How to Use Tea Leaves in the Garden (and When to Not)
Some perennial vegetables are a natural fertilizer for yourself and nearby plants. It’s the same with herbs. Old and used tea bags contain nitrogen, tannic acid and other ingredients that help create a healthy growing environment.
Nitrogen is a major component of many store-bought fertilizers, and (depending on the type) is much more abundant in compost bags. We’ve covered the benefits of chamomile in your garden before, but in what other ways can tea nourish your plants? Here are some situations in which tea should and should not be used in your garden.
What plants can be used in sachets as fertilizer?
Tea bags added to your garden alter the pH balance of the soil . Plants that need a higher acidity to grow will do well with compost tea bags, while an herbal supplement will harm those that need alkaline soil to grow.
For plants such as rose bushes and ferns, inserts or tea bags placed directly around the base of the plant are very helpful. You can boil a teapot with one or two tea bags , let it cool overnight, and then pour directly onto the leaves and stem of the plant. For added moisture control and to protect against pests , bury the tea bag in the soil surrounding the plant. The bag filters and traps the moisture it needs, while the leaves create the best growth environment. Plants such as cacti or Boston ivy cannot handle the increased acidity that tea promotes, so tea bags should not be used with these types of plants.
How to compost your garden
The nitrogen and tannic acid in tea speeds up the composting process, making it an ideal candidate for plant uptake. You can open the tea bag after use and dump the insides into the compost, or discard the entire tea bag. You must watch out for any unnatural ingredients that are used to make tea bags, as they will not compost and may harm your plants. Tea bags that almost look like paper or cotton are fine, but those that are silky or plastic-like should be thrown in the trash.
SFGate’s Home Guides provide detailed instructions on composting with tea bags. Place the tea bags in containers three to five feet wide and four feet high and mix with one part of other organic materials (coffee grounds, banana peels, grass trimmings, etc.) and three parts of “carbon-rich” materials such as dried leaves.
Turn the compost pile every week to keep it aerated and water occasionally to keep it moist. After four to six months, the materials should have decomposed to a brown, loose compost that you can add to your garden soil.
How tea can germinate seedlings and restore the lawn
The decomposition of tea leaves mimics the natural germination process in the wild. You can even grow new seeds right in your old tea bag .
Soak the bags in water and cut a small hole in the bag so that it can get stuck in the seeds. Place the tea bags on a damp paper towel in a plastic tray out of direct sunlight to germinate, and make sure the paper towel stays wet during the process. Once the growth has reached about two centimeters, plant it directly in the garden in a bag and so on.
Thanks to their germination properties, tea bags are also great for repairing damaged areas on your lawn; just place a damp tea bag on a dead spot or bald spot on your lawn, and then place your lawn seeds on top. The tea bag will decompose and create more soil for your lawn to grow. As Plant Care Today reports, “some growers soak grass seeds in liquid compost tea before sowing,” and because tea speeds up the composting process, you’ll quickly get a full-fledged new herb.