Using bananas to ripen tomatoes - ethylene

Living_proof

I have boxes and boxes of home grown green tomatoes in the shed and I have just had Lidl's bargain waste not box and amongst the contents are 19 just ripe bananas. I think they will turn quite quickly and I won't be able to use them unless I dehydrate them. I don't want them to rot in the boxes of green tomatoes.

Does anyone know if I put the skins in a paper bag with the tomatoes whether this would generate enough ethylene to help them on their way?

A bit random I know!

joedenise

No idea but must be worth trying as you wouldn't be doing anything else with the skins and they'd be thrown away. I'd check regularly too so the skins don't go mouldy!

Denise

Living_proof

joedenise wrote: »

No idea but must be worth trying as you wouldn't be doing anything else with the skins and they'd be thrown away. I'd check regularly too so the skins don't go mouldy!

Denise

I have dehydrated the skins recently and then turned it into a powder. Apparently it makes a very good potash fertilizer when mixed with crushed egg shells and another ingredient which has slipped my mind. I have just googled my question and there is a lot of scholarly stuff on the subject but something from the orchid growing community:

We know Ethylene serves as a "hormone" in plants. We know that plants produce ethylene and we also know that traces of ethylene assist plants in various ways from ripening of fruit to flowering. In 1934, Gane reported that plants synthesize ethylene and in 1935, Crocker proposed that ethylene was the plant hormone responsible for fruit ripening as well as senescence of vegetative tissues.

To cut the story short, Ethylene produced by !!!!!!! Peels" has been used successfully to induce flowering in numerous terrestrial orchids. I should point out here that any fruit can be used, for example: Apples are used to ripe Bananas.

So I think it's worth a go. I bought a Lidl Waste Not box for £1.50 and among the produce in it there were 19 ripe bananas, so if I can get some dried bananas, tomato ripener and tomato fertilizer out of it (not to mention the 8 huge tomatoes, bunch of grapes, peach, 5 limes and 1 yellow pepper), I think the exercise will be worthwhile!