2 Min. Tip: How and Why We Use Tea Leaves in the Garden
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- čas přidán 4. 04. 2015
- In today’s 2 minute tip, I’ll talk about how and why we use spent tea leaves in the garden.
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I’ve often recommended used coffee grounds as an excellent free source of nitrogen and other nutrients plants need, but spent tea leaves are even better. According to a study from the University of Florida, tea grounds are 4.15% nitrogen. That’s about twice as much nitrogen as in coffee grounds. Tea also contains nearly twice as much phosphorus and potassium. The study found that tea grounds have an NPK of 4.15/0.62/0.4, while coffee grounds have an NPK of 2.08/0.32/0.28.
OYR is all about growing a lot of food on a little land using sustainable organic methods, while keeping costs and labor at a minimum. Emphasis is placed on improving soil quality with compost, mulch, and compost tea. No store-bought fertilizers, soil amendments, pesticides, compost activators, etc. are used.
Sources:
1) NPK of coffee grounds and tea grounds: "The Truth about Garden Remedies" by Jeff Gillman (2008) p. 41
2) " Are Tea Bags Really Compostable?" www.care2.com/greenliving/tea-...
3) "Composting Tea Bags"
www.which.co.uk/news/2010/07/c...
4) Teas with all natural tea bags:
national.cleanplates.com/healt... - Jak na to + styl
Yeah mate I only use those organic compostable tea bags also, not just because they break down but they don't leach bad chemicals into your cuppa either! Cheers Patrick!
Self Sufficient Me Excellent point, Mark!
Thanks ! i do with eggshell, tea and coffe I will try
Good to know Patrick! I only buy organic tea with degradable tea bags or loose leaf so it all goes into the compost, but I sure am glad to know it's so rich in nitrogen!
Thanks Elise! Using organic tea bags and loose leaf tea definitely makes it a lot simpler.
Considering the NPK of tea versus coffee, tea leaves are indeed a great idea for the garden! I have been making an exclusive tea coffee compost now for the past 6 months for my seed starts and transplants because of the great NPK values and to avoid volunteers popping up in the compost .
Mumbai Balcony Gardener I'm glad to hear you're putting the used coffee grounds and tea leaves to good use!
As a tea-totaler ;) I was wondering about the benefits of composting the spent grinds that come in teabags so I started doing some research. Just last week I learned about the plasticizers that are used in the making of the teabag fabric and that encouraged me to switch back to loose leaf. (Loose leaf is also better for the environment on the front end as the manufacture of the fabric relies on expending fossil fuels and other resources on top of the raw materials that go into the teabag itself.) I was going to pass that info on to you, but decided to do a search on your channel to see if you had already covered it, and yep, here it is. From now on, I'm just going to check with you first.
I'm glad you're putting your spent tea to good use in your garden! I do my best to research topics, but there's always more to learn!
I agree there's always more to learn. For instance, I just learned camellia sinensis is hardy to zone 8 (I'm in 8b) so now I'm thinking about growing my own! It can also be grown in a pot to be taken indoors in colder climes (hint, hint). Takes 3 years to mature enough to harvest.
@@GraeMatterz did you try it?
Another great 2 minute tip. Thanks for sharing!
Eco Oasis You're welcome!
excellent addition to the cause!
Thanks, 1mtstewart !
Cool, Patrick! I have been putting tea bags in the compost, but I will start putting them in the raised beds! Thanks for sharing the info!
You're welcome, Keith! Thanks for stopping by.
Great tip Patrick. You just reminder me to drop of my coffee bucket to my local coffee shop. Your garden looks garden good. I'm starting to see more and more green in the background.
Thanks Binky's Garden ! Yes, slowly but surely the garden is coming back to life!
Very good tip Patrick! Great to see a high nutrient content too.
Thanks Huw!
Thanks Patrick for that useful tip
Patrick Meehan You're welcome, Patrick!
Great info as always Patrick.. I get the girls to split the bags before they empty them into the coffee bucket here.. Got tired of pulling the bags out of the worm farm :-/
Cheers mate & have a great one..
RobBobs Backyard Farming Thanks Rob! I know what you mean. I just pulled one out of the compost that somehow made it in there. Cheers!
Hi Everyone I wanted to share I scored big today on cardboard!! I got to walmart right at the moment they were resetting a huge nabisco section and there were LARGE HEAVY DUTY size pieces!! I am so happy!! Thanks Patrick and everyone for all the love of gardening!! Peace
That's great! Are you going to do some sheet mulching or use it for compost?
yeah sheet mulching
Years ago, before I knew better I used to throw the entire tea bag into my compost bin. Once the compost was ready you get the bags still remaining and they make a real mess in the soil. So I just started cutting the tea bag and squeezing out the tea. This is a great video Patrick. I`ve always added used tea to my compost but had no idea that they were actually better than used coffee grounds. Thanks for the tip and I hope that you had a great Easter weekend.
VeganMinimalist Mark Thanks, Mark! I was curious to know if anyone had actually found the tea bag remnants in the compost. Now I know.
Yes, they go incredibly white and thin but they don`t decompose fully.
Thanks, I always use used green tea leaves as mulch for my potted plants.
Shinintendo That's great! They're an excellent mulch.
Wonderful video ! many thanks for this moment....have a nice day
Sebastian Vestae Thanks Sebastian!
Excellent tip. I am new to vermicomposting. My red wigglers arrived in the mail today and I went online to research exactly what I need to feed them. Thanks for the information. I am going to also use your tip to blend up borage (in place of comfrey, its what i have available) and add it to my garden beds.
MajesticFlyLife You're very welcome! Best wishes with your new composting worms and your garden!
