Are Tea Bags Good for Plants and Gardens?

Did you know that adding used tea bags to your plant’s soil can help give a burst of nutrients to them? Like how coffee grounds make more acidic soil, there are plenty of benefits to adding tea leaves to your houseplant. So, after you make a delicious cup of tea, consider taking that used tea bag and putting it into your plant soil.

Here is everything you need to know about tea bags for plants!

Table of Contents

Why are Tea Bags Good for Houseplants?

Tea leaves have tannic acid (tannins), a crucial ingredient in helping plants absorb nutrients. In addition to that, tea leaves include nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and other elements, which work great for plants.

Can Tea Bags in the Garden Soil Work?

Adding tea bags to your garden soil works excellent since it lowers the ph levels of the soil. Adding these tea bags to your veggie garden can reduce the number of weeds around your plant. Not only that but having tea bags in your garden soil is great food for earthworms. Earthworms play a crucial part in the healthy development of outdoor plants, so any way to keep them happy is an additional bonus.

Can Tea Grounds Promote More Plant Growth?

Adding team bags and tea grounds to your soil is an excellent way to promote new plant growth. Just like how a fertilizer boosts nutrients to plants, which can help with growth, so do tea leaves.

Can You Water Your Plant with Tea?

According to Do Not Disturb Gardening, you can use the leftover tea in your kettle and give that to plants directly. However, before you start adding liquid tea to the plants, you should only do that for plants that enjoy being in acidic soil. Furthermore, you should let the tea cool down and consider using weak tea (add more water to the kettle) if this is your first-time giving plants straight tea.

Like any fertilizer, you want to gradually introduce this liquid organic matter to the plant and see how it performs after a few weeks before adding more.

What are some Acid-Loving Plants that Will Enjoy Tea Bags?

Camellias
Ferns
Tomatoes
Rubber plants
Philodendron
Azaleas
Daffodils
Marigolds

What Plants Should You Not Use Tea Leaves On?

Adding a hot and old tea bag to a potted plant’s soil isn’t good if that plant doesn’t enjoy acidic soil. By adding the tea bag directly to the ground, you lower the soil PH, making the matter more acidic. Generally speaking, most vegetable plants and flowers don’t enjoy being in acidic soil.

Can Tea Bags Fight Against Fungus?

One benefit to using tea bags in your plants is that they can fight against fungus. Black tea and chamomile are the best tea that can stop fungus from forming in your plant. Dry out the tea bag a bit before mixing it into your soil. Letting the tea bag dry out a bit won’t result in extra moisture sitting in the ground.

How to Fertilize the Plant Soil with Tea Bags?

You can add the tea bag directly to the soil or sprinkle some of the leaf tea directly on top of the ground. When it comes to the bag itself, you should submerge the bag directly in the soil. Immersing the bag directly in the soil will help its contents break down, assuming it is a paper bag.

Can You Use Unused Tea Leaves in your Plant?

Ideally, you should brew your tea first and then place those leaves or bags into the soil/mulch to help give extra nutrients to your plant. The hot water on the tea bag speeds up the fermentation process, which helps release nutrients to your plant. In addition to that, the hot water interacting with the tea leaves can reduce some of the caffeine levels, which is vital if you don’t want to give your plants too much caffeine.

Do Tea Bags Naturally Decompose in Soil?

If the tea comes in a polypropylene or polyester material, you must remove the tea leaves from the bag. If the teabag is made up of paper, that will decompose in the soil. One tip is to use a hot tea bag and put it directly in the ground since that will speed up how quick it takes to break down. If you leave the tea bag on top of the soil, it will take longer for that material to break down into the soil, which is where the plant will get the nutrients.

Can You Add Tea Bags to a Compost Pile?

If you are an avid tea drinker and love to compost, adding your used bags to your compost bin should be right up your alley. Composting brewed tea bags to your garden soil is an excellent way to boost nutrients and increase the nitrogen levels in the plants.

Tea leaves boost nutrients to the plant, but the compost tea bag itself will help the plant. The tea bag adds a bit more structure to your soil, which is a great way to allow the flow of oxygen and water throughout it.

Reduces Waste

Sticking with the composting method above, using your tea bags in your plant soil dramatically reduces waste. Especially for avid tea drinkers who go through multiple tea bags daily, adding them to your compost mix or soil can minimize waste. Teabags can act as a natural fertilizer, which can be a great gardening tip if you are looking for a way to add more nutrients without adding chemicals to the ground.

Saves You Money on Buying Plant Fertilizer

One benefit of using tea and tea bags as fertilizer is an inexpensive fertilizer option for plants. If you are an avid tea drinker, you can save money on fertilizer by using your used tea bag and giving that to your plant to absorb the nutrients.

Tea Bags Stops Pets from Messing Up Your Plant

According to Cement Answers, cats don’t enjoy the smell of teabags. Consider adding tea bags if you want to stop your cat from eating or peeing on the plant/garden.

Conclusion: Are Tea Bags Good for Plants?

In summary, adding tea bags to your plant soil has a lot of benefits. To recap, the tea leaves act as a natural fertilizer, which helps promote growth. In addition to that, using your tea bags reduces waste, stops pets from nibbling at the plant, gives nutrients to earthworms, and can reduce weeds and fungus. Next time you make black or green tea, consider using those leaves on your plant soil!