Bananas are a common food in many households. They are tasty and nutritious but have a notoriously short shelf life and can often go bad before they get eaten. And then there is the peel to deal with after everything edible has been consumed. Find out how easy it can be to compost banana peels with a Lomi counter composter!
Why Composting is a Good Idea
Composting has been a practice that has been in use for almost as long as mankind has been growing crops on large scale. Native Americans used it to make corn crow better and farmers enrich soil today and use a compost pile to boost crop production. Even in the home setting, composting can be beneficial as vegetable craps and waste can easily be turned into organic compost to improve the soil in your yard or garden. Several benefits can also be enjoyed, and they include the following:
- Enriches soil with additional nutrients.
- Helps retain moisture and suppress issues of mold and pest problems.
- Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and allows natural nutrients to be added through the use of a compost bin.
- Encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi through the use of other compost materials and food scraps.
- Reduces methane emissions, lowers the volume sent to landfills, and helps keep the home cleaner and healthier.
- Traditional compost allows for larger-scale use and the same can be achieved with smaller countertop bins.
- Overall, family members get a better idea of what waste is made and how much is created daily.
Understanding the decomposing process and how composting works makes it easier to incorporate into your daily activities. This is why a home-based small-scale composting unit like Lomi can be such a difference-maker. And when it comes to putting banana peels in the compost pile, some additional benefits are worth taking note of.
As highlighted in an article by Gardening KnowHow, “Putting banana peel in your compost pile will help add calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphates, potassium and sodium, all of which are important to the healthy growth of both flowering and fruiting plants.” It is little wonder then why the questions of are banana peels biodegradable and can you put banana peels in compost so prevalent today.
So, You Can Use Banana Peels in a Compost Pile
There are many types of food scraps, fruit waste, and biodegradable materials that can be used in composting bins and containers. Banana peels represent a widely overlooked source of organic material that can be used to turn leftover food scraps into nutrient-rich compost for your containers or your garden plants. But how easily can bananas be composted and is there anything special that needs to be considered to make the composting process faster or more effective? Here are a few things to remember about using Lomi to compost banana peels:
- Mix your composting materials to combine green and brown organic matter
- The smaller pieces you can make your food scraps the faster it will break down
- Lomi can be used every single day to deal with daily food scraps and food waste
- Keeping the composting going can help improve garden and planter quality
- Having a compost pile at home instills eco-friendly habits and sustainability
How do I Use Banana Peels In a Compost Pile?
To compost banana peels in a composter, there are a few things that will be needed for this aside from your Lomi composter.
- You will need a space to set up the compost pile or bin
- You will need the food scraps and other biodegradable waste
- You will need a mix of brown and green organic material to add to the bin
- You will need potted plants of a garden area to dump the soil
The beauty of Lomi is that you get all of the important nutrients that plants need to grow to form the plant material and waste that you put into your Lomi composting bin. This countertop composter is designed to speed up the decomposing process and yield better results every time.
How Long Does it Take for a Banana Peel to Compost?
The speed at which a banana peel will usually decompose can depend on several factors. In a traditional compost pile, the rate at which the compost retains water, the exposure to hot sun and temperatures, and what all is added to the pile can affect the speed of decomposition. The resulting organic matter is nutrient-rich and ready to use, but it can take time for everything to break down in such a large compost pile.
With Lomi, you can speed up this process by composting micro-batches that break down much faster. Lomi is designed to compost most food scraps and similar items in less than 24 hours, with many being compostable in as little as 8 hours! While it is not advised to simply throw several banana peels into Lomi on their own, they can be composted. The result may not be as rich and ideal as it would be otherwise.
This is why it is always recommended to mix banana peels and other items to create a mix of elements that will break down differently and provide the nutrients needed. The best results can be achieved quickly by mixing other items with your peels.
Bananas Go Bad Easily and Decompose Quickly
Understanding how to compost banana peels and how to put banana peels into your compost bin routine is a critical part of maximizing your composting endeavors. Rotting banana peels are not attractive at all and tend to smell bad and can attract pests and animals to outdoor bins. And they can create a stinky mess in the trash can. This is why composting with a countertop system is such a good idea and such a sustainable method of reducing wasted food at home.
With their fast decomposition, bananas and peels alike are a great addition to your composting routine. Especially with a system like Lomi that is designed for speed and efficiency, you can add peels to your mix and deal with the one less messy item in your trash bins. Even when they have started to rot and go bad on your kitchen counter, you can add the bananas to your compost and let them add nutrients to the compost you are creating right in the comfort of your own home!
Can You Add a Banana Peel Directly Into the Soil?
