Banana Tea (Potassium)

Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
Didn't even see that post, just a few minutes before mine...

Yeah, kelp/seaweed would be the better route for potassium, minerals and PGRs. I think people hear about giving "teas" to their plants and they just get the wrong idea in general. They aren't those kind of teas, no boiling water should be required.
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
if you want to use banana peels. the best ways imo. either feed them to worms /compost pile or dehydrate and puree. then steep for a few days then drain and then they will be soluble.

if you make a soil mix to cook, adding coco to the mix is good. When it breaks down, it will produce potassium. thats why sub does not have any ingredients with k in his recipe. the kelp and the coco and green sand in the roots soil will produce enough k once broken down
 
J

jcmjrt

Well-Known Member
I've used banana peel tea and it seems to work quite well...and I put greensand, kelp and a little coir (mostly via the coir worm bedding) in my soil mix and feed my worms banana peels too. I've used Dr Earth seaweed concentrate before too...works well. There are many ways to skin a cat. :)
 
D

dodadamthang

Member
Hi everyone. I felt I should comment as I use banana tea regularly with good results. We organic growers should be constantly striving for ways to do things naturally, cheaply, effectively and efficiently. If I can save my banana peels and make a tea type amendment for my soil instead of buying guano, seaweed or whatever else then that's much better! THIS IS NOT AN AACT! think of this as a simple nutrient solution if the word tea is too inflammatory or confusing. Follow the recipe ...
Banana Peel Tea.
Origin: Bananas. Cheap to make. eat the banana, use the peels.
Provides: Strong Potassium Boost. ideal for flowering.
Preparation: after selecting 4 bananas, and eating the insides, place the 4 peels into a pot, with 4 cups of water (1L). You can also add in 2 tablespoons of molasses. Bring to a boil. let boil for 5 minutes. remove the peels. let cool. place in jars for storage.
Application: mix this 1 part banana goop to 2 parts water. use every 2 weeks. https://www.rollitup.org/organics/510995-organic-feeding-101-a.html
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
^^^^ so do you add the goop to just water or can you add it to aact? If you add it to aact , would it be better to add already diluted or just the goop?
 
AnimalMother1974

AnimalMother1974

Active Member
dodadamthang said:
Hi everyone. I felt I should comment as I use banana tea regularly with good results. We organic growers should be constantly striving for ways to do things naturally, cheaply, effectively and efficiently. If I can save my banana peels and make a tea type amendment for my soil instead of buying guano, seaweed or whatever else then that's much better! THIS IS NOT AN AACT! think of this as a simple nutrient solution if the word tea is too inflammatory or confusing. Follow the recipe ...
Banana Peel Tea.
Origin: Bananas. Cheap to make. eat the banana, use the peels.
Provides: Strong Potassium Boost. ideal for flowering.
Preparation: after selecting 4 bananas, and eating the insides, place the 4 peels into a pot, with 4 cups of water (1L). You can also add in 2 tablespoons of molasses. Bring to a boil. let boil for 5 minutes. remove the peels. let cool. place in jars for storage.
Application: mix this 1 part banana goop to 2 parts water. use every 2 weeks. https://www.rollitup.org/organics/510995-organic-feeding-101-a.html
Click to expand...
how much tea you pour on the soil per gallon of soil for there to be an effect?
 
T

Thomas Swanson

Member
Nullis said:
This seems totally unpractical, to me. Banana peels do contain potassium, and other minerals too undoubtedly, but who knows how much of those nutrients are available to the plant. You can't just throw some banana peels in water with an air stone and expect any kind of benefit from them. Most of the nutrients in the peels are incorporated into more complex molecules, and everything needs to be broken down in order to be beneficial.

An AACT or any kind of plant tea needs an inoculant, such as compost, humus, earthworm castings, guano or microbes in a bottle. It also needs organic matter (compost\humus\guano, etc. is both organic matter and an inoculant), with sufficient nutrients and minerals for the microbes to use for growing their bio-mass, along with a carbohydrate source they can harvest energy from (sugars and possibly complex carbs). While banana peels do contain some simple sugars and carbohydrates, it still doesn't seem like a practical tea additive. It would be better to add in something like kelp meal, which also has K.

If you were even going to consider add banana peels they'd need to be dehydrated and powdered.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the world of organic gardening Noah. It’s time for you to ditch the bottle nutrients! Making compost tea is a complex process in which bacteria and fungus break down and release nutrients sugars and enzymes into solution. Even without an innoculant you will get an aerobic fermentation. Fungus and bacteria are air born, Hence the reason why you cannot leave a steak on your counter for two days unrefrigerated... It will rot! Compost teas are so effective that I can literally burn my plants if I make them too strong. I don’t understand how kelp can release essential nutrients while bananas can’t. Seems like a contradictory statement. I think adding bananas to your is a great idea....
 
guitarzan

guitarzan

Well-Known Member
None of the nutrients in the soil stimulate flowering...what "stimulates" flowering, or what initiates flowering, is the amount of light the plant is exposed to per day... hence, photosynthesis. Once a plant receives less sunlight, rule of thumb being 12 hours or less (some strains will start flowering when the light is 15 hours a day, some 14...14.5, 13...depending on the strain. It's the gibberellins that start the flowering process. A hormone called Gibberellins are growth-promoting phytohormones that act as general plant growth stimulants, playing an important role in many of the metabolic functions of vascular plants. Gibberellins promote germination by breaking seed dormancy, they are key to flower initiation and also promote bud and trichome development, stem elongation and root development. Gibberellins also help plants to respond to stress caused by environmental factors. They are present in the growing parts of plants, the apical bud, flower stamens, young leaves and the root system.
 
guitarzan

guitarzan

Well-Known Member
Everything affects the pH in the water...I finally went and bought a pH meter and a bottle of pH UP & pH DOWN...my plants love me for it. I add the nutes to my water, add a bit of molasses, then measure the pH, adjust to 6.0 then feed my ladies. I never realized how important & essential the pH value of the water and fertilizer mixture is to the health of my plants. No more guessing why my plants look sick...because they never look sick anymore. **HINT** GET YOURSELVES A pH METER...NOW. lol
 
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