Are Tea Bags Good for Tomato Plants?

Many of us enjoy drinking tea, no matter what kind of tea it is. Most people, after they finish their beverage, they bin the used tea bags. After all, there is nothing else to do with them, right?

Actually, it turns out that tea bags can be very useful when it comes to composting and gardening. The tea leaves contain tannic acid and other beneficial nutrients that are released into the soil.

In this article, I will talk about the use of your tea bags to get strong, healthy, and tasty tomatoes.

Are Tea Bags Good for Tomato Plants?

Maybe you heard about the benefits of using tea bags as fertilizer. But you should also know, that not all plants love being fertilized with tea bags. Also, this should not be the only fertilizer.

The tea leaves increase the acidity of the soil. Therefore, some plants might be unhappy about the acidic soil.

But the good news is that tomato plants are those, which love their soil pH between 5.5 and 7.0. As the acidic soils have a pH below 7.0, we can say that tea bags are good for tomato plants.

The Benefits of Using Tea Bags for Tomato Plants

As I mentioned earlier, the tea leaves from the tea bags contain tannic acid and other nutrients that enrich the soil.

Teabags are not only great fertilizers, but these have other great benefits when used in your garden:

• The tea leaves increase soil acidity by releasing tannic acid. As the tomato plants love acidic soil, you can make sure these can get the best soil, by mixing the used tea bags into it.
• Teabags will keep pests at bay. Cats, mice, and different bugs hate the smell of the tea leaves and will keep the distance.
• Teabags are also great in weed prevention. Tea mulch keeps away weeds.
• By spraying actual brewed tea (left to cool down completely) on your tomato plants, you can prevent and control fungal diseases.
• As I mentioned earlier, tea bags used in your garden, add precious nutrients to the soil.
• By using tea bags in your garden, you reduce excess waste.
• Using tea bags in your soil or compost pile, the acid in the tea leaves will speed up the decomposition of the things that are in the compost bin.
• Tea leaves can be eaten by worms; therefore, these produce a nutrient-rich “output” that is a great fertilizer.
• Teabags can be used as mulch. These will retain the water and stop the soil to dry out too quickly.

How to Use Tea Bags for Tomato Plants?

Teabags can be used in different ways in the garden to enhance tomato growth. Depending on what you want to achieve with it, you should do different things.

If you want to use them as mulch, you can either simply put them around your tomato plants on the soil, at the base of the plants. Or you can also burrow them into the soil.

If you want to use them as fertilizer, you can put them into your compost, and wait for them to do their job in the compost bin. Or you can use the tea leaves as loose, and mix them into the soil.

No matter how do you use the tea bags, one thing is for sure: it will do wonders for your tomato plants.

What Kind of Tea Bags are Best for Tomato Plants?

For many of us, this is the first question that comes to our minds when it comes to using tea bags in our garden.

We can find on the market so many teas that have different flavors, strengths, and have added ingredients; therefore, these contain different chemicals and nutrients. Are all teas safe for our tomato plants?

Almost all true teas you can buy, come from the same plant: Camellia Sinensis.

Most teas are different because they are harvested at different times in different ways and are mixed with different ingredients, such as other herbs or dried fruits.

So, we can state, that even if most of the teas taste differently, they are still the same and are safe to be used in your garden.

Is Brewed Tea Good for Tomato Plants?

As I mentioned earlier, brewed tea can be also used for tomato plants.

This can be good to prevent and treat fungal diseases. However, you should be careful with brewed tea.

You should never use hot tea on your plants, as high temperatures can damage them. The tea must be cooled down and only use it after this has room temperature.

You should also be careful what type of brewed tea you are using for tomato plants. Once you put sugar, honey, and/or milk into your tea to enjoy it, that will no longer be suitable for your garden. The added ingredients can cause wilting and the plant to die.

I also must mention that if you buy tea bags only to brew tea for your plants, please don’t do it. It is a big waste of money and nice tea that could be enjoyed. There are other better fertilizers to use for this purpose.

Wrap Up

Teabags can be used in different ways. These give us nice teas, but the used tea bags can be useful in our garden as well.

As the tannic acid released from the tea leaves enters the soil, this becomes acidic. Tomato plants love soil that has a pH between 5.5 and 7.0; therefore, acidic soil benefits the tomato plants.

You can also use brewed tea to prevent or stop fungal diseases but use clean and cool tea. Never use it hot, as this can damage your plants.

Using tea bags in our garden reduces excess waste as well.