In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote:
On 30/07/2014 13:00, Emery Davis wrote:
We're wondering if there's any benefit to this. We have a teasmade which
the wife prepares with a typhoo tea bag for the morning cuppa. The bag
goes in the compost, but there's always a little strong tea left in the
bottom of the pot. The other day I observed her throwing this into the
front garden, assuming (like coffee grounds which we throw in directly
sometimes) it would be of some benefit.

What's the assembled wisdom? Should old tea be poured directly into the
garden?

Good for ericaceous plants in pots. After all, it's just Camellia
sinensis leaves. And black tea leaves are partially fermented anyway, so
they are part way to being composted (some tea I've had would lead me to
the conclusion that they have been fully composted...).

And some that would have been better to be composted :-)

The pH of tea is on the acid side, according to various sources -
anything from 4.9 to over 6, but it would probably depend on the pH of
the water used to make the tea.

Tannic and humic acids, I would guess.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.