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Hi

I was reading about banana peels for tomatoes ... there are suggestions to bake and powder skin or make a tea... Would it help is I just make "banana skin smoothie" by blending skins with water in Vitamix and just use this water to water plants? Is there any pros and cons to the idea?

another question is about egg shells. I was collecting them over winter time and then some how forgot to apply while planting tomatoes. Now tomatoes are growing should I just place table spoon at the time near each plant (or any other amount suggested), or add about same size to smoothie above or add powder into compost tea... Other idea would be to keep them till autumn to apply to whole bed...

Please advice

Both will add organics to your soil, but will most likely not do much else to assist your tomato plants. Pro and Cons? Neither in my opinion. While banana peels are a source of P and K and Calcium and eggshell high in Calcium (if you are worried about BER, adding calcium to your soil is not the answer) neither would add enough to really make a difference. A soil test will explain your soil balance and what to or not to add for the best growing conditions. That said, it certainly won't hurt to add either. You would need mountains of both to really make a difference.

thank you.

If I add egg shell by spoonful in soil few inches deep into plant would it help more?

I am not sure what BER is. I am really new to this. I have grown tomatoes with water only before Last year I got good soil for a change and was really surprised with outcome:)
I have no composer or possibility to get one . It is my understanding that it is better to feed tomatoes smoothies then throw peels in the green bin:)

What I am saying is incorporating eggshell into your soil will not help much other than when they break down and become part of the soil. Then only marginally.

BER is blossom end rot. The ends of the tomato fruit will turn black and begin to rot. This is caused by the tomato plant's inability to provide calcium to the entire plant including the fruit. Some think it is deficiency of calcium in the soil. That is usually not the case and adding eggshells or other forms of calcium will not cure the problem. Temperature swings and inconsistent watering is the culprit.

Feeding banana smoothies really will have little effect but can't hurt. All this is based on how you garden.

Are you growing tomatoes in containers by chance? Then an entirely different set of rules apply. Watering on a regular basis and replacing nutrients periodically is necessary. There is lots of information on container grown vegetables on the web.

I was raising them in soil, and last year we made raised beds with triple mix. I have added some compost and peat moss before planting

The bananas with break down fairly quickly, providing nitrogen. I wouldn't top dress with that smoothie, but dig a whole and pour it in. Over time, you'll really help out your garden by adding to the soil. Compost is great stuff, you're just composting IN your garden by doing this!

Eggshells will also break down and release macro and micro-nutrients much faster if you are willing to go to the trouble of pulverizing them. I'm just too lazy and toss eggshells as they are in the compost and they sometimes stay whole (Halves) until I smash them. But in the compost pile, various microbes work at eroding the nutes.

You really could just blend all veg kitchen scraps into a 'smoothie' and dig a donut moat around the tomato or other prize plants like roses and pour in the goodies. Soil microbes will do the rest. You want to dig sufficiently away from the stem so as not to accidentally dig and break the roots -- aim for just BEYOND so the roots will grow into the enriched soil after they've had the chance to meld into the soil a bit. You may find you've created an earthworm party zone. so it's no longer just what's in the banana peels and eggshells.

Eggshells in roughly broken up pieces will help cut up slugs if you have THOSE particular pests to deal with.

thank you apple star. this is great idea