tea bags to start seeds off?

karren

i read somewhere that you can start seeds off in a tea bag, has anyone done this? does it work?

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Zazen999

No reason why it shouldn't - I grow my carrots in sand now so why not.

Try it and report back...

annie123

I have tried this and found that they dried out very very quickly. In order to keep things alive I put them in a carboard egg box and put that in a dish which I kept damp.

I just use egg boxes/loo rolls or seed trays now

sillyvixen

surely you can as my gran always used to save her teabags and add them to her compost for growing seeds - she claimed tea was good compost!

annie123

t-bags are great for compost all mine go in my compost bin.
Just never found them any good as seed starters.

Maybe its my sainsburys t-bags

karren

ill pop them in the recycling bin then and stick to soil then ta

lindseykim13

Zazen999 wrote: »

No reason why it shouldn't - I grow my carrots in sand now so why not.

Try it and report back...

wow whats the sand thing not heard of that, i always have probs getting the carrots to grow bigger than an inch or so, what do you do with sand?

Zazen999

lindseykim13 wrote: »

wow whats the sand thing not heard of that, i always have probs getting the carrots to grow bigger than an inch or so, what do you do with sand?

It's simple - I mix sand with a little compost - probably about 5 of sand to 1 compost - and sow the seeds and watch it grow!!!

Carrots don't like: too hard soil, too rich soil, too stoney soil; they love plenty of drainage and lots of room to grow downwards. Anything that encourages this helps the length and to prevent forking. Sand in deep areas/trenches/pots is ideal.

I know of someone who fills deep drainpipes full of sand and grows parsnips in them; they grow massive as there's nothing stopping them!!! I've seen photos and they are huge. Same would apply to carrots.

Alternatively to growing in sand, you can make a deep hole where you want your carrot, with a deep dibber; and fill with sand; then sow a seed [or 2/3 if you thin them, I don't; if the seed doesn't germinate then i would sow another a month or so later].

Another method is to sow a handful in pots, and transplant them together into loose sandy soil; keeping the roots as long as possible - and they grow and push each other apart. dig the soil deep underneath where you are putting these, and remove as many stones as you can.

I could go on and on!!!

Don't forget the carrot fly issue as well; either barriers, such as fleece; or grow them high up as you can, and add in a coriander or 2, or grow in amongst onions or garlic, or refrain from thinning or touching them too much as it attracts the fly...again I could go on and on.

Also sow just a few seeds every few weeks, to get a continuous supply through the year. If you sow early and transplant, don't twist or let the root kink; that's when you get the weird carrot shapes; keep them as long and straight as you can and push/pour the soil in around the root.

enjoy your carrots!!!

MoJo

I read a tip somewhere the other day about putting used tea-bags in when potting up plants to help retain moisture?

lynseydee

I have heard they are good for putting around azalea plants. Was wondering if this was true as I have five azaleas in pots and if the tea bags would help the plants I would do this.

Primrose

I put my used teabags at the bottom of the large pots I use to grow peppers and aubergines in. They are soluble enough to let surplus water drain through but they prevent compost being washed out of the holes at the bottom when the pots are watered.