Did you know that a banana peel can be put to many uses? From polishing silverware to reviving a garden, these remedies can help create a sparkle to your home. Before tossing out the banana peel, try some of these. Share with us your before and after pictures on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #GROWTURNS10.
- Remove aphids from your garden for good: Cut up two or three banana peels, then dig a 1-inch-deep hole in the ground at the base of your plants and place the peels inside. Aphids and ants find the high potassium concentration in banana peels unappealing, so this little trick will make the pesky bugs retreat.
- Feed indoor plants: Soak a banana peel in a large jar of water, then combine one part of the resulting banana peel water with five parts of regular water in a watering can to fertilize indoor plants.
- Fertilize tomato plants: Wrap a banana peel around your tomato starts so they can absorb nutrients from it throughout the season.
- Attract butterflies and birds: Put out overripe bananas (as well as other fruits such as mangos, oranges and papayas) on a raised platform and punch a few holes in the bananas to make the fruit more accessible to the butterflies.
- Polish your shoes: The inside of a banana peel can substitute as a polishing rag for leather shoes.
- Shine your silverware: Banana peel is a great way to put the shine back into your silverware.Remove any of the leftover stringy material from the inside of the peel, and rub the inside of the peel on your silverware. Buff with a soft cloth.
- Soothe an itchy bug bite: For fast, chemical-free relief from an itchy bite, rub the inside of a banana peel against the inflamed area. The peels are full of polysaccharides, which will seep into skin cells to halt swelling and inflammation within minutes.
- Tenderize meat: Add a ripe banana peel to a roasting pan to keep boneless, skinless cuts of meats from toughening and drying out during cooking.
- Remove splinters: Place the inside of the peel against the affected area before you’re ready to go to bed at night. Hold the peel in place and leave it overnight. The nutrients soak into your skin and help to soften the hard, dead skin. The splinter should work its way out, sticking in the pulp of the peel. If not, by morning the skin should be soft enough to allow for tweezers to get at the splinter.
- Eat the peel: Banana peels provide even more nutrients than the banana itself, like fiber and antioxidants. Boil the peel for 10 minutes, put it through a juicer or blend with other fruits.
