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I drink a lot of tea. 6 cups a day! I also make kombucha which also requires a bit of tea. Since I use so much tea, I have a lot of leftover tea leaves.

I always felt bad when I just dumped the tealeaves down the sink. What a waste. There had to be something I could do with them!



Turns out tea leaves, much like the popular coffee grounds, make for a good fertilizer!

This is great news for me… or rather my plants. I no longer had to waste my used tea leaves and my poor plants would get some nutrients because I refuse to use the yucky fertilizers that are suspicious shades of blue.
 

Tea contains many nutrients. Granted most of then are found in the first brew of tea but the leftover tea leaves still have some nutrients left that your plants can put to use.

Tea is also slightly acidic so it is especially great for acid loving plants such as Hydrangeas, Roses, Tomatoes, and Peppers.

Using Tea Leaves as a Fertilizer - Don't toss your used tea leaves! Share them with your plants! #fertilizer #tea #tealeaves #natural

 

Using Tea Leaves as a Fertilizer Options

1) Let the used tea leaves soak in water and then pour that water on your plants.

2) Mix in the tea leaves with the dirt of your plants.

3) You can also just put the tea leaves on top of the soil but do not do this with indoor plants as it will promote mold and/or gnats. Outside it is generally all right, especially if the dirt/tea leaves dry out in between watering.

 
Any old tea will do. I drink Red Raspberry Leaf so that’s what I use but anything works. Loose leave is the easiest as you already have all those leaves just sitting there, however you can use bagged tea it’s just a bit more effort.
 
I will say that I doubt tea gives plants as much nutrients as other fertilizers (organic or not) but if you happen to have tea leaves around then put them to use!