# Add banana peels to make your soil more fertile?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-banana-peels-to-make-your-soil-more-fertile/503010>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 14, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-banana-peels-to-make-your-soil-more-fertile/503010 "2009-07-14T18:07:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-banana-peels-to-make-your-soil-more-fertile/503010/1 "2009-07-14T18:07:16Z")

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There was passing reference to this in the Will Smith movie _Seven Pounds_. Any truth to it? Any Doper tried this in his or her garden?

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**Author:** ![The\_dread\_simoom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_dread\_simoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_dread_simoom)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-banana-peels-to-make-your-soil-more-fertile/503010/2 "2009-07-14T19:06:47Z")

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I’ve heard it recommended to plant them with roses to encourage growth, though I haven’t tried that.  
What I have tried is draping thin strips of peel over branches to discourage ant access for aphid farming. Seems to kinda work, especially on my artichokes where they build dirt bridges to aviod the peels.

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**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-banana-peels-to-make-your-soil-more-fertile/503010/3 "2009-07-14T19:15:26Z")

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I compost banana peels, along with most of my other kitchen waste, and add the compost to my landscaping.

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**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/add-banana-peels-to-make-your-soil-more-fertile/503010/4 "2009-07-14T20:19:11Z")

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Bananas are pretty high in Potassium, making them a good fertilizer (speifically it promtes fruit growth)