We all know bananas are delicious but did you know they can very useful around the garden?
Here are five extraordinary uses for bananas you probably didn’t know about.
1. Attract birds
Put an overripe banana on a raised platform in the garden, punching a few holes in it to make it accessible to butterflies as well as birds. Remove it at night so you don’t attract possums.
2. Polish leaves
Are the leaves on your indoor plants looking dull or dusty? Wipe down each leaf with the inside of a banana peel to remove the surface dust and replace it with a clean, lustrous shine.
3. Deter aphids
If aphids attack your roses, bury dried or cut-up banana peels a few centimetres deep around the base of the plant and they’ll soon leave. Don’t use whole peels as possums will dig them up.
4. Feed plants
Bananas are rich in potassium, an important garden nutrient. Dry the peels on screens in winter, grind them up in early spring and use as mulch for new plants, or cut into pieces and use as food.
5. Add to compost
With their high content of potassium and phosphorus, whole bananas and peels are welcome additions to a compost pile. The fruit breaks down especially fast in hot weather.