| Can you compost bananas? |
| The opinions shared here are based upon my own experiences working with compost and may not be shared by all. |
| Main image my own. |
| Can you compost bananas, the banana peels or not? This household gets through twenty-five bananas a week on average, and its popularity of consumption is right up there with eggs which number around forty-eight a week. There is no waste from either component as both are used in many ways. The banana peel is used in the compost and the bokashi. If not to be composted, then the peels are cut up, flash frozen, bagged, and then stored in the freezer for the time l wish to either add them as an ingredient to a worm feeding mixture l am creating or scatter the sliced peels into the worm farms as a treat. Worms love bananas – the soft fruit and the skins. I read recently that you can eat the peels of the banana, and whilst l knew that the peels could be boiled to make teas – both for humans as well as for the garden in the form of fertiliser, l didn’t know about eating the skins. The riper the fruit, the sweeter the skin itself. Great for further reducing food waste and introducing a new batch of nutrients to your body, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, fibres, fats and oils. You can throw an entire banana into the compost in its complete form; however that can take between three to seven weeks to break down under the normal composting conditions. The ‘norm’ is if the fruit was discarded into a cold compost heap with no turnings. However, the same fruit thrown into a hotter compost pile will decompose much more quickly. This period is usually around two to three weeks, pending the actual heats you are achieving. I find the easiest decomposition method, even as a hot composter, is to cut the peel into several smaller pieces or blend the bananas with other food wastes. Making all compost-added ingredients smaller ensures the decomposition process runs smoothly and faster. While more significant components will eventually break down, you give the whole heap a helping hand if the ingredients are smaller. Banana skins are a green material and add valuable organic richness to the compost mix. |
Earthly Comforts 
It never occurred to me that banana peel can be eaten!
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I know, right – who’da thunk it 🙂
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I do like eating fruits with skin on like apples, peaches etc but never bananas 🍌
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Not even tempted a ‘leeetle’ bit 🙂
A tinsy wincy bit …
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Nopes. I never had the idea that they can be edible. Besides I never wash my bananas 🍌
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Oh, how interesting, Rory! Would have never imagined I would end up eating banana peels, but will definitely have to try these recipes. 😊
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You’ll have to let us know how they went for you then Betty 🙂
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Okay. 😊
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