Yes, they are good for the soil. So bury them or add into compost heap, along with other kitchen scraps.

If you haven't had any cream, sugar or honey come in contact with the tea bags, make some really weak tea and maybe dilute it a little again to feed your plants. Houseplants love a 'snack' like that.

Especially ferns benefit from the houseplant snack you spoke of.

I read somewhere that tea leaves from used teabags added to the soil around root crops discourage root maggots. Think this may have been one of those Jerry Baker tips. Haven't been able to successfully grow some root crops because of root maggot damage, so I tried it. Two years ago I harvested my first crop of unblemished radishes and carrots, so I tried it again this year--same results! I guess it really works! I rinse and dry the teabags (get contributions from my coworkers), then tear them open and dump out the leaves. I mix several generous tablespoons in with the soil when I plant seeds. Anyone else ever done this?

does it matter what kinda tea bags reguar or herbal?\

I "feed" several of my plants teabags, as well as eggshells and banana peels. Coffee grounds as well when I get them. I don't have a formal compost pile, often just "compost" for one plant at a time by digging a little trench a couple of inches out from the "stem" and stuffing in whatever I have, cover with dirt, and let it rot.

Julie

Tea bags are great for the compost or some plants. I put everything through the blender. Filters and bags then compost. return that paper to the place where it started.
Ocqueoc

My mother had dozens of African violets and she always told me her secret was tea. We were big tea drinkers, so we had a good supply of bags. When she would make tea, she would toss the used tea bags (often used twice for tea to actually drink) in a jar. When the jar was full she would fill it with water and let it sit for a few days. She'd then use that tea-infused for her violets.

She died in 1999 (at a young 49) and I inherited all her violets. It took me a few years, but I killed every one of them. I guess I didn't follow her directions well enough.

When I was young and poor, I discovered that buying the name brand tea bags was good, because you could get two cups of tea out of each one, then three used tea bags would make another cup of tea. I know, this is carrying frugality to the extreme, but if you were raising two kids on $20,000 a year, you would be this thrifty too.

Oh heck, bruggirl, I do that and I am not raising any kids at all!

It's not even just being frugal (I like "thrifty"). I just don't see the point in tossing a tea bag that still has flavor to give up for me! :)

I love this info. How can I get my printer to print it??? All I get it the kitty on the side. HELP I can never get these to print!

I've got to try the tea for my AV's. I also love the notion that tea discourages soil maggots. All great ideas!

Gardenersal, why don't you just copy and paste the posts on Microsoft Word? Then you can delete posts that aren't relevent (like mine)and resize the margins so you can fit more on a page?

I do exactly what Scottymamof2 does, except I don't bother with the trench... I just scratch it in the soil a bit. It's organic matter, and any additional organic matter will improve the soil- or so I'm told. I think it's helped, especially in places where I don't have the time or money to "properly" amend with compost, etc. :) Have fun!

Does it matter what kinda tea bags regular or herbal I use?

Any kind of 'tea' is good;
if you make tea out of nettles, the soil will appreciate the leftover material!

So... Spearmint tea will benefit my garden?
L.G.

I use coffee grounds around my peonies all of the time, never thought of using tea bags! I was very interested in the post about deterring root maggots! Has anyone had any experience on tea's effect on iris root borers? I have a friend on another forum who has an extreme problem with them, would love to be able to direct her to a treatment like this!

I save all my coffee grounds and use those around the plants in the garden. We don't drink tea but tea would be good for acid loving plants. it's very high in tannic acid.

I remove the tea from the tea bags before using it because most tea bags contain some plastic.

bruggirl, mrsgeekboy, that's a great idea! what's the best way to save the used teabags until you accumulate three of them?

I have a question. It's for my Investigatory Project. Is it alright if I use used tea bags, and then I will put those around the soul of my plant? How long should I observe it to see the results? please answer, as soon as possible.