WHAT TO DO WITH A 19 CENT BANANA

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Celebrate! It is April 8th, National Banana Day! It's also World Heritage Day, but I am nowhere near finishing the post I started for that one, so I'm saving it for another day. So, National Banana Day it is!

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Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.
^{Click on the image to view full screen!}

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Camera	EOS 5D Mark II
Lens	EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Exposure	1/125 sec; f/29; ISO 100
Post-processing	Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe Camera Raw

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No don't go bananas on me when I tell you that bananas are the most popular fruit in the world, 100 billion of them being eaten every year! Did you know that they don't grow on trees? We have them in our yard, but when we have a cold winter like this past one here in Florida, the plant dies to the ground and regrows in the springtime. The banana plant is actually a herb (or an herb if you are American) – the world's largest one!

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A new banana plant growing beside some saw palmetto plants in my Florida backyard.

Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 6S Plus

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A dead banana plant this past winter in my Florida backyard

Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus

Eating a banana is good for you. How? Eating a banana may reduce the risk of asthma and cancer and also help lower blood pressure. It contains tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin by your body. The result? Relaxation and a good mood! An average banana is only 95 calories too! It is also rich in all kinds of minerals, including potassium which is good for muscles and helps prevent kidney stones! A banana is also a good source of fiber.
And don't waste that banana peel when you are done eating the banana! You can rub the inside of the banana peel on your itching mosquito bites to help reduce the itch and inflammation.

Then when you are done with that, chop up the phosphorus, potassium and calcium rich peel and add it to the compost heap, or add it directly to the soil, burying it about four inches deep around the plants and away from the roots. You can also add the peel with water to a large container to make banana peel tea to use as a fertilizer your your plants. Just let the peel steep for a couple of days, and voilà - instant fertilizer!

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Banana peels steeping in water to make banana peel tea.

Image ©Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 6S Plus

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You can license my image of banana peel tea at Getty Images here

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So, there you have it – all for a 19 cent banana at Trader Joe's – my favorite grocery store!

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To join this new challenge, this is all you have to do:

1. Use YOUR OWN photography
2. Use the tag #nationaldays
3. Check the web on sites like this for the day's challenges to choose from
4. Write a post daily, or as often as you like
5. Anyone can join in, but nominate 2 people if you like
6. Copy and paste the challenge guidelines into your post

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Today is also WednesdayYellow, part of the # colorchallenge started by @kalemandra. You can read the rules here.

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If you wish to take part in the #wiwcontest for this week, please read the rules and find the week's theme in this post.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this! I appreciate it. Please check out my photography-101 account here for tips and tutorials about photography.

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