Before you toss away another tea bag, please take note!
Tea bags are not just for brewing tea. They can be used in your garden in a green method of disposal and are good for the health of all your plants as well as the soil.
Note: Always make sure that the tea bags are not made from polypropylene (thermoplastic). If the tea bag feels slippery to the touch and has heat-sealed edges, it will likely be polypropylene. However, still don’t throw it away, instead, slit open the bag and use the tea leaves inside.
How can I use tea bags in my garden?
Composting
Tea bags are great to add to compost your heap because they add nitrogen to the compost and also attract good bacteria. Tea gets its distinctive strong flavour from a compound called tannin. Tannin is a natural fertilizer which generates new plant growth.
Repelling pests
Tea’s bitter flavour helps ward off insects like aphids, caterpillars and also fungal diseases.
Feed for acid-loving plants
Tannic acid in tea leaves can mildly change and lower your soil pH. Houseplants, like ferns, prefer acid soil. Fertilize them by using leftover tea in the pot to water them, or simply by using tea leaves and work it into the soil in their pots. Same for outdoor plants like Hydrangeas, Asalea’s and Camellia’s. Roses also loves tea.
Seed germination
Tea bags can be used to germinate seeds. Flatten your tea bag out on a dish and place seeds that you wish to sprout on the damp surface of the bag. Dampening it slightly every day until seeds sprout out on the bag, and then transfer the entire bag outdoors and place on the soil. The plant will grow down into the soil, using the tea bag as fuel.
Water retention
Because tea leaves are natural, organic matter, they improve soil quality as they decompose. Tea bags are great with water retention and come in very handy in dry weather where plants need a little extra help.
Speeds up composting
Moist tea bags added to your compost bin or heap will increase the speed with which your pile will decompose.
Whether it is from black tea, rooibos or green tea, you can place your used tea bags in a clean storage container for later use.
Using tea bags is not a miracle method, just an efficient and green way of caring for your garden.
Every year, nature provides us with an abundance of colourful autumn leaves. Instead of discarding fallen autumn leaves, use them to make a nourishing fertiliser for your garden. It costs nothing and is easily transformed into a nutrient-rich soil conditioner called leaf mould.
Making leaf mould will take time. Leaves will rot down slowly due to the action of fungi as opposed to the faster-acting bacteria responsible for compost. It’s a slow process, but the nutritious end product is well worth the wait.
How to make leaf mould:
Start by collecting fallen leaves (not green ones) in autumn, and pile them in a shaded corner of your garden. Keep it contained using wire mesh or alternatively simply place them in black plastic bags with holes in. To kick start decomposition, wet the leaves as you pile them into the heap or bags. Moisten them periodically, especially if you have put them in bags. Don’t add too many leaves to your heap as it can slow down decomposition – instead create a separate heap of autumn leaves. Turning your heap about once a month until it is fully decomposed, will speed up decomposition. After about 10 months your leaf mould should crumble easily and be ready for use.
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Using leaf mould:
You can use it as a mulch around new seedlings, vegetables and newly planted trees and shrubs. You can also use it as a soil conditioner in borders and in potting soil. It improves sandy soil as well as the drainage of clay soil. It is superior soil conditioner!
Leaves of trees like maples and oaks contain a varying range of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and phosphorous. All these elements are important for healthy plants’ growth.
Leaf mould helps to decrease alkalinity of soil, and turning your garden waste into leaf mould is environmentally friendly.
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Which leaves to use to make leave mould:
Leaves from deciduous trees, such as oaks and maples, are ideal in making leaf mould. Do not use leaves from evergreen trees or conifers, rather add them to a compost heap as they take longer to decay.
Pine needles are quite acidic, so add them to a separate heap for the use on acidic loving plants like Azaleas and Blueberries.
Leaf mould is a form of compost composed entirely of deciduous shade tree leaves. It is free and easy to make, but keep in mind, just like vintage port, it needs time and patience.
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