Topic: OK, I've gotta ask ...

[AikenDrum]

I remember one ot two of you delightful people mentioning putting in tea bags before planting certain "tings" ; could you please enlighten me on this and whether or not they should be put in first after being dried out ? or wettish ? I'm thinking in particular of broad beans, onion sets and garlic  .... feel free to laff out loud at home    {:¬ (

[katynewbie]

 ;D ;D ;D ;D
Thats me laughing nervously cos i dont know the answer either.....but would really like to!!!
Someone.....anyone??????

[Tulipa]

Mine all go in the compost, but would love to know if there is something special I can do with them.

[undercarriage plan]

My mum has an old ice cream carton where she puts all her used tea bags, then puts them over boiler to dry. Then puts them at the bottom ot the pot instead of crocks. I'm not sure why!! She heard it somewhere, but she's been doing this for years, and always has lovely plants. I think they retain some moisture, but let excess pass through. Or, she's just lost the plot...... or is just doin it to seem like mysterious gardening person.....::)
Lottie  ;D

[AikenDrum]

Right, I'm gonna plant 10 of my Onion sets with a teabag in the bottom first and see what happens  ....adventurous or what ? ? ?  *teehee*

[Hot_Potato]

from what you say AD.....

I'm gonna plant 10 of my Onion sets with a teabag in the bottom first

I wonder if you're planting them in a big pot then??

as you mention 1 teabag to 10 onion sets - that's sort of my conclusion  :-\

[AikenDrum]

One teabag to each of the 10 onion sets     {:¬)#

< .... get the feeling that H_P is pickin' on me     {:¬ (

[colleenemp]

....wish I drank more tea now....more of a dodgey instant coffee consumer....

[Hot_Potato]

now A.D.....would I pick on you?.....what I was really intrigued by was the fact that you seemed to be growing onion sets in a big pot or tub (plus the teabag) and not outside in the ground!!

so you put 10 sets (plus one teabag) into a big pot - & they grow and swell as per normal that way then?

what sort of diameter is the pot then please?

[Mrs Ava]

I use them in the bottom of pots to help the moisture retention and moisture removal!  ;D  Other than that, they go on the compost heap!

[AikenDrum]

*sighs*  < .... I'm only ever drinking coffee from now on  j/k was just wondering about moisture retaining properties    {:¬)#

[Mac49]

If I remember rightly, someone used them to cover the holes in the pots instead
of putting crocs in, (for drainage).
Mac.

[Amazin]

I seem to recall that cold tea was recommended for watering plants, but I can't for the life of me remember why.

I put cold filter coffee and grounds on lime hating plants as I was told it counteracts the alkalinity of the soil. I use it on my blueberries, magnolia and camellias, and a little on the lemon and lime - none of them seem to mind at all...

...though once I thought I heard the magnolia complain about the slow service and lack of sugar...

[undercarriage plan]

 ;D

[bev and andy]

I have for years used old tea bags for my indoor plants and they have all done very well. when i got my allotment i just carried on using them in the compost. My grandfather always had tea bags on his garden and egg shells just as they are, wet. He always said it was a good feed for all plants.

[kentishchloe]

My hub said Starbucks in Chiswick were giving away their bags of used coffee grounds to gardeners a couple weeks ago - must pop into our local one & pick some up for compost (& maybe a gingerbread latte for going all that way... ;D)

[supersprout]

Since late Summer I've collected bags of coffee grounds every week from the Starbucks next door. About ten weeks' worth has filled a builders' bag  :P, into which squash will get planted next year. I put in a couple of layers of comfrey leaves, spent hops, a few of last year's leaves and some handfuls of blood & bone, and will see if they do as well as wardy's builder bags next year ::). The peeps at Starbucks are thrilled to give their coffee grounds away - plenty of paper waste included, and a few plastic teaspoons and milk lids, but nothing that can't be filtered out ... and the Starbuckies get leeks, spuds and cabbage in exchange  ;D They say the Saturday bag represents £2,000 of coffee sales, so I'm treating it like gold dust!! 8)

[weedgrower]

plant them to grow a tree                                      lol