Thanks
thank you for sharing
You're very welcome Linda!
Cheers Patrick. I was using my tea bags (paper ones) but didn't realise how good they actually were.
McDowall Manor Hi Andy! I'm glad to hear you've been putting the tea to good use!
Thanks.
You're welcome!
Excellent video on using tea in the garden. As luck would have it I'll be sending in some of the most popular teas in for analysis :)
***** Thanks, Stephen! I look forward to your results!
Good to know. I make my own tea, with paper and string. I'll just cut off the string and toss them in the compose from now on. Thanks for the tip.
You're welcome, zaneymay !
great tip
Thanks, LCJ farms !
I dry out my tea bags on top of the hot water heater and later remote the dry tea. It's easy to store and to use.
Excellent tip Patrick, Thank you for sharing it. OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening
Thanks ***** !
wanderfool thanks!!
You're welcome!
Thanks for the tips! We drink a lot of tea. I'm surprised it's got about twice the the nutrient content as coffee.
OhHowHappyGardener You're very welcome!
I know this sounds really old school, but I buy my tea loose, that way I can make it as I like it!
Loose leaf tea is a lot easier to use in the garden too!
I have gathered coffee grounds from around town for quite some time (so much so that our personal grounds go into city compost). It took a while to find the right sources because so many shops don't segregate their grounds from other compostables--making for a huge messy bag. But I have found a few that provide me with 30-80 pound bags of just coffee.
My experience is worse with tea and tea bags. Tea bags usually get thrown away by the consumer, not the barista, so there is never any segregation. Sometimes they are in the garbage, sometimes the compost, sometimes (unbelievably) the recycling. If I want them, I have to pick them out one by one. Also, when I do use tea bags I always remove the tea from the bag. Even if the bag is compostable, they almost always have a small, metal staple attaching the string to the bag and I don't want those in my garden.
I would love it if a Tea room opened up nearby with only loose leaf tea. Until that happens I will have to be happy with coffee grounds.
Zerkbern I agree. It's much easier to collect coffee grounds for me too. I've collected quite a bit of tea from Starbucks over the years. The tea bags are pretty good size, but you have to remove the tea from the bags, because they aren't biodegradable.
Great tip on the tea bags! I use organic tea as well. Quick question ~ do you throw the coffee filters and coffee in your compost or do you remove your filters?
lovers4healthylife Thanks! Yes, we compost paper coffee filters along with the coffee.
Hi Patrick. Great video. Since steeped tea leaves is considered "Green", how about the Dried Tea Leaves are they considered "Brown" compost materials. Thanks !
Now I have more reasons to drink my Green tea, double happy now. :)
Also I find that after brewing green tea, leaves expand very much that it looks like shredded leaves. May be we can mix it up with our mulch leaves, isn't it?? What do you think Mr. Dolan??
Yes, my favorite way to use them is to add them to the mulch.
Another excellent vid Patrick.,Before i put my kitchen waste bin contents in to my compost bin i cut the contents up with my hedge clippers before i throw the lot in to my compost bin; i find it speeds up the process, p.s Patrick you must have some irish blood in you, Regards from Dublin
Frank Scales Thanks Frank! Yes, chopping things up will definitely speed up the process. Yes, my great grandfather came here from Ireland in the late 1800's. My sister lives in Maynooth!
Hey Patrick,
Do you know if you can source bulk amounts of free used tea from anywhere? I love your videos by the way. Keep on posting them!
***** Thanks Ethan! I'm not sure, but Starbucks has given me a lot of tea over the years. The only downside is that the bags are not biodegradable, so I have to remove the tea from the bags. Fortunately, they're much larger than single serving bags.
Does tea contain more trace elements than used coffee grounds?
Can you mix with water and blend in blender and speed up decomposition? Is this good or bad thing to do?
Thats interesting with the n p k.
Thanks Dave!
Can you tell me where to get a compost container like yours? Did you make it?
Hi Stephanie! It's a Geobin. We got it on Amazon: amzn.to/2pp3TTD
Will you please let me know if we use fresh/un-used tea leaves in the garden.Thanks pl.
Yes, you can, but I wouldn't buy tea for that purpose because it's too expensive.
Man awwww man
Can you use thai tea? It has yellow food color and star anise in it.
+tcook202 Yes, you can.
can we use unused tea
cool!
Does starbucks let you take the used tea?
UtopianDr3ams Sometimes they do. I've collected quite a bit of tea over the years from Starbucks. Unfortunately, you have to remove the tea from the bags, because they aren't biodegradable.
Your tip will be an incentive for me to drink more green tea. And I look forward to your video on the ultimate free nitrogen source. One that humans have been making since the dawn of time.
That's great to hear, Laura! I really do need to put together a video on the ultimate nitrogen source. ;-)
Hi can i directly apply un used tea leaves
yes you can, though you don't want to add to many without composting them first, and it will take longer to break down. I suggest making the tea and letting it cool, and watering plants and/or compost with it.
Hello. Do you think tea will be good to fertize all kind of plants? I mean if I can use it to fertize for example coffee, tomatoes, lemon, orange etc.? Might tea be injured for some of plants? :)
Yes, you can use tea as a mulch on any kind of plant. You can also compost it and add the compost to any kind of plant.
Thank you so much :)
Will brewed tea be too strong?
You can put unused brewed tea on the garden.
God, I had no idea that those ordinary tea bags are friggin' plastic just like everything else! Can't anything just be simple and normal anymore?
Madam Smellypits Yeah, it makes composting conventional tea a bit of a hassle. Fortunately, organic tea doesn't have plastic in the tea bags.