With their fast decomposition and biodegradable nature, some people wonder whether or not banana peels can be composted in any other way? While you can just add peels into your garden when you plant new flowers or plants in the landscape, there are some drawbacks to this approach.
- While plants flourish with good nutrients in the soil, they usually prefer the mix to be uniform throughout the soil, so the roots can spread evenly rather than being clumped around a single source of additional nutrients.
- Plants prefer rich soil that is high in organic matter that is well-balanced with various nutrients, something that won’t happen if you are just adding bananas and banana peels into the ground when planting your garden.
- Compositing banana peels before adding them to the soil makes it easier for flowering plants, trees, shrubs, and fruiting plants to get the nutrients out of the soil and to put them to good use.
- Pests can become an issue if large amounts of uncomposted material are added to the soil in the gardens as wildlife may dig it up in search of food and the process can damage or destroy your newly planted garden.
These are just a few of the reasons why bananas can technically be added directly to the soil during planting, but it is usually best to at least partially start the composting process ahead of time. That way you do not end up with a pest problem or a situation where you ferment banana peels in your garden.
Tips for Composting Banana Peels
Like most things in life, composting banana peels and other household food items and plant waste have a bit of a learning curve to it. To help, here are some things to keep in mind as you experiment and learn how to use your Lomi:
- Chopped banana peels are a great addition and will break down faster than whole peels will, so it’s worth taking that extra step
- Plants prefer a diverse diet of nutrients and need a variety of nutrients, so add many kinds of food
- Remove the sticker from the banana peels
Understanding how to compost banana peels is part of the process of learning to reduce thrown-out food at home and how to do your part to prevent waste and lower your carbon footprint overall.
Can You Compost Rotten Bananas and Banana Peels?
Banana peels in compost are something that can easily be done with a traditional composting approach or a newer and cleaner method like with Lomi. Making garden banana peel compost is easier than ever with innovative systems and new processes like those used with the Lomi home composter. They work on peels and bananas in any condition or ripeness. It is easy to compost rotting bananas as they are already in the process o decaying and will easily be decomposed with the other organic material added to a compost bin.
Rotting banana peels, leftover bits, and even the stems can be easily added to your Lomi composting bin and broken down into rich organic matter. Banana peels directly in the composter can create a small amount of organic soil but using whole rotten bananas and other vegetable scraps and plant waste can speed up the process and give you better results in the end.
Can You Compost Banana Leaves?
Most homeowners usually focus on composting banana peels and the fruit itself. This is because most people get their bananas from the store where there are only stems and peels to worry about as far as leftover non-edible bits are concerned. But if you are lucky enough to have your banana trees that produce fruit then you may have questions about composting banana leaves. It is natural to wonder how they work in a compost pile or a smaller bin setup.
Just like the banana peels and stems, banana leaves are biodegradable and can be added as part of the green and brown matter balance needed for optimal composting soil. However, the leaves of most banana trees are quite large and therefore need to be broken down into much smaller pieces. And only a small amount may fit into your Lomi composting bin depending on what else is being added to the compost at that time. But in general, yes banana leaves can be treated like any other yard waste or organic plant matter from the garden and can go in a compost bin. So be sure to consider the option to compost banana leaves when using your Lomi at home.
What Can You Use Composted Banana Peels For?
You naturally want to give your plants the best conditions for growing when you plant them around your home or keep them indoors in pots and containers. When you add healthy organic material to the soil it keeps plants fed a steady supply of nutrients that can help keep them healthy and beautiful all year long. Organic materials improve the soil and help it retain moisture and nutrients. It can also help keep roots anchored and provides an ideal growing environment for plants of all shapes and sizes. Composted banana peels can make a wonderful addition to garden soil and potted plants.
If you want to give your garden soil a boost without all the harmful chemicals, compost makes for a wonderful natural fertilizer that can benefit any plant you choose to have in your landscape. Adding fruit and vegetable scraps, yard waste, plant matter, and food scraps into your compost allows for a much more sustainable and eco-friendly way to reduce waste and care for your landscape.
Getting the Most Out of Your Lomi Composters
Lomi offers a range of benefits that you will want to be sure to take advantage of whether you are composting banana peels or anything else:
No more nasty kitchen smells or mysterious odors
Carbon filters trap odors and so everything stays smelling fresh.
Never again fight with garbage bags leaking and ripping
The stainless-steel bucket holds 3L of waste and is dishwasher safe.
So easy everyone can be involved- even the kids
Lomi has just one button for simple and easy operation every day.
Reduce food waste daily
Use fruits and vegetable scraps, dead grass, and other organic materials easily.
See how easy it can be to master the composting process right in the comfort of your own home. Discover the Lomi difference for yourself today and see what home composting and a better understanding of the decomposition process can do for you and your family!