What happened here

The first batch, in August 2026, grew fuzzy white and green mold on the peel that floated above the water. It went on the compost heap, not on the plants and not into the aquaponics. The second batch, weighted under, worked. A weight on top is the whole fix.

What it actually does

Some potassium and not much else. A peel is about as rich as the compost it would otherwise have gone into, so this mostly moves that potassium to where the plant is when it flowers. It doesn’t add a new source.

• Four peels to a quart of water, chopped, held fully under with a weight, loosely covered, for two to five days.
• Use it 1:4 as a soil drench, never on leaves. It keeps a week at most in the fridge.
• Freeze peels between batches.