pure wood ash - in addition to banana peels - releases indispensable potassium. Cardboard and kitchen paper are also possible as long as they are not printed. The manure of your pets and small animals is also one of the compostable materials.
Tip: Plastic, glass, stones, metal or other polluted materials are unsuitable for compost. The pages of a glossy brochure are just as incomplete as the roots of weeds with banana peels as compost.
Layer up and implement correctly
In order for a compost heap to actually turn into the hobby gardener's brown gold, a well-considered layering is essential. The following sequence has worked well in the private garden:
- A partially shaded, warm place in the protection of a hedge or an elder is ideal
- A wire mesh on the floor prevents voles from entering
- The lower 10-15 cm consists of coarse branches
- The next layer is made up of garden and kitchen debris, including banana peel
- The whole thing is sprinkled with algae lime or manure and a thin layer of garden soil
In dry weather, pour water or diluted nettle and comfrey manure over the compost heap. Depending on the desired size, further layers of garden and kitchen waste follow, so that a mountain that rejuvenates towards the top is created. Within the following 14-21 days, the temperature in the compost increases significantly, which kills microbes and pests. Covering it with mats or oak leaves will help the process. After this hot fermentation, you move the compost heap, whereby the material is well aerated. As soon as the temperatures drop below 40 degrees Celsius, the soil organisms immigrate to begin their beneficial work. For this reason, a compost must never lose contact with the ground.
This second phase lasts for 3-4 weeks, while the material is processed by busy earthworms and other beneficial organisms. After the compost heap has been moved one more time, it rests for 3-4 months, with temperatures dropping to 20-25 degrees Celsius. Nutritious mulch compost is now available for your roses. It will take another six months until the ideal rose fertilizer has developed from it.
Conclusion
Banana peels contain valuable nutrients that support the growth of your roses. In particular, a high proportion of potassium strengthens the plant cells so that the queen of flowers can better defend herself against freezing cold and cunning pests. Therefore, do not throw away the peel of organically grown bananas after consumption, but dry and cut the material to fertilize your roses. A cup incorporated into the substrate in April, June and August naturally covers the potassium requirement. In combination with other kitchen and garden waste, banana peels act as an indispensable source of potassium in the compost heap to provide your roses with all the important nutrients.
