There are a wide range of commercial plant fertilizers on the market, but also some readily available alternatives for your gardening that most people just throw away: banana peels!

Shredded banana peel, used tea bags and even leftovers from pencil sharpeners are all good sources of nutrients for plants. Experts advise putting them in your flower pots instead of the trash!

It's best to use the skins from organic bananas. Cut them into small pieces with a knife or mince them up with a food processor, then dry them on a grid.

The peel can then be worked into the plant soil. It's important not to simply spread it on the surface, because that makes it too difficult for the plant to access the nutrients.

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Remember, if you're saving the banana skin for later use, don't wrap up it in foil or Saran wrap, or put it in a sealed container until you are ready to prepare it for use. That will quickly turn it moldy, which you should avoid if possible.

The shavings from pencils and crayons are also good fertilizers because they are a form of wood chips that release their stored nutrients as they decompose.

However, the experts advise using only unpainted pencils and pencils that have not been colored in any other way, because the chemicals in the coloring could be harmful to your plants.