Some people have a true green thumb and love to spend their afternoons working in the garden. Are you one of those people? Then this tip is a great one for you. We usually throw out our used tea bags immediately after we’ve made our tea. That’s a total waste, though, because a used tea bag can make a big difference for your garden. Here are a couple of reasons why!
A used tea bag can make miracles happen in your garden.
Seedlings
It can be a bit of a challenge to grow a couple of different seedlings in your garden. The reason for this is that most seedlings never even germinate, despite all of the love and hard work you put into them. Now, luckily, we’ve found a perfect solution for this. This is a very easy way to turn your garden into a true plant paradise. All you need to do is bury a used tea bag in the soil.
Nutrients
By putting a tea bag into the earth in your garden, you’re providing it with extra nutrition. Tea leaves contain tannin and nutrients, and they are a natural fertiliser for the soil. The tea bag itself is usually fabricated from the fibres from the abaca plant (this is a type of banana plant). The tea will very easily dissolve in the earth and it will create a good and healthy environment for your flowers and plants to grow.
Vermin
Another thing the tea bags do is keeping vermin at a distance. Used tea bags, but coffee grounds as well, help to make sure vermin stay away from your beloved plants and flowers. The smell of the tea or the coffee is unpleasant to the creatures that want to eat up your plants. It will chase them away and your plants will be safe!
Compost heap
Another smart thing to do is to add a used tea bag to your compost heap. Tea contains a ton of acids that will speed up the disintegration process of the compost. That means that you’ll be able to make use of the compost a lot quicker than you would otherwise. Your garden will be very happy with that and then so will you!
Water
You can also bury used tea bags in the earth close to the roots of your plants and flowers as well. This will help your flowers and plants to retain more water than they normally would and that means they will be a lot healthier and happier!
Weeds
Nobody likes weeds growing in their garden. Luckily, our good friend the used tea bag presents the perfect solution for this as well. The tea bags will actually keep the weeds away. Bury a used tea bag in the earth and you’ll be making it much more difficult for the weeds to grow alongside your happy, healthy flowers and plants.
Germinating
A used tea bag can make the growth process of little seedlings in your garden much easier. We’ve got the perfect little trick and all you need is used tea bags, seeds, a plastic planter and water. Germinate the seedlings in the planter like you would do normally, but also add the tea bags to the soil. You will be speeding up the process massively! When the seedlings have germinated, you can easily transfer them to a bigger planter or just put them directly in your garden.
Neighbourhood cats
We love cats, but we’re a little less fond of them when they’re walking all over our garden. There’s an easy and animal-friendly way to keep them out, though! Tea bags or some coffee grounds will do the trick for you because cats detest the smell of those things. Sprinkle some coffee grounds or some used tea over the soil in your garden to prevent cats from peeing and pooping all over it. Bonus tip: you can also do this with the indoor plants in your home to keep your own cats away from those. Just add some coffee grounds or used tea to the planters inside.
Worms
Attracting worms to your garden might sound like something you want to avoid, but it isn’t. These slippery little dudes are very good for your garden, actually! Worms eat tea leaves and when they’ve digested those and, well, added them back to the earth, they’ll be even more useful. They will contain more nutrients, making your garden super fertile.
Here’s a helpful video on the topic! https://www.houseandgarden.co/garden/used-tea-bags